19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad – contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.

College student Beca knows she does not want to be part of a clique, but that's exactly where she finds herself after arriving at her new school. Thrust in among mean gals, nice gals and just plain weird gals, Beca finds that the only thing they have in common is how well they sing together. She takes the women of the group out of their comfort zone of traditional arrangements and into a world of amazing harmonic combinations in a fight to the top of college music competitions.

Best pals CeCe and Rocky dream of dancing stardom. And they seem on the verge of realizing that goal when they win places as backup dancers on the local TV show "Shake It Up, Chicago." While they get to show off their moves, they find out they need to keep putting their best feet forward to keep up with the rest of the crew on the show.