Bustling at a colorful intersection of music, family, and identity, Anderson .Paak’s filmmaking debut “K-Pops!” is an instantly likable affair. You don’t really have to know anything about Korean popular music (or K-pop) to appreciate this jubilant gem’s celebration of generational ties and upbeat rhythms. Also the star of the film, Grammy-winning musician .Paak and his cast are so effortlessly magnetic that they will have you gently tapping your foot and rooting for their on-screen quests before you know it.
Co-leading the film’s charming ensemble is .Paak’s own son, Soul Rasheed, in a story — written by .Paak with co-writer Khaila Amazan — loosely inspired by their real-life father-son relationship. .Paak is on the record about his experience during the quarantine days of the pandemic, a period that strengthened and deepened his connection with Soul. Knowing this only further sweetens the frothy flavors of “K-Pops!” —wasn’t it during the lockdown that all of us fortunate enough to survive the disease rewired our priorities, leaned into what we loved the most, and learned a lot more about ourselves as well as those closest to us?
You can feel that affectionate energy throughout “K-Pops!” that follows BJ (.Paak), a talented but struggling Los Angeles musician waiting for his big break. One night, he meets the nonchalantly cool Yeji (Jee Young Han), who seems to be over the dating scene in L.A., filled with unfit suitors she calls “emotionally unstable man-babies with commitment issues.” The attraction is instant between the two: A meet-cute, promptly followed by a public make-out session over dinner. But the devoted relationship they launch into eventually comes to an end, when their expectations no longer align and intimacy evolves into resentment. (Has BJ also become one of those man-babies Yeji seems to detest? Possibly.)
Fast-forward to 12 years later, after a vividly animated segment that summarizes some of this backstory, and the film begins in earnest, with BJ wasting his days away at the same bar that once introduced her to Yeji. He’s broke, aimless, and in dire need of a gig, any gig, that could get him back on track. Thanks to his friend Cash (Jonnie “Dumbfoundead” Park) pulling some strings, he finds himself on his way to Seoul, as the drummer of a fictional “American Idol”-style K-pop talent show called “Wildcard.”
The gig almost seems too good to be true, but that’s not even the most implausible part of “K-Pops!,” considering the contrivance that follows. Settled in South Korea after her rough breakup, it appears that Yeji has kept her pregnancy a secret and given birth to BJ’s now-tween-aged son. He is Tae (Rasheed), one of the contestants on “Wilcard.” The clueless superstar wannabe first tries to get in good graces with presumed contest frontrunner Kang (Kevin Woo). But BJ’s allegiances quickly shift once he discovers Tae’s identity, and consequently, the rewards of fatherhood.
Much of what takes place in “K-Pops!” seems utterly improbable, and the film occasionally lags and drags with distracting animated segments and superfluous tangents. But the characters rise to the occasion with such verve that you can’t help but buy the main beats of the story—a contemporary fairy tale with the lightest of touches, occasionally splitting the difference between a modern-day rom-com and a distant “Bad News Bears” riff. (In the competition, Tae belongs to a group of misfits, you see.) Elsewhere, as BJ and his son start to get to know one another, the story adoringly embraces the details of both Korean and Black cultures with spirit and insightful precision — an unsurprising attribute, given .Paak’s own heritage at the intersection of these cultures.
There is plenty of music, scrumptious food montages and heartwarming father-son bonding to go around, with BJ and Tae generously exchanging what they know best with each other. For instance, Tae helps his dad with the intricacies of K-pop, Korean culture, and language. In return, BJ introduces Tae to the nuances of Black culture. In one of the film’s most blissful scenes, BJ instantly connects with two Black women despite the fact that they are complete strangers, and he does so through nothing but a shared cultural language in front of an in-awe Tae. Memorable moments like this abound in “K-Pops!” and feel like the cinematic equivalent of instantly hummable melodies.
Thankfully, the script doesn’t abandon the romance that started it all either, tying up the story of Yeji and BJ in an earned conclusion that will satisfy all the hopeless romantics. With some truly stunning cameos (including one by Earth, Wind & Fire), a keeper of a soundtrack across well-choreographed dance moves and a delightful attitude, “K-Pops!” lovingly spreads some uncynical fun and happiness to the world — and proudly wears its specific perspective on its sleeve.
