ANDERSON .PAAK WRITES, DIRECTS AND STARS ALONGSIDE HIS SON…

K-Pops is the feature directorial debut of musical sensation Anderson .Paak, and he also co-writes and stars in the film. To make it even more personal, the movie is based on his own life experiences with his son Soul Rasheed, who stars alongside .Paak in the film. Covering so many dark thrillers and terrifying horror flicks, it almost feels strange getting to review a simple, feel-good comedy. And honestly, this genre seems to be pretty slim pickings these days, in general. So, it’s extremely refreshing to see a movie come out in this landscape with no other ulterior motives besides making the audience tap their feet and smile.

WHAT IS K-POPS ALL ABOUT?

K-Pops follows BJ, a struggling musician who works as a drummer at a karaoke bar. When he gets fired from his job for scaring off the customers, he is offered the chance to move to South Korea to be in the back-up band for a reality show, similar to American Idol. But, through crazy circumstance finds out that one of the contestants happens to be the son he never knew he had. Will he continue to chase his dreams or take a backseat to let his son become the star?

FANS OF THE PITCH PERFECT MOVIES ARE GOING TO LOVE K-POPS…

Fans of the Pitch Perfect movies, specifically the first two, are most likely going to fall in love with K-Pops. They are both inoffensive PG-13 comedies about a singing competition. Admittedly, Pitch Perfect is a whole lot funnier than this is, but K-Pops makes up for it with how much heart it has. As the story progresses and the characters get deeper, this movie packs a real emotional punch. And the original music from .Paak is certainly toe-tap worthy and might even make viewers get up and dance. At the very least, a Spotify playlist will be in order, after watching. Anderson .Paak’s adoration for this material explodes off of the screen, while the deep connection he has to his culture and to his musical roots resonates fully.

Undoubtedly, Anderson .Paak is endlessly charming and charismatic in the lead role. While some of the jokes fall flat around him, .Paak absolutely nails the comedic beats. His chemistry with Jee Young Han is also off the charts. Viewers will be swooning over their up-and-down relationship, just rooting for them to be together in the end. Furthermore, .Paak has made a love letter to his son with K-Pops and their on-screen relationship felt truly authentic.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK ABOUT THE FILM?

What doesn’t work about K-Pops is the singing competition. It comes off like a tacked-on plot device that was only introduced to bring these characters together and then it’s pretty much forgotten about until the end. We barely get to see his son, Tae Young in the movie, actually get to perform. And instead of being invested in the show, we just get little cut-scenes throughout the film showing which contestants are getting eliminated and different influencers reacting to what happened. It would have been nice to see Tae Young’s progression as a performer, for this subplot to actually work.

IF VIEWERS NEED A BIT OF CHEERING UP, K-POPS WILL DO THE TRICK…

K-Pops isn’t going to win any awards and it has its cheesy and amateurish moments, but it’s not trying to be anything other than what it is. This is a genuinely heartfelt movie about fatherhood with a ton of great songs, a few solid laughs and characters that are easy to root for. K-Pops is the definition of a crowd-pleaser, a film that just wants to make the audience smile above all else… and it sincerely succeeds in that.

K-Pops will be playing in limited release in AMC Theaters Nationwide on February 27th, 2026.

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