We have another bad movie review coming in hot for you!
Let me just say that this movie got a 6.9 star rating on IMDb. Do you know how high that is? It’s supposed to be a movie about karaoke champions directed by Namewee. And I don’t know much about him, but what I do know is that this dude makes whack movies.
So you’re in for a treat with this one. I feel like Mr. Namewee really outdid himself with the randomness here. Let it be said that I watched this movie once and wrote everything by memory because there’s no way I’m ever watching it again.
So, sit back and enjoy my rant.
Disclaimer: As usual, spoilers ahead, so be warned.
This Is A Lot To Take In
Kara King starts off with a boy band singing a song while they wore, what I assume, K-pop idol boys’ faces as masks. And the scene cuts to a director going around the floor, talking to his assistant about how they needed to rig the show so that a certain female band wins.
He was also insisting that they need more drama and good actors on the show for some tear-jerk moments so that their views would remain at an all-time high. Because, hey, that’s why people watch TV anyway.
Yeah, nothing’s real nowadays. Like the director said, “our job is to mislead young people, thinking they could be stars and keep their dreams alive.” The word “mislead” there really didn’t sit right with me, but hey, that’s the harsh truth, isn’t it?
Throughout his rounds with his assistant, you get to see all kinds of questionable interactions in the background as he makes his way through the many rooms, talking to each talent as if they’re pieces of meat.
This movie is an hour and 40 minutes long. And there’s a lot to take in all at once. I’m only 10 minutes in and I’m already crosseyed.
The Start of Disaster
We then proceed to get introduced to a rock band by the name of Metal Bone. Their song first started out as a gentle lullaby and had everyone listening in but then proceeded to break the eardrums of every single one of their audience with their heavy metal music screaming a few seconds later.
As their final act, they wanted to “bring the house down” so to speak, but their guitarist misunderstood the assignment for some reason and pantsed the lead singer, Bone (played by Namewee) on live television. Embarrassing? Yeah. Odd and illogical? Most definitely.
Who in their right mind would misunderstand “we got to bring the house down” as “pull his pants down”? And why would you even think about pulling down someone’s pants while y’all are on a live stage at a singing competition anyway? Make it make sense.
I also found out that this is a musical? I mean, I should have known. It’s a Namewee production, what do you expect? The concept of it kind of reminds me of School of Rock a little bit. But worse.
Kara King wants to play this movie off as a comedy of sorts but the element of humour is a miss, in my opinion. I don’t know what all the commenters on YouTube are saying about how this movie is so amazing and how funny it is. Am I in the Twilight Zone?
One Weird Thing After Another
Throughout the movie, for some reason, there’s always a random girl that follows him around. She’s always in the background of the shot, standing there, pin-needle straight with a blank look in her eyes. And they never really addressed her presence at all. Is she a ghost? Is she supposed to be there? Who knows!
After Bone’s unfortunate incident, he decided to take a road trip back to his hometown Kampung Kara in order to isolate himself, I’m assuming. I would do that too, man. The whole country saw something about you that they shouldn’t. Of course, you’d go into hiding.
Kampung Kara looks like a fun place to live in, honestly. It’s so colourful and lively. The one thing I think would probably get on my nerves a lot if I were to live there is the karaoke and singing everyday. I can’t live like that.
On the way to Kampung Kara, he met a group of wannabe rock stars by the side of a fruit stall that called themselves K.K.P.R. (Kampung Kara Punya Rockers). They ambushed him, saying that they were huge fans and begging him to train them to be a cool rockstar like himself.
I don’t know about cool. But Bone’s definitely a rockstar. Please note that I’m basing this solely off of him being a part of a metal rock band and nothing else.
The Village of Singers and… Others
One thing I have to say is that the way the movie’s shot is very pretty. And that not all the songs are bad. Just a few of them. I kind of like the karaoke style they got going on when the villagers are singing. The lyrics will play in front of the screen as if we were at a karaoke bar and get to sing along. It’s interesting, to say the least.
