K-POPs Review - School of Paak: Anderson Paak's Directorial Debut is an Uneven but Likeable Family Comedy #TIFF2024

I don’t know what I expected from Anderson Paak’s directorial debut, but if you made me guess, “family comedy about how much he loves his son” would not have come up. His new film K-POPS may feel conventional, but for a respected hip-hop artist who was plucked out of obscurity by none other than Dr. Dre - it’s not necessarily safe.

To illustrate: Chance the Rapper heavily damaged his career with the release of his album The Big Day, which prompted ridicule for its focus on his family life and complete lack of grit. I know Paak is not strictly a rapper, and his lyrics often have a comedic bent, but I went into K-POPS expecting 8 Mile (or even Dope), and instead I got School of Rock.

Paak directed, starred in, and co-wrote the film, and it’s clearly a deeply personal passion project. My only conclusion is that Paak really wanted to make this movie, and this version of it, which is slightly puzzling.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with School of Rock or trying to emulate it. And even if it's not what I expected, I'd fully welcome a family film from Anderson Paak. But Paak the director lacks the confidence of Richard Linklater, Paak the actor lacks the presence of Jack Black, and Paak the writer lacks the structural savvy of Mike White.

Luckily, he’s still Anderson Paak, and while parts of K-POPS don’t necessarily play to his strengths, even those unfamiliar with his music will quickly understand why he became a star.

The plot of K-POPS concerns struggling musician, BJ (Paak), an egotistical open mic-er who’s selfish nature has done nothing for his showbiz ambitions. We first meet BJ in a 2009-set prologue, where he meets moody fellow musician Yeji (Jee Young Han), and charms her over a sensual karaoke duet. BJ and Yeji quickly bond, but over the course of a short animated montage, they split up so BJ can further pursue his music career.

Flash forward twelve years, and BJ is still playing the same songs in the empty bar owned by his friend Cash (Jonnie Park). Cash and BJ’s mother Brenda (Community’s Yvette Nicole Brown), are concerned about BJ’s career stagnation, and Brenda uses a family connection to land him a job on a Korean K-POP competition show called WildCard. Cash and Brenda want BJ to use his new job to gain favor with the show’s star Kang, (Kevin Woo) and relaunch himself as a K-POP superstar.

It’s a bit of a flimsy premise, but it’s quickly abandoned on BJ’s arrival to Korea. On his first day as WildCard’s backup drummer, BJ meets plucky contestant Tae Young (Soul Rasheed), who he soon realizes is his biological son. It turns out Yeji fled to Korea after learning she was pregnant, thinking BJ was too selfish to be a father. Now it’s up to BJ to prove her wrong, and turn Tae Young into K-POP’s newest star.

This is the meat of the movie, and it certainly has its charms. Tae Young is played by Paak’s real-life son Soul Rasheed, and the two have a nice chemistry.

As you may have realized, this movie is a pretty naked vehicle for Paak, and some touches - like a scene where BJ plays with a group of funk legends, or the fact that the movie is soundtracked almost entirely by Paak’s own songs - feel indulgent. On the other hand, Paak has crafted a story around his own unique family background, as BJ soaks in the Korean culture of his biological father, and schools Tae Young on the ins and outs of being African-American. I had no idea Paak was of Korean descent before seeing the movie, and these personal, culturally specific touches elevate the film. There’s a wonderful moment where BJ and Tae Young encounter two African-American women on vacation in Korea, and they exchange a rapid-fire, loving torrent of AAVE. “Did you know them?” Tae Young asks, “never seen them in my life” BJ responds.

In terms of strengths, I have to also mention the music. Paak’s ability to play rapid fire drums while singing smooth, casual vocals will always look superhuman to me, and the moments where we get to watch him do this are a blast. There’s a scene in the prologue where BJ and Yeji perform a cover of SWV’s Weak, and it’s basically worth the price of admission.

What suits Paak less is the comedy. Paak is charismatic enough, and if he had a supporting role in a movie I think he’d do well. As the lead however, in a film built around his comic persona, I’m not sure he’s up to the task. Part of the problem is that Paak doesn’t yet have a comic persona. K-POPS has a lot more cultural specificity than the version of this story that Adam Sandler or Eddie Murphy would make, and Paak seems much more invested in the movie’s success, but those actors have more confidence and consistency than his performance here. Many jokes land, but just as many fall flat, as Paak rushes or mumbles weak punchlines. Occasionally, he veers into physical comedy and mugging, and these moments feel firmly out of his comfort zone.

The problem is not just the performance though, it’s the writing. BJ is an ill-defined character - we are told about his flaws but what we’re shown tells us otherwise. We’re told he’s a bad, struggling musician, but Paak performs the musical sequences with all of the confidence of a global superstar. We’re told BJ is selfish, but for most of the movie, the only selfish thing we see him do is rock an unnecessary drum solo. When the movie does attempt to dramatize BJ’s selfishness in the third act, it feels like too little too late.

That inconsistency is present elsewhere too. Yeji may have fled BJ because she feared he would be a bad father, but that’s evidently not the case. BJ and Tae Young have a great relationship from the moment they meet, and though she’s not outwardly presented this way, the plot’s mechanics turn Yeji into the villain.

Other plot threads and side characters are frequently introduced and then casually discarded. Even characters who work, like Cash and Brenda, feel underutilized. Paak and co-writer Khalia Amazan seem particularly indifferent to the WildCard game show. We don’t even see much of the show’s actual competition, and most of the performances are only glimpsed in montages.

That’s probably because K-POPS is first and foremost a vehicle for Paak and his son. And while this review probably comes across pretty negative, I enjoyed much of the film. Even when jokes don’t work, the effect is charming instead of grating, and it’s a pretty fascinating biographical text in the context of Paak’s career.

For all its flaws, the movie is probably above average in the family-comedy genre. Though for an artist like Anderson Paak, who’s known for combining musical genres and styles into a wholly unique package, K-POPS feels less than satisfying.