And we finally reach the end of my TIFF reviews with the film that closed out my festival. Full transparency, I was kind of dreading this going in. I bought the ticket within my initial redemption window because I like Anderson .Paak quite a bit as an artist, but after over a week of the festival I had heard basically zero people talking about it which made me assume the worst. I don't have a problem with watching something lacklustre at TIFF but I didn't want to end my time there with a stinker and that's what I was sadly anticipating. Luckily though, I wound up actually enjoying this quite a bit.
The film is directed by .Paak who also plays the lead role BJ, a washed up drummer still playing to the same empty bar after years of trying to make it. When a friend uses his connections to get him a job drumming in Korea for a K-Pop competition, he winds up running into his ex and her son, who is not only competing in the competition but also happens to be his son as well.
At first I was worried we were in for an absolute stinker. The acting and writing in the opening scene is frankly quite bad, feeling more like a mediocre sitcom than a worthwhile movie. As it progresses though, .Paak matures both in front of and behind the camera to deliver something pretty solid. It isn't like this is some groundbreaking debut, but it's a solid family dramedy that is just enjoyable and easy to watch.
.Paak's son Soul Rasheed actually plays his son in the movie, so naturally the two have a really great connection between them. Rasheed is actually pretty great, again not groundbreaking, but constantly charming. .Paak does tend to feel like he's performing most of the time rather than coming across naturally, but once you get the hang of the film's tone it's easy to look past. Jee Young Han plays BJ's ex and I really liked her performance. I do wish her character was developed more but she works with what she's got well.
Narratively this is a very standard underdog story, following just about every beat you would expect it to. That's really part of the charm though. This isn't something that'll come for awards, it's something you watch knowing exactly what to expect and getting just that. I do think though that having a father/son duo at the heart of a movie all about family does give it a touching edge that makes everything feel a little bit more wholesome than the typical movie of this ilk.
Stylistically this is pretty standard. There are some moments early on where it doesn't look amazing, and the credits I thought looked really cheap, but the recreation of an American Idol style singing/dancing competition is done quite well. This also has a strong benefit of a soundtrack full of Anderson .Paak's music, something that makes basically any movie better. So all in all, this isn't going to wow you. It will however, provide a lovely time that the whole family can enjoy. 3/5
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