Minor SPOILERS are ahead for Joy Ride, now playing in theaters.
The 2023 new movie schedule is packed full of entertaining stories worth going out of your way to check out in theaters. Although, no other movie but Joy Ride can say it has a hilarious “WAP” cover performed by its leading cast just minutes before leaving its audience wiping away tears. But, what is the origin story of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s viral 2020 collab finding its way into the movie? Director Adele Lim spoke to CinemaBlend about how she got the rights to the song for the R-rated comedy.
Adele Lim’s wishes to have “WAP” in Joy Ride weren't simply for laughs or shock value. Here’s what the director told us about scoring the song:
Me and the writers, we realized we were telling a story that's exuberant, that's fun, that's about sexual female empowerment. And we were obsessed, obsessed with WAP, like obsessed. And, it was two weeks before shooting and everybody said, ‘There is no way you're gonna get this song’. And so, I wrote a letter to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and the producers of WAP. And, you know, talking about what this meant to me personally, what this meant for our movie – even though we're this crazy R-rated raunchy comedy, it comes from a real place about women kind of owning and celebrating their sexuality. And nothing said that better in a song than WAP. And, they said yes. So thank you Cardi B and Megan Stallion.
As it turned out, the hip-hop stars were totally on board with their hit song receiving a cover in Joy Ride. As Adele Lim shared in our interview, it was a shot in the dark when she decided to write them a letter. However, thanks to her genuine reasons about why the song should be in the film, she got a “Yes” from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. When I asked the director whether the singers have seen the movie itself, here’s what she told us:
I don't know if they’ve seen the movie yet. If you're out there watching Cardi, Megan, you know, I'll hook you up.
Joy Ride follows an unlikely group who find themselves on an epic journey in China when Ashley Park’s character Audrey's business trip goes sideways. In a desperate attempt for the four of them to catch a ride out of China, the foursome finds themselves having to convince airport security they are a famed K-pop group called Brownie Tuesday. And yes, the song they cover is “WAP.” It’s a fun scene, and we can’t imagine it being any other song.
During the Joy Ride Los Angeles press day, we also asked Ashley Park about her Gollum impression. Stephanie Hsu also recalled filming the “WAP” scene on set, saying this:
That was a long, hard day. We had to film a lot, and then the choreography was intense. We were filming Monday through Friday as you usually do, and then we were rehearsing on our Saturdays. So it was like a huge kind of culmination and we had to get a lot done in a really short amount of time, but we had a really good time.
Joy Ride, which once had a NSFW title to match its raunchy spirit, has been hailed by critics as one of the funniest movies of the year. The sentiment is also shared in CinemaBlend’s Joy Ride review, where our own Riley Utley gave it four out of five stars saying that it “thrives on so many levels.” You can check out the comedy in theaters now.
