One is an incredibly successful jukebox musical that spawned a trilogy; the other is a phenomenal mockumentary that managed to develop a cult following. Both take very different approaches to comedy and music, yet they have one big thing in common — incredible soundtracks you love to sing along to. Universal Pictures’ Pitch Perfect and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping are truly the perfect pair.
And to get this duet into your collection as a double-feature, look no further than the Movies Anywhere ‘Biggest. Offer. Ever.’. For one week only (from April 6th through April 12th), you can purchase from thousands of movies and choose an eligible bonus movie*. So if you purchase Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, you can choose Pitch Perfect as your bonus movie.
In terms of viewing order, you better start with Pitch Perfect. This is a very different take on the musical teen comedies of the mid-00s, one that also serves as a sports movie about a team of underdogs coming together to compete in a ruthless tournament against the best of the best. More importantly, this is a jukebox musical, meaning the majority of the songs are popular hits that everyone knows or has listened to at least once. The film begins with a rendition of Rihanna's "Don't Stop The Music" before moving on to Ace of Base's "The Sign," which is a perfect way of warming up your vocals with simple yet catchy songs.
Unlike something like Mamma Mia or Bohemian Rhapsody, whose soundtracks are based on bands that first broke out a couple of decades ago, Pitch Perfect is full of popular Top 40 pop songs that you may already know by heart because they were on the radio non-stop in the years leading up to the film's release. After all, there's a reason why the Pitch Perfect soundtrack became the best-selling soundtrack of 2013 in the US. As you fall in love with and laugh alongside the Barden Bellas and their attempts to recapture their former glory, you can easily sing along to the songs in an impromptu karaoke session, since this movie is all about the power of a capella. Turn on the subtitles, warm up your aca-vocals, and try to keep up with all the songs in the ICCA Finals, which has an aca-awesome blend of old and new school, going from "Don't You (Forget About Me)" and "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" to "Magic," "Price Tag" and "Give Me Everything." What's best is that you don't even need to be embarrassed if your vocal skills aren't amazing, because there are so many vocal tracks in an a capella performance that there's sure to be a role for you to crush it.
So now you've seen the Barden Bellas reach the top, and you're all warmed up and amped up about aca-showing off your aca-vocals, but you're also wishing for some musical arrangements and instruments to go along with your voice. And rather than popular songs everyone knows, you're in the mood for some original songs with a bit of a comedic kicker to them, so you move on to The Lonely Island's Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
Arguably the greatest musical mockumentary in decades, and one of the best original movie soundtracks since Walk Hard, this film understands pop music and pop stardom from the inside out, as The Lonely Island trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone take their experience working with and observing a parade of musical guests at Saturday Night Live to make the greatest satire of pop stardom and popstar concert documentaries. This movie has a joke a minute, from clear riffs and parodies of big and obvious targets like the string of music documentaries in the early 2010s, complete with references to unconventional pets, to smaller, more niche jokes like a massive bee attack that happens just as the cameras stop rolling. There's also a wonderfully bizarre parade of supporting characters that comprise Conner's entourage — my favorite being Bill Hader's "Flatlining" enthusiast — and even a recurring bit on a fake version of TMZ.
Of course, a musical mockumentary is nothing without great music, and the soundtrack of Popstar is worthy of its title. This film has an abundance of musical and comedy riches, to the point where even a deleted song is better than most actual pop songs. Not only are these songs absolute bangers that would top the charts if they were released to the radio, but they are hilarious riffs on the kind of hollow and non-sensical pop songs that become huge hits because they’re engineered to be successful — like the catchy yet laugh-out-loud funny "Equal Rights" and how it parodies Macklemore's "Same Love". No one is safe in Popstar, and its blend of familiarity in some of its musical acts while still providing genius original songs is perfect.
Still, you're looking to sing along with the songs, right? Well, you won't have to wait long for it, as right off the bat, Popstar kicks it off with "I'm So Humble," which makes you feel like you're on stage singing in front of an audience while a hologram of Adam Levine provides backup vocals. You might want to turn on closed captions so you catch every single one of the hundreds of little jokes in the film's soundtrack, but thankfully the film already includes on-screen lyrics for its best and fastest jokes. This ends up being especially good news once you get to "Turn Up the Beef," a non-sensical song featuring a surprise Emma Stone as well as a machine-gun-attack of catchphrases that include "Doink-de-doink” and the simple yet catchy "DJ Tanner."
If by this point you're not already trying to catch your breath from all the laughing and singing, then the one-two punch of perfection that is "Finest Girl" followed by "Mona Lisa" is sure to do the trick. Who here hasn't felt the need to rant about how overrated the Mona Lisa is in song form? And because Popstar actually has instruments backing up the vocals, it makes for the perfect contrast to the acapella sounds of Pitch Perfect, as you get more comfortable singing along to the lyrics, build up confidence, and become a true pop star.
Movie sing-a-longs are the perfect way of combining the fun of karaoke, with your regular binge-watching session. But if you want the best double feature to show off your singing skills - or maybe just learn how to hone them - then Movies Anywhere has the solution for you. Enjoy your tune-filled twofer with a movie featuring songs you already love in their acappella glory, and a movie with songs you will definitely want to commit to memory go-forward. Check out the Movies Anywhere ‘Biggest. Offer. Ever’ before April 12th!
*LIMITED TIME ONLY. RESTRICTIONS APPLY. Offer expires at 11:59 PM EDT on April 12, 2021. Registration with Movies Anywhere required. Open to U.S. residents 13+. You must purchase a Movies Anywhere-eligible movie from a digital retailer that is linked to your Movies Anywhere account. For complete details, visit MoviesAnywhere.com/bonusoffer.
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