K-Pops! shows audiences ais the classic story of a man who must decide if he’ll choose between fame or fatherhood after discovering a son he never knew. The movie comes with positive messages about how parenthood changes people and the importance of sacrifice in familial relationships. But some heavier language and sensual humor distract from those messages and make it harder to share with the whole family.
If you attend karaoke night at Los Angeles’ Ca$hbar, you may find that, despite singing on stage, you won’t be the center of attention.
That honor goes to BJ, the bar’s drummer. He’s good, sure—he’s even convinced that, one day, the world will know it, too. But for now, he’s busy breaking into mid-song drum solos that end each karaoke singer’s performance early.
Still, that gig is how BJ met Yeji, when he played during her performance. The two fell in love, and they began dating. But then BJ’s desire to be recognized for his drumming took over his life and pushed Yeji right on out of it.
And 12 years later, BJ plays his final performance at Ca$hbar, though it wasn’t his choice. BJ’s friend and boss, Cash, tells him that he has to let BJ go: his drum solos annoyed all the regulars out of the bar.
But that doesn’t mean BJ’s drumming career is over. Cash tells BJ of a competition in South Korea called Wildcard. They describe it as “American Idol with K-pop trainees,” where young hopefuls compete, hoping to break into the K-Pop scene. And the show just so happens to have an opening for a drummer.
More importantly, one of the contestants, Kang, is certain to win the whole thing and go big—so if a certain drummer can befriend the performer, Kang might just take him along, too.
So BJ flies overseas and takes the job, positioning himself to become close with Kang as quickly as possible. Instead, BJ meets another contestant: Tae Young, a 12-year-old boy who’s on the verge of getting eliminated from the contest.
And then BJ meets Tae Young’s mother. It’s Yeji.
Which means Tae Young is his son.
BJ makes a mistake early in the movie: he sacrifices his relationship with Yeji in pursuit of his musical career. He even goes so far as to describe their relationship as “polyamorous,” with his love being split between Yeji and music. Over the course of the movie, BJ eventually realizes that, to be a good man, he cannot give only part of his love to Yeji—he must fully commit to her.
K-Pops! also shows how fatherhood can change a man for the better—to lay aside his own desires for the benefit of his child. Yeji, understandably, never told BJ about his son, since his allegiance to music ultimately caused him to push her out of his life—and she didn’t want him to do the same to their son. But when BJ meets his son, we watch as BJ undergoes this change. He immediately wants to bond with the boy, and the two quickly grow close.
At one point, BJ is offered an opportunity to achieve his lifelong dreams at the expense of his familial relationships. BJ, initially, struggles with letting his desires go. But when he considers the memories he’s made with his son, BJ ultimately chooses to sacrifice his chance to “make it big” to support his son instead.
While BJ predominantly mentors Tae Young, he’s also happy to take some of Tae Young’s friends under his wing, too.
At one point in the movie, BJ has a dream about being in church. He sees a church choir singing Kirk Franklin’s gospel song “My Life Is in Your Hands.” As he walks to the front pews, BJ sits by rapper Saweetie, who describes herself as an angel. (She’s dressed in a feathery white dress). She tells BJ that the dream is his “‘come to Jesus’ moment.” The dream causes BJ to change his mind about an important decision.
BJ mentions first learning how to drum by playing in church. After listening to someone sing well, BJ compliments the singer by saying the man took him back to church.
At one point, BJ describes himself as the “real Rastafarian Wildcard champion.”
There are many passing spiritual references. We hear phrases like “all the demons hide” and “fighting demons.” The Wildcard show itself occasionally uses fortune telling language to dismiss contestants, such as “Looks like winning wasn’t in the cards for you.” Someone says that a boy’s “ancestors are smiling down on you.”
We see BJ in compression shorts. Later, he rips his pants, revealing his underwear. This causes the students he’s teaching how to dance chant “free a–.” Many women wear dresses and outfits that expose a lot of cleavage. A woman wears a mesh shirt that reveals her bra. A man performs while wearing a see-through shirt, and a woman comments on his abs.
BJ and Yeji passionately kiss in a restaurant.
Cash frequently makes suggestive comments about BJ’s mother, who reciprocates. The two are together whenever BJ calls his mom. The phrases they use on those calls come across as explicit double entendres. And when BJ reminds his mother that he hardly knows his father, his mom says that the man was “great in bed.”
Yeji’s sister comments that BJ must be “fun at night.” Obviously, Tae Young was conceived out of wedlock. BJ describes his relationship with Yeji as polyamorous—between him, Yeji and music.
There’s a reference to the controversial Plan B pill.
We hear four uses of the s-word and a censored f-word. We also hear “a–,” “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ss.” God’s name is used in vain roughly 20 times, including three instances paired with “d–n.” Jesus’ name is likewise used in vain twice.
People drink liquor and beer.
BJ teaches Tae Young to clinch his rear in order to hit higher notes—and while it works, it also causes Tae to accidentally defecate in his pants. Later, when Tae tries again, he ends up passing plenty of gas.
BJ can have an inflated sense of ego.
Some movies would really shine if the content were toned down a bit—and K-Pops! is one of them.
In terms of its messages, the movie is prime for family viewing: The film focuses on a father who reconnects with an ex-girlfriend after discovering that the boy competing in a K-Pop competition is their son (a character who is played by star and director Anderson .Paak’s actual son). We then watch a sweet story of familial connection and parental sacrifice unfold.
But parents will likely have a harder time sharing this movie with their own little ones. That’s on account of its sensual banter and some crude language—issues that’ll seem far too inappropriate for the whole family to enjoy. That’s unfortunate, as the movie is otherwise a pretty fun time.
Because of that bit-too mature content, K-Pops! may hit a sour note with your family.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
