Though the Pitch Perfect movies are beloved among musical fans, there are quite a few Pitch Perfect plot holes. The movies follow a group of young women that meet one another in college when they an acapella competition group. The Barden Bellas did not get off to the best start, but after learning how to work together to bring out the best in each other, they became an unstoppable group with strong friendships, even if not everything lined up from a story perspective.
The movies have proven so popular that even more than a decade after the first riff-off, a Peacock original series focused on Adam Devine's Bumper was ordered, Bumper in Berlin. Like the original trilogy, this series has some issues with consistency in its story. While there are plenty of notable Pitch Perfect plot holes, it has kind of become part of the franchise's charm as things aren't taken too seriously so they aren't totally seen as Pitch Perfect problems.
The BU Harmonics Don’t Lose The First Riff-Off
The riff-offs featured some of the best songs in the Pitch Perfect trilogy. The first instance of one is seen in the first movie as the Barden University acapella groups compete in an empty pool while people watch. Over the course of the competition, the High Notes and the Barden Bellas are eliminated when they don’t follow the exact rules laid out. The Treblemakers are declared the winners of the riff-off as a result.
The trouble is that the BU Harmonics are never actually eliminated, so they should still be competing against the Treblemakers. Fans who noticed this in the movie will be delighted to learn that actress and producer Elizabeth Banks also noticed this particular Pitch Perfect plot hole. She points it out on the DVD commentary for the movie, but also laughs it off since the movies are truly focused on the Bellas and their main rivals, the Treblemakers.
Aubrey And Chloe Want Their New Bellas To Read Sheet Music
When Aubrey and Chloe are left in charge of the Bellas in their senior year, they have a tough road ahead of them. They need good singers willing to follow Aubrey’s plan to snag competition wins. One of the notes that Aubrey makes while looking for new Bellas is that they need to be able to match pitch and read sheet music.
In the list of Pitch Perfect problems that Aubrey has with her new roster of Bellas, it’s not clear why Aubrey wants all the singers to be able to read music though. Most of the time when the Bellas are seen rehearsing, or even just having fun with a mash-up, they’re doing it by ear, harmonizing and matching pitch on instinct instead of with music laid out in front of them. If Aubrey doesn’t actually have them use sheet music, the requirement seems to be useless.
No Other Bellas Go On The USO Tour
It's made clear that the group of Barden Bellas attending the USO tour to compete for a chance to record an album are meant to be the "original" Bellas of the trilogy. Those who reunite for Pitch Perfect 3 are supposed to be the closest of the group. While that's sweet, their hesitancy at Stacie not being able to attend and Emily being invited as an afterthought is a little odd.
Pitch Perfect 2, after all, demonstrates that there are dozens of former Bellas willing to perform at the drop of a hat. Emily also leads the new Bellas as she prepares to head off to law school. It's strange for there to not be any discussion of any other Bellas ing them. The exclusion of all other Barden Bellas, especially since Emily has spent three years singing with a new group of them, is one of the many Pitch Perfect plot holes.
Chloe Takes A Russian Literature Class
Every movie is full of fun Pitch Perfect acapella performances, but they're also full of continuity errors. One of those is Chloe's career path. Her choices for what she opts to pursue don't make a lot of sense. In Pitch Perfect 2, it's made clear that Chloe isn't entirely ready to move on from the Bellas. She intentionally fails her Russian literature class multiple times in order to delay graduating. Why she is taking a Russian literature class, and more importantly, why it's preventing her from graduating, are never addressed.
It especially doesn't make sense after Chloe says she wants to either be a kindergarten teacher or a dancer - neither of which would require that class. In Pitch Perfect 3, however, she's become a veterinary assistant, something she would have required additional schooling for anyway. While people might change their minds about pursuing a particular career path, no university is going to require a Russian literature class to get a degree in elementary education.
Aubrey Claims To Hate Performing
Aubrey is the Bella most invested in performing and winning competitions in Pitch Perfect. In the second movie, despite having graduated, she's brought back to help the Bellas find their sound. She implies that she misses performing with them, and she even returns for their big finish at the international competition. In Pitch Perfect 3, Aubrey throws the other Bellas and the audience for a loop though.
