by Richard Gould
Earning less in its entire run than the sequel did in a week, 2012’s PITCH PERFECT is the funnier film—some say a classic, and if you’ve missed it you’re in for a treat. First-time screenwriter and 30 Rock veteran Kay Cannon adapted Mickey Rapkin’s exposé of the cutthroat world of a cappella for musical comedy, and the film strikes the key of that show’s nervous hilarity, if not its locality. Anna Kendrick heads an ensemble cast of Barden University misfits who will stop at nothing to win unaccompanied vocal gold. Success at the ICCA means no hiding out in hipsterdom or homework, a brutal training schedule for their pipes and above all, no inter-group fraternization. As the first and only all-female group in competition, they’re given zero chance of clearing even the semifinals—and with rivalries from the Footnotes and perennial audience fave the Trebles, they can expect psychological warfare all the way to Lincoln Center. An origins story to surpass anything in the Marvel aca-universe, it’s your chance to glimpse the Barden Bellas before they made the top of the college heap. (The Blu-ray is loaded with bonus tracks and extended scenes.)
