From its clichéd opening moments shockingly interrupted, to its final number, Pitch Perfect pops with energetic, genre-savvy vibrance. That’s not to say it defies convention; the film falls squarely into the underdog sports film category, with a cappella singing being the topic of choice, but it revels in its familiarity. The film is a mishmash of romance, comedy, musical and dance film. It draws heavily on The Breakfast Club, both for laughs and for serious character moments, so fans of that film will likely delight in this one, as will fans of musicals.

Anna Kendrick stars as Beca, a reluctant college freshman who would much rather be finding her future on the DJ scene in LA. At her father’s behest she attends college, and eventually gets involved with The Barden Bellas, the female a cappella group on campus. This year, the Bellas are on a mission to take back their title at the international championship.

But their reputation is in shambles, so the Bellas are forced to recruit anybody who will join them, including Beca herself, a mute Asian girl, a closeted but overt lesbian and ‘Fat Amy’. No really, that’s her name. Fat Amy is played by Australian comedian Rebel Wilson, and is the standout character in a smorgasbord of hilarious characters. The witty writing and top-notch character acting is bolstered by a series of musical numbers that will stick in your head for days. Disregarding a few moments that toe the line of ‘too gross’, Pitch Perfect delivers a joyous romp, with constant laughs to boot.

This is 40 is a look at the lives of Pete and Debbie a few years after the events of Knocked Up (Debbie was the older sister of Alison – the ‘knocked up’ chick played by Katherine Heigl). But before you start reminiscing about all the things you loved about Knocked Up you should know that this is only a ‘sort-of sequel’. While Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are back, there is very little in this film to remind you of the characters we met five years ago, and no sign of Rogen or Heigl. Aside from the whole sequel thing though this film is pretty well written and by the middle I was drawn into his new story of Pete and Debbie.

This is an enjoyable movie that has some honest moments and some really funny ones. If you are someone around the 40 year mark (or I guess the 30 year mark as that’s apparently the new 40!) then you will probably relate to at least some of the characters here and get a chuckle out of the funny things that happen in their normal mundane lives. If you are older then you should still come along and reminisce about the crazy times and for the younger crowd, I encourage you to come along and just laugh at the characters, relieved that you can’t even imagine ever being that old!