As a multi-Grammy winning rapper/singer and Super Bowl halftime show performer, it was only natural for Anderson .Paak to start his next chapter as an artist. The result is K-Pops!, a movie in which he acts, directs and co-writes. He stars alongside Soul Rasheed, his real-life son, who inspired him to make this movie through his genuine love of K-pop.

After years of working a dead-end gig performing at a club, BJ (.Paak) is given the opportunity of a lifetime when he receives the chance to go to South Korea to play the drums on a televised K-pop competition show. What begins as a career jumpstart quickly turns personal when he discovers that his long-lost son, Tae (Rasheed), is a contestant on the show. With the help of Tae and the other outcasts on the show, BJ may finally learn what it means to put others before himself.

The best part of K-Pops! comes from the father-son relationship between BJ and Tae, which reflects .Paak and Rasheed’s own connectin. At its core, K-Pops! is about family, which makes the story significantly more engaging thanks to the leads. .Paak has such a charming and energetic personality that it’s hard not to root for him, even if BJ can be selfish, impulsive, and prone to making wrong decisions from time to time.

 

Unfortunately, while much of the screen time is devoted to BJ and Tae, it leaves little time to spend with the supporting characters. Even BJ’s on-and-off girlfriend, Yeji (Jee Young Han) is reduced to the archetypal role of the love interest even though she’s Tae’s mother. The entire cast feels like a collection of underdeveloped caricatures that were written in the first draft.

Like some feature film directorial debuts, K-Pops! doesn’t offer anything new in storytelling and style, aside from the unique family dynamic.  There are no twists or surprises as the story follows a conventional three-act structure, and for some, that may be frustrating. However, for a first-time director, it might be the right choice for .Paak to play it safe while exploring how a simple family comedy works.

K-Pops! nevertheless offers a few hours of escapism  and entertainment. It may not leave a lasting impression, but it tells an enjoyable and relatable story, and that’s, to an extent, enough.

 

K-Pops! screened as part of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Get more That Shelf coverage here.