Undemanding comedy with music. Or musical with comedy.

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2012)

Would-be record producer Beca starts college at the behest of her father and gets drawn into a competitive all-girl a capella singing group.
Anna Kendrick plays a likable if mildly conflicted young woman in this musical comedy. The musical sequences are nicely done, if somewhat improbable (the number of times groups drop into perfectly realised vocal arrangements ad lib strikes me as unlikely), the cast are all personable, and the humour is solid albeit occasionally drifting towards the unsavoury (which, admittedly, generates a couple of the biggest laughs). Rebel Wilson steals the show: she is very talented and comfortable with her size, but I wonder if her market (and therefore her career) is going to be rather limited unless she loses weight.
My only real criticism concerns payoff. The situation as regards Beca's nemesis within the group is resolved satisfactorily, but the hostile oriental roommate thread is left dangling (so what was the point?) and obnoxious Bumper from the rival male group not only receives no comeuppance, he actually ends up rewarded, which was not what I wanted to happen at all.
These minor quibbles aside, if you want a relatively clean and swear-free comedy with music, this one's for you.