I’m pleased to announce that both Brook and I are back in action tonight to bring you our penultimate installment of Over/Underrated 2012.
Overrated
Moustaches
When I first started seeing the outcropping of moustaches back in November, I assumed it was for the noble and pretty bloody awesome movement known as Movember, where men sport moustaches in the month of November to raise awareness for prostate cancer and other male health concerns. To quote the official Movember slogan, the purpose of Movember is to “change the face of men’s health.” While I personally am not a huge fan of facial hair beyond a bit of stubble, Movember is a cause I’m all for standing behind. The thing is, November ended and the moustaches didn’t. They’re popping up everywhere. This Christmas season I saw them on flasks, notebooks, pencil pouches, ties, water bottles, and even a so-ugly-it’s-cute toddler t-shirt at Target. No, I did not buy it for my son. I had a coworker bring in cookies shaped like moustaches, and this Friday night my friend’s kids are going to a Moustache Dance at their school. I don’t even know what that means. Do the kids wear fake moustaches? Do they play music about moustaches? Does music about moustaches even exist? The sad thing is, I wouldn’t doubt it. Maybe I’m just too old and my bones are too feeble to jump on board this current bandwagon. Maybe it’s just something for the cool kids get. But, if facial and body hair are going to become something that starts trending regularly, I do not want to know what’s coming next.
— Andrea
Underrated
Pitch Perfect
If I’m being honest, I’m surprised that this movie didn’t get made earlier. A lot people hate on Pitch Perfect for riding Glee’s coattails, but that’s an unfair charge. If that were true, Pitch Perfect would’ve come out in either 2010 or 2011, not to mention the fact that Glee has been steadily declining in popularity following its premier in 2009. It seems to be fizzling as quickly as it caught on. Pitch Perfect is Mean Girls meets Bring it On (two of my personal faves), with a cappella singing thrown in. As glad as I am to see Anna Kendrick in anything other than Twilight, I don’t buy her turn as sullen Beca who at first blush is too cool for school, let alone the Bellas, Barden University’s all female a cappella group. However, what her performance lacks, the supporting cast more than makes up for. Rebel Wilson is a breath of fresh air in this movie, even if she plays almost the exact same character as she did in Bridesmaids. The girl has deadpan delivery down pat. “Fat Amy” stole the show. For reasons previously mentioned here, I have a girl crush on Anna Camp. Let’s just leave it at that. Brittany Snow also did not disappoint, which is good considering she was one of the only veteran singers in the movie. Besides the spot on cast, the music in the movie was surprisingly good. The vocals seemed to be on point. The mash-ups were cool. There was a great mix of older and contemporary tunes, which served the movie’s target demographic well. Perhaps my only complaint about the movie was that Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins didn’t get enough screen time as the quirky competition judges.
— Brook
prettyandink 