Many of the songs in ''Pitch Perfect'' will be familiar.
Like ''Glee'' the soundtrack remixes and mashes up current pop hits and classic tracks in new and surprising ways.
Many of the plot points in ''Pitch Perfect'' will be familiar as well.
But that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.
The musical is a crowd pleaser from start to finish. Like a perfect cover song, what it lacks in originality it makes up for in execution.
The setting is competitive collegiate a cappella choirs. At Barden University, the kings of vocal harmony are defending national champions the Treblemakers, while the all-female Barden Bellas have gotten as far as they have by emphasizing looks and cleavage over vocal prowess and interesting arrangements.
Fact Box
Review
WHAT: ''Pitch Perfect''
STARS: Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Ben Platt, Adam DeVine, Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins.
STORYLINE: An all-female a cappella group struggles to find its voice and make it to the collegiate national championships at Lincoln Center.
DIRECTOR: Jason Moore.
RATING: PG-13 for sexual material, language and drug references.
GRADE: B
The Bellas are determined to erase memories of last year's finals, which included an unfortunate vomiting incident. But while they expand the singing search beyond coeds who look good in their uniforms, their leader, Aubrey (Anna Camp), is unwilling to stray from the group's safe, predictable setlist. If only she'd listen to Beca (Anna Kendrick), the edgy DJ who could be the Girl Talk of collegiate a cappella singing if only they'd take a chance on her beats and mashups.
Will Beca get a chance to take the Bellas to the finals?
Yeah, I know it sounds lame, but it works.
Certainly, the success of ''Glee'' (and to a lesser extent, the reality series ''The Sing-Off'') made Kay Cannon's screenplay an easier sell. And her other influences are just as prominent. ''Bring It On,'' another movie that was much better than folks expected from the premise, serves as a blueprint for both the story structure and the dialogue that is part of this insular world (there are a lot of ''a ca-puns'' in the screenplay).
And Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, as television commentators covering the competition, play a game of oneupsmanship to see who can top the off-the-wall observations of Fred Willard in ''Best in Show.'' It's a tie; they're both hilarious.
There aren't enough ear piercings and eye liner in every Hot Topic in America to make Kendrick look dark and edgy. Doesn't matter. She's charming as Beca, and her scenes with Jesse (Skylar Astin, a member of the original Broadway cast of ''Spring Awakening'') deliver the necessary romantic comedy elements. Astin also has an incredible voice.
For pure comedy, no one tops Rebel Wilson, whose ''Fat Amy'' is an uninhibited delight.
The cast works well as a unit, from Camp and Brittany Snow as the leaders of the Bellas to Adam DeVine (''Workaholics'') as the prima donna frontman of the Treblemakers.
The mix of music and comedy is what makes ''Pitch Perfect'' shine. Jason Moore, who directed the Tony Award-winning musical ''Avenue Q,'' proves he's equally adept at balancing both in his feature film debut.
There may not be a single surprise in ''Pitch Perfect.'' OK, there's one surprise, and that's how much fun it is.