And the budget must have been insane, there were lights and colours everywhere. It seems as if the whole village parties day and night throughout the whole movie. And can we just take a minute to talk about their outfits? Because I feel like that needs to be discussed. Their style is atrocious. A complete fashion disaster of a village. There’s one person that chooses to dress exclusively in speedos. I nearly threw up when I first saw him on screen.
The whole schtick of the village of Kampung Kara was that it’s famous for producing award-winning singers. So that explained the singing and dancing everyday, at least. There are also teachers or singing coaches available at every corner for you to learn the art of karaoke.
The Villain (?) Emerges
A few more minutes into the move and we get introduced to a master Karaoke star, who goes by the name of Mr. Gao (played by Frankie Kao), along with his inappropriately dressed sidekicks and white man assistant.
In the scene, Mr Gao plans to visit Kampung Kara in search of the best singer to battle with. Why? I don’t know — something about not winning an award and wanting revenge. I got distracted by his sidekicks while he was ranting.
When he arrived at the village, he started a random karaoke battle in the middle of the street. The scene strongly reminded me a lot of Kung Fu Hustle. Have you seen that movie? You know when the evil twins played their traditional instrument and the sound waves killed people? This is similar.
The Karaoke King’s voice acts as a weapon to beat up the villagers of Kampung Kara. It’s kind of ironic because his voice is supposed to be the best but I don’t think he sings very well. Or is that supposed to be the point? Because in karaoke, your singing doesn’t matter so much. It all depends on how loud you are.
Anyway, the best singer happens to be Bone’s father Mr. Wu (played by Man-Tat Ng). He and Mr. Gao apparently have a history. They competed in a singing competition and Mr. Wu emerged as the winner, beating Mr. Gao. No wonder Mr. Wu was so supportive of his son’s career path. He was a singer too.
The Real Karaoke King, Mr. Wu
After Mr. Wu and Mr. Gao met up with each other, it’s like a dam broke or something. Since his secret is out, Mr. Wu is being treated like a superstar in Kampung Kara. The villagers all want him to win the karaoke competition that Mr. Gao challenged him to.
While all that was happening and Mr. Wu was dealing with his newfound village hero title, Bone got a callback for an audition from a company that humiliated him, calling his music the “s” word. I’m not allowed to swear on here, so you just figure out what the “s” stands for.
After getting the call, Bone went on a search for his old band buddies to bring the band back together. It was to no avail, though, since his band is embarrassed by him and his constant promise of success with no results.
A little breathing space here and an author’s note: I can tell you that I couldn’t pick a longer movie. Oh my goodness. This movie was so long. I felt like it was three hours. And it just goes on and on.
So let’s cut to the chase and keep it prompt, shall we?
The End… Please Be The End
Mr. Wu ended up injuring himself while he was training for the singing competition so Bone had to take over his position. Something I never would have suspected was that apparently, Mr. Gao had always been in love with Mr. Wu. We find this out towards the end of the movie when he finally admits to it. And the scene switches to a flashback of him crying over Mr. Wu by a lakeside, clutching a handkerchief.
So, in the end, Bone won the singing competition and Mr. Gao cries. Again. A lot of weird things happened after that. We finally get to see Bone’s mother in the end, though she doesn’t really serve a purpose because we only got to know her at the end. And that’s for a flashback. So I don’t understand why she was even there.
So what’s the moral of this movie actually? I couldn’t tell you even if I tried. I think it’s something about remembering the past but being thankful for the now or something like that? I could be wrong (do not correct me on this).
And in true Namewee films fashion, there’s a final music number to end the movie. I was right about one thing though — I think he had taken some inspiration from School of Rock because, in the end, he was seen painting a house for his very own “House of Rock”, as he puts it, along with the three stooges that call themselves his adoring fans. And that’s the end of it.
Verdict?
I wouldn’t watch this movie again even if you pry open my eyes with a rusted plier. I value my time and brain cells, thank you, and once is more than enough time for me. However, if you’d like to watch it and experience the wonders of this movie yourself, you’re very welcome to try.
I’d give this movie a solid three stars. I thought that it went on for far too long and had too many random scenes inserted in