Coming out of the gate the energy of .Paak’s film is energetic, zippy, and fun. ‘K-POPS!’ is reminiscent of the rom coms of old, in that it looks good, it’s well written, and the couple has real on screen chemistry. It also brings it’s own modernity to the table, wrestling with cultural identity within .Paak’s own mix raced background and him sharing that with his real life son on screen. .Paak is of Black and Korean descent and seeing the two talk about thier culture in character is a treasure.

The movie takes place around .Paak’s character BJ, a down on his luck musician who messes up big time in pursuit of his career. He loses the girl he loves, a South Korean woman named Yeji (Jee Young Han) because he wasn’t paying enough attention and later reunites with her in South Korea. The movie yadayadas over this a little, but in the most charming way possible. Rather than having their love be a simple montage, it’s a delightfully animated montage that moves the story along. This little trick helps keep the film light on it’s feet and adds a little more panache to the already stylistic tone of the film.

So after getting dumped, twelve years later BJ jet sets over to South Korea to play music for a Korean song competition show for kids. He befriends a young competitor named Tae Young (portrayed by .Paak’s real life son Soul Rasheed) and then later finds out that Tae is his and Yeji’s son. Throughout there is a lot of humor and joy, and dedication to accuracy in portraying the Korean game show. The visuals, sound effects, and judges surrounding the set dressing that is the game show.

The main thing that makes everything stick together is the chemistry. .Paak and his co star Jee Young Han share a romantic spark on screen that can’t be denied. And the rapper and his son Soul capture their father and son humorous energy with no issues. In his Q&A after the film .Paak talked about making YouTube movies with his son for fun and using that energy to create this film.

Throughout Anderson .Paak uses his musical skills to curate and create the soundtrack for ‘K-POPS!’ switching between making whole new creations such as the music for the game show Tae Yung is competing in, and peppering in songs from his career. The film feels cared for at every turn, it never once feels like a cheap easy cash grab or simply a way for a musician to add a hyphen to his title. It contains real craft and love and is felt at every moment.

It is at the end of the day a simple concept in plot and character. The cultural conversations surrounding it, and the care that Anderson .Paak took in creating it, from production design, to script, to looks are what elevate past other films that feel similar to it.

It’s just such a charming film, and has a lot to offer outside of the barriers of rom-com or coming of age. BJ and Tae Young share each others cultures and they train for the game show, and through these performances we get an idea of what kind of father BJ is capable of being, and what kind of father Anderson .Paak is.

4/5