'King's Cup' Review: A Bittersweet Indie Dramedy That Strikes the Right Chord
- Romey Norton
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - September 1, 2025
Indie films often thrive when they blur the line between art and autobiography, and King’s Cup is one of those rare gems that feels both deeply personal and warmly universal. Making its festival debut at the Studio City Film Festival in North Hollywood, this DIY dramedy tells the story of a washed-up emo rocker who sets out to win back his ex, before her wedding, by writing one last song. What could have been a cliché premise instead plays like an open-mic confession: raw, funny, and surprisingly tender.
What is King’s Cup about?
The film follows a once-promising musician, now stumbling through adulthood, as he hatches a quixotic plan to pen the perfect track to reclaim the love he lost. It’s a setup steeped in romantic desperation. It’s an easy story to follow, very chilled, relaxed, definitely one you could watch on a Sunday afternoon.
The film opens as if reading a diary with the words written on the screen. It’s like a teen movie but with adults. The lead actors honest chemistry makes the story believable. Each piece of dialogue feels unscripted and quite natural. The supporting cast adds spark, providing comic lift as really, it is a bit of a downer story.
The director and lead actor are real-life former bandmates, who not only co-wrote and star in the movie but also composed the soundtrack. The songs don’t just score the film; they are the film, carrying the weight of nostalgia, regret, and longing. For anyone who’s ever made a mixtape for someone they shouldn’t have or replayed old tracks that smell like heartbreak, King’s Cup will hit close to home. Some sections do feel like a cheesy music video but I really liked that. A man with his guitar in the desert singing his heart out, I’m here for it. In fact, the main song used throughout is very catchy and I’ll probably be singing that for a few weeks after. Think Busted and Scouting for Girls vibes.
King’s Cup benefits from its low-budget roots. Shot with an intimate eye, the film leans into close-ups and raw performance over polish. That scrappiness is part of its charm. The film cleverly uses only a few settings, and the camera work and sound is to a really high standard.
Like any DIY project, King’s Cup isn’t flawless. The pacing occasionally drifts, feeling a little slow and losing energy. And the protagonist’s mission to “win back the girl” leans on familiar rom-com tropes that feel a touch outdated and overdone. At times, you wish the film would push harder against cliché and embrace its weirder, more vulnerable instincts. His dreams/flash back sequences are in black and white, which feels little cliché as well.
In the end, this film is about moving on and letting go, wrapped up in an artists struggle against the world. I really wanted him to go to the wedding, have his closure (whether that be winning her back or being shot down) and sing a song. But it’s more metaphorical than that. He bottles it - in favour of his imagination, memories and musical ability. It’s a sweet ending, but felt it lacked any sort of solid conclusion. But maybe that’s the point.
Is the film King’s Cup worth watching?
King’s Cup is a heartfelt, music-fuelled indie that wears its emotions on its sleeve. Part breakup ballad, part awkward comedy, it’s a film that understands how nostalgia, music, and heartbreak often blur into one another. For fans of DIY cinema and anyone who ever sang their way through heartache, this one deserves a spin.
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