Bumper Allen is the main antagonist in Pitch Perfect and a supporting character in Pitch Perfect 2. He was the arrogant and self-centered leader of The Treblemakers before he left to be John Mayer's back-up singer. In the sequel, he returns to Barden University as a security guard, and eventually joins The Tonehangers.
He is portrayed by actor Adam DeVine.
Biography
Bumper is the leader of Barden's all-male a cappella group The Treblemakers, who are also the ICCA's reigning champion. They win the 2011 ICCA Finals after a junior from The Barden Bellas vomits during her solo, ruining any chances the Bellas may have had of winning the championship. They are later shown at the start of the next school year singing "Let It Whip" in front of the school, as a recruiting strategy. The Treblemakers' high standards are revealed during the a cappella auditions, where they are revealed to have accepted only two new Trebles, Jesse Swanson and Kolio. During Hood Night, Bumper is seen, along with Donald, the Treble beatboxer and rapper, standing alone, seemingly confused as to why no girls would approach them. While drunk, Bumper exchanges flirty insults with a new Bellas member Fat Amy. At the Riff-Off, Bumper and the rest of the Treblemakers start off with a strong opening, with the fight going back and forth between them and the Bellas, with the Treblemakers taking the win with their impressive moves.
After the regionals, the Treblemakers exceed expectations once again by winning first place. After leaving, though, the Treblemakers —specifically, Bumper— picked a fight with some older a cappella singers, in which the Bellas got involved. In the midst of the confusion, a glass window was broken and Beca Mitchell was left to take the blame. Later, on their way to the semi-finals, the Trebles spot Fat Amy fueling up the Bellas' bus and Bumper shouts and throws a burrito at her, though they later returned to pick the Bellas up after their bus ran out of fuel. It is implied that Fat Amy contacted Bumper to pick them up. At the ICCA semi-finals, the Treblemakers continue their winning streak, taking first place and advancing to the finals once again. It is obvious that The Treblemakers are expected to win the finals by everyone. However, just days before the finals, Bumper pulls out of the group, announcing that he is chosen to be a backup singer for John Mayer. As he left, the other Trebles briefly shares their dislike towards Bumper's actions. He is quickly replaced with Benji Applebaum.Bumper returns to Barden University as a security guard after he graduated from college. Again, he exchanges insults with Fat Amy, but their relationship seems to be casual, as they are implied to secretly hook-up several times. At the secret riff-off, he is seen as a member of The Tonehangers. Later, it is shown that he is in love with Fat Amy. He set up a date for her where he asked her out but gets rejected, as Fat Amy states she doesn't want to be "tied down". The next day, he was seen with the other Trebles talking at the camp ground, only to have Fat Amy (who realized that she is in love with him as well) come back for him. He was reluctant to do so at first but he eventually gave in and made out with her on the camp ground, making everyone run away. After this, they officially started dating each other. During the credits, Bumper sang John Legend's 'All Of Me' in the singing competition 'The Voice'. The judges, specifically Adam, indirectly discourages him. He picks Christina Aguilera as his mentor.
Bumper gets an unexpected phone call from his formal rival, Pieter Krämer, who invites him to come to Berlin to have his music career managed after one of his TikToks went viral. Bumper had been struggling in the U.S. to have his dream come alive to be a professional musician- so he decided to take an opportunity of this once in a lifetime chance. He flew to Germany to meet Pieter and his assistant Heidi, who set him up in a local youth hostel, and told him their grand plan to jump start his career.
Bumper soon realized Pieter lied about how famous he was in Germany. The TikTok that went viral was one of his p*nis falling out and that's the only reason people knew about him. Pieter encourages him to try to take advantage of his viral notability anyway. Bumper, Heidi, and Pieter connect with DJ Das Boot, after some initial reluctance, to help produce an original song for Bumper. She helps but Bumper has no ideas. Heidi shows him how to song write and Bumper ends up accidentally stealing her song. The song is a hit but Bumper eventually owns up and says it isn't his.
After a rivalry with Gisela, a near deportation scandal, a sham marriage to Thea, and a lot of mixed feelings about Heidi and his career- Bumper finally makes it to Germany Unity Day. He performs but hands the spotlight to Heidi to sing her song. He opens up about his feelings to her.Personality
Bumper is the leader of an extremely successful all-male a cappella group, The Treblemakers, and his arrogance comes at no surprise. It first rears its ugly head when Benji Applebaum first introduces himself as a fan, after which Bumper rebuffs him, indirectly calling him weird.
Bumper is also a capable leader and a talented singer, as it is mentioned during the regionals that he has gained enough fame to successfully launch his own line of sports sandals. Though it is shown how close he is to the rest of the Trebles, Bumper is also extremely self-centered, as when he was contacted by John Mayer to perform backup, he leaves the Trebles without a second thought just days before the championship.
