top of page

Can we talk about that scene? Pitch Perfect's shower scene

'Can we talk about that scene?' is a periodic instalment where memorable scenes are discussed. Given the nature of these pieces, we will be entering major spoiler territory and the film(s) in question will be stated upfront. For additional entries, please click here.

SPOILER ALERT for Pitch Perfect (2012).

While not a gleaming example of cinematic greatness, the Pitch Perfect series is sure damn fun to watch. And one scene in particular encapsulates what many audience members probably felt watching the original film. When we're first introduced to the film's leading lady - Anna Kendrick's Beca - we're introduced to someone who doesn't think too highly of acapella, let alone college competitive acapella. And let's face it, for a majority of people watching this movie, the general sentiment is that acapella is kinda lame. You might not have anything against it (I certainly don't), but despite what Glee might think it did for popular culture, acaeplla is still not a slam-dunk 'cool' thing to do.

But early on in the movie, you have that shower scene where Brittany Snow's Chloe creepily enters the same shower stall as Beca. I'll note that it's not nearly as creepy as Daniel Craig's shower entrance in Skyfall. Like not even close. But anyways, back to Pitch Perfect. When Chloe gets Beca to join in on singing an acapella version of David Guetta's (featuring Sia) Titanium, that's when her character finally realizes how cool acapella actually is. It's the scene where she finally decides to go all in. On the same token, this is also the point where any non-acapella fans likely jumped over the line and started tapping their feet and nodding their heads. It's one of those moments in cinema where your views change in the same way that a character does, and that's damn magical in my opinion.

And let me reiterate that I don't dislike acapella. I might not be its biggest fan, but I think it's great and people who perform it are extremely talented. I'm writing more to the general connotations that acapella tends to have, even for someone who enjoys the musical style from time to time. It's not generally accepted as being a 'cool' thing, and one of the mountains Pitch Perfect had to climb in order to broaden its appeal was to essentially change that preconceived notion. It needed a turning point, something to crack that ceiling, and that shower scene cracked it into a thousand pieces. It might not be your typical example of movie magic, but to me, it certainly is.


Comentários


Recent Posts
bottom of page