She reveals that she's relieved when Anna Kendrick's Beca wins the singing competition - not the Bellas as a whole - because she hates the pressure of performing. While it's true that Aubrey doesn't deal with pressure well in the earlier movies, her loosening up on stage in the first movie's final mashup doesn't seem to indicate that she hates performing at all, but the opposite. Her finally relishing the performance and having a good time would suggest this is another Pitch Perfect plot hole.
Pitch Perfect 3 Is Part Action Movie
Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2 are about the Barden Bellas' aspirations to win an acapella competition. While Pitch Perfect 3 includes some of that storyline in the film, another part of the film makes it seem like an action movie. Amy's father, Fergus, owns a large boat and kidnaps the Bellas to get Amy to see him.
While Beca leads the Bellas in a cover of Brittney Spears' "Toxic," Amy rushes around the boat, using various karate skills to defeat her father's guards. The tone of the third installment does not work with the other two and makes the storyline feel out of place. It's incredibly jarring and moves the movie trilogy into a completely different direction, but only briefly, as the group still has to get back to compete for a singing contract.
Amy's Backstory
Pitch Perfect 3 gives a new perspective to Amy's life by revealing her history with her father. However, this storyline does not coincide with what the audience already knows about Amy's past. While the previous films never make the plot about Amy and Fergus to be completely false, it is not realistic within the context of the first two films.
In the first movie, Amy even acts like she doesn't understand why the group needs to work out as part of their rehearsals. She jokes about "horizontal running" when she's laying down while everyone else is jogging. The joke about not wishing to do cardio in Pitch Perfect does not make as much sense if she was raised training in martial arts. While it does give more insight into Amy's past, the subplot was too isolated from the rest of the trilogy's storylines.
Lilly/Ester's Continuity
In Pitch Perfect, Lilly introduces herself as Lilly. Yet, in Pitch Perfect 3, she re-introduces herself to the Bellas as Ester. While her identity becomes a question, that is not the only continuity problem that the character faces. Throughout the first film, Lilly is a low speaker, talking in a whisper all the time. Then, at the end of Pitch Perfect, she speaks at an average volume aloud and continues to use a louder voice. However, Lilly returns to using a soft voice in the next two films.
At the end of Pitch Perfect 3, she speaks up loudly again, revealing her name to be Ester and that Satan has left her body. While her low volume is likely something employed for comedic effect in the second and third movies, the lack of explanation for the return following her being comfortable speaking with the Bellas in the first movie makes for another Pitch Perfect plot hole.
Chloe's Nodes Voice
The Barden Bellas face a devastating blow when Chloe reveals she has vocal nodules, or Nodes. When the Bellas lose the competition, Chloe decides to have surgery to remove them. However, with the Bellas put back in the competition, Chloe must figure out how to use her voice differently.
After performing a new arrangement, Chloe's voice gets very deep, enough to hit the low notes. During the competition in Pitch Perfect, Chloe's deep voice is emphasized. She makes a point of telling her friends there are certain high notes she'll never be able to hit again. However, in the following films, Chloe's deeper voice wasn't referenced again. The drama surrounding the storyline fell flat, considering it did not continue. One of the problems in the Pitch Perfect franchise is the tendency of the movie to simply drop different plot lines.
Beca's Relationship With Her Parents
Coming to Barden University, Beca was not thrilled to be spending time with her father. Beca did not spend that much time with him until she pushed many of her friends away. Things had been bad between Beca and her father since Dr. Mitchell had left Beca's mother for the "Step-Monster." She appears to at least attempt to repair her relationship with him since she follows his rules for ing a club and gets an internship in the second movie.
However, after Pitch Perfect, Dr. Mitchell disappears from the films completely, and there are no mentions of him. Additionally, it is not clear what type of relationship Beca had with her mother since she never talks about her. Beca never mentions keeping in touch with either of her parents.