As with most other characters in the film, Bumper is a very passionate a cappella singer.
It is implied that the Treblemakers feel the same way for Bumper as the Bellas do about Aubrey, only much more so, as one of the Trebles calls Bumper a jerk. Just before the Bellas' performance at the 2011 ICCA finals, Bumper lobs a couple of insults the Bellas' way.
Appearance
He has a dark brown hair. Out of competitions, in which he wears his group uniform, he wears t-shirts and short pants. His Barden University security guard's uniform also comes with a short pants rather than a long one. His fame possibly made him dress nicely since he is the center of the attention. He even launched his very own sports sandals brand, which imply that he actually has a little knack for fashion.
Relationships
Major Relationships
Fat Amy
Relationship status: Broken Up/Exes
Fat Amy and Bumper are usually seen fighting and bickering. One of which is when Bumper insulted her during the Aca-Initiation by calling her the most disgusting human being he's ever seen, and she casually replies that he is not the most handsome person he ever seen either.
Bumper and Fat Amy during the aca-initiation night
Bumper does mean things to her like hitting her chest with a microphone and throwing flying Mexican food at her. They are also seen insulting each other in the Treblemaker's bus. Though the two seem to portray a hate relationship, there are several hints that show how the two are interested with each other, and many of their fights seem more teasing rather than actual hate. Bumper shared to her about getting a feeling of kissing her during the aca-Initiation night. This was also supported by him inviting her over to his dorm and when they comedically touched each other in the deleted scenes. Later on when the Bella's bus ran out of gas, Fat Amy was also shown to have Bumper's number, implying that the two have a romantic relationship that nobody knows about.
In the sequel, their relationship is developed further. He and Fat Amy exchange insults during their first reunion at the party, and sneaks out together, implying they're going to hook up. He surprised Fat Amy and asked her if she wants to have sex with him. She said no but winked at him hinting she did want to but is trying to deny it. Having fallen in love as the film progress, He profess his love for her, but she rejects him, saying she doesn't like being tied down, and then he cries. Later on, Fat Amy realizes she is in love with him and decides to pursue him. She sings We Belong and sails through the lake. Hurt, Bumper tries to rebuff her at first, but as she sings, he forgives her and they reconcile. He becomes her boyfriend. It's revealed they are in love with each other.
Unfortunately In Pitch Perfect 3 it is mentioned Bumper and Amy broke up as Bumper constantly win over Fat Amy multiple times
Minor Relationships
While he seems to lead the popular Trebles, near the end of the film it is revealed that The Trebles hate him, just as The Bellas did.
Donald
Relationship status: Best friends, Hatred (Donald's side)
Bumper and Donald during initiation night
Donald is Bumper's right hand man and at first, seemed to be his best friend or the one he was closest with in the group. They are always seen together. They briefly debate about Captain America and great white sharks during the aca-initiation as seen in the film and the deleted scenes. However, in the near end, it is revealed that Donald thought that Bumper was a jerk. Donald was also willing to kick Bumper out of the Trebles.
Unicycle
Relationship status: Friends, Hatred (Unicycle's side) They do not interacted on screen during most of the film, but as Bumper leaves The Trebles just days before the Finals, Unicycle states that he is a jerk.
Benji Applebaum
He insults him, calling him a weirdo after Benji express his admiration for the Trebles. It is revealed that he accepts Jesse to the Trebles, but rejects his new best friend Benji after the auditions, much to Jesse's confusion.
Alice, Aubrey Posen, and Chloe Beale
Relationship status: Enemies
Bumper and Alice seems to take a huge disliking for one another due to their group's rivalry. Bumper often insults Alice and the Bellas as his think they are lame with lack of talent and skills. He also often boasts to Aubrey about the Trebles' accomplishments. Aubrey and Chloe are no exception from Bumper's arrogance. During their struggle to held an audition, Bumper took a chance to insult them, like everytime.Trivia
- He writes his own fan mail.
- He has his own brand of sports sandals.
- As a running gag in the first film, he and Fat Amy often exchange insults and flirts, which turns to be explored to a more serious relationship in the sequel.
- Actually, their storyline was not in the script. Their actors Adam DeVine and Rebel Wilson would improvise. This lead them to create a backstory for their characters. The filmmakers thought the hostile sexual chemistry between them was funny and kept some of the scenes, though there was a lot that was cut according the two actors.
- Near the end of the first film, it is revealed that his fellow Treblemakers actually hate him.
- In the first film, after the semi-finals, he ignites a fight between The Trebles and The Tonehangers as he insults and undermine them for no reason (might be for his own satisfaction). Ironically, he is seen as one of the Tonehangers members in the second film.
