by Charles Kirkland Jr.
A father hopes to ride the coattails of his long-lost son’s rocketing stardom in this feature debut from
eight-time Grammy winner Anderson.Paak, K-Pops!.
BJ is a washed-up drummer with a sincere love for music that’s both naive and obsessive which worries
both his mother and his friend, the bar owner where he allows BJ to play. When his friend pushes
him to travel to South Korea and work on a pop idol show, he meets Tae Young, a young performer in
competition to be the nation’s next music star. Soon, BJ is introduced to Tae Young’s mother, Yeji, a
woman he had a brief relationship with more than a decade ago. It turns out that Tae Young is the son
he never knew existed. At first, attempting to make up for lost time, BJ shows a sincere interest
in getting to know Tae Young. Meanwhile, BJ begins helping Tae’s group find themselves and bring
something special to their music and choreography. But in the background, BJ’s desire for stardom
persists, tempting him to choose between the fame he has long anticipated and his family.
K-Pops! is written by Anderson.Paak and Khalia Amazan. The movie stars Paak, Soul Rasheed, Jee
Young Han, Cathy Shim, Jon Park, Kevin Woo, and Yvette Nicole Brown. There are also several cameos
throughout the film by several prominent musical artists. The film is also directed by Anderson.Paak in
his feature film directorial debut.
Having only done three music videos before this film, Paak has a reasonably good command of film
direction. He frames people well. He captures action and music (a music video director) in ways that
are flattering to the artists. The only problem is that his cameras don’t move too often and therefore
don’t allow for organic movement of the characters. This is a minor complaint in comparison to the
good work that he does.
Paak also cheats a little in the film. His energy is off-the-charts electric and his chemistry with Tae
Young is honest and believable. Probably because the actor playing Tae Young is his son in real life. It
isn’t hard to record chemistry when you have had a lifetime developing it. But to his credit, Soul
Rasheed, who plays Tae Young and is Paak’s son, is a good actor.
K-Pops! Is one of several movies at TIFF that follow a certain formula, the story of the underdog
overcoming all odds. Paak abandons the formula toward the end of the story, opting for a variation on
the theme. However, the variation stays true to another formula, that of the variety talent show. It’s an
interesting twist that makes the movie feel a little more genuine.
K-Pops! is a fun, musical comedy, full of life, energy, and love. It’s a family affair that is fun for all.
Grade: B-