REVIEW: 'Pitch Perfect'

Comedy starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson that follows an all-girl a cappella group of college clichés out to 'pitch-slap' the competition. Now Playing Nationwide.

--------------------------------------------------

Being that it's a comedy about an all-female competitive a capella group, I was committed to not liking Pitch Perfect heading in, but the film had me on side within minutes.

Combining the energy of Bring It On, the wit of Mean Girls and the vocal abilities of Glee, Pitch Perfect is an impossible-to-dislike burst of positive energy brimming with winsome performances from a game cast.

Proving that an Oscar nomination (for Up In The Air) doesn't neccesarily need to be followed up with prestige pictures, Anna Kendrick (also from the Twilight movies) leads the cast as the wannabe DJ with alternative taste (she likes David Guetta!) who reluctantly joins a college a capella group to appease her dad.

Kendrick is a fine audience proxy, but her co-stars steal the movie out from under her, especially rising Aussie star Rebel Wilson as a character who has named herself 'Fat Amy'. She builds on her breakout performance in What To Expect When You're Expecting and walks away with the movie.

And fans of low-brow TV comedy Workaholics will enjoy seeing that show's Adam DeVine up on the big screen playing what is basically a vocally-gifted version of his small screen character – he delivers many of the film's funniest lines.

Pitch Perfect brought to mind Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge in its ability to draw on the uplifting power of popular music. It's impossible to imagine anyone not finding something to enjoy here.

• Watch trailer for Pitch Perfect
• More on Pitch Perfect