The movie starts with the a capella champions, the Barden Bellas, performing for U.S. Pres. Obama (shown in some cleverly edited stock footage) at the Kennedy Center no less. This ends with them being humiliated big time after a wardrobe malfunction shows Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) in an embarrassing split on the air that rips her pants and inadvertently displays her private parts. They are lambasted by the media and suspended from performing, unless they will beat Germany's Das Sound Machine at the A capella World Competition in Copenhagen.
There’s no doubt from the start that they will be able to achieve this and regain lost glory. But in the process of getting to their redemption, the movie delivers plenty of rousing a cappella numbers, many of which are real show stoppers. No doubt Rebel Wilson’s shameless antics provide most of the film’s hilarious moments. Anna Kendrick’s Beca and Brittany Snow’s Chloe reprise their roles well as the leaders of the Bellas. Hailee Steinfeld (one of the busiest young actresses today in Hollywood who has Filipino roots) acquits herself quite well as the new recruit, Emily, a freshman Legacy Bella, who turns out to be a songwriter and whose mom was also a Bella member before.
Great support comes from Snoop Dogg singing “Winter Wonderland”, Keegan Michael Key as Beca's new boss at the recording studio where she works, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as the leader of Das Sound Machine, Elizabeth Banks herself as one of the TV anchors who follow the careers of the Bellas, and Skylar Astin, Adam Devine and Ben Platt as the Bellas’ romantic interests.
Banks's flair for good comic timing works well for this sort of movie and she does mount the dynamic musical numbers marvellously. And don’t leave the theatre right away as their a post end credits sequence that is truly hilarious involving “The Voice” coaches like Adam Levine, Cristina Aguilera and Pharell Williams. The Philippines is shown represented by a group of Filipino boys who appear briefly. There is also a mention of Manila and its ladyboys, which is, of course, wrong, since ladyboys are in Bangkok, not Manila.
