For a while musicals seemed to just be for adults or those with old souls, until this movie came out. If I may be honest the last musical I’m pretty sure teens would have watched was High School Musical 3, and then we graduate to college with this film and into the world of acapella. Once again spoilers will be ahead. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.
After a more memorable than it should be performance at the national competition, the fictional Barden University acapella female group, The Barden Bellas, are desperate for a comeback. Leaded by the headstrong and controlling Aubrey (Anna Camp) and sweet and eccentric Chloe (Brittney Snow) the search begins for finding their voice. Enter the rebellious Becca (Anna Kendrick) arrives at Barden with no desire for school, she wants to be a music producer but her estranged father wants her to get an education. Chloe hears Becca singing and invites her to audition. She then joins along with other interesting women: the soulful Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean), the overtly sexual Stacie (Alexis Knapp), the quiet Lily (Hana Mae Lee) and comical Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson). The girls are competing against fellow Barden acapella troupe, The Treblemakers an all-male group which features arrogant male lead Bumper (Adam DeVine), total sweetheart Jesse (Skyler Astin), Becca’s love interest and acapella lover Benji (Ben Platt). Other characters in the film are acapella commentators John Smith (John Michael Higgins) and Gail Abernathy (Elizabeth Banks).
If I may be honest I wasn’t too sure about this movie when I first saw the trailer, given how musicals were back then. However when I saw the movie I couldn’t have been happier. With most comedies there is usually one stand out, but in this film every single character stood out in their own way. While she was already well known before this movie, Anna Kendrick’s career skyrocketed after. I was pleasantly surprised that she could sing, and at how funny she could be. Rebel Wilson had me practically rolling on the floor laughing; she was so weird but it was what made her memorable especially her scenes with DeVine, who in his own way stood out. The rest of the cast did their part, which I know I say frequently on here but in this case every character did their own thing and were very memorable.
Thanks to “Glee” I have become a fan of mash-ups so it was very easy for me to love the songs done by the Bellas or by the Treblemakers. However my favorite part of the movie was the Riff-Off. If you haven’t seen the movie and are wondering what the heck that is, I’m sorry but you are going to need to see the movie to find out. The film did spawn two sequels, one in 2015 which I will review later and one coming out this Christmas Until then see you pitches!
Films or Television Worth Watching 