Then again, it is almost worth it just for introducing the term “Muffgate” into the lexicon. There is definitely more, more, more of Rebel Wilson’s lusty breakout, Fat Amy, starting from the opening when she makes an embarrassing sky-high entrance at the Kennedy Center after busting her too-tight Spandex britches in front of the President Obama and the First Lady and causing a media scandal by going “commando.” The sequence isn’t as funny as it thinks it is even if it is mocking the way female celebrity wardrobe malfunctions are exploited as click-bait (just ask Anne Hathaway). It is surprising that disco-era classic “More, More, More” by Andrea True Connection isn’t on the playlist because that seems to be the guiding principal at hand. Not that Elizabeth Banks, doing a workmanlike job in her directing debut while reprising her role as a snide a cappella commentator alongside John Michael Higgins (whose insensitive dig, “Let’s hear it for girls too ugly to be cheerleaders,” is way too Sue Sylvester circa the first season of “Glee”), and returning screenwriter Kay Cannon don’t try to find all manner of additions to distract us from the fact that this plot is basically the same as before: The Bellas, once again dispirited underdogs, must find a way to get their harmonizing groove back and triumph at a higher-stakes world championship in Copenhagen. Perhaps clicking plastic spoons should have been considered. The one upside: As her distracted boss, Keegan-Michael Key delivers a stellar slam against hipsterdom involving that mystifyingly popular sauce known as sriracha.ĭid someone forget how Kendrick helped to save the environment by teaching us a new way to recycle plastic cups the last time around and scored a Billboard top-10 hit in the bargain? Apparently so, since the country ditty “When I’m Gone” is briefly heard but sans percussive drinking ware. That also means less time cuddling with tenor Jesse ( Skylar Astin), whose all-boy Treblemakers are now more cohorts than foes. In fact, she spends much of her senior year guiltily sneaking off to an internship at a recording studio to pursue her dream of being a music producer instead of devoting herself to boosting her fellow Bellas. But on top of that, Beca’s very presence in the film has been shrunk.

Cast of pitchperfect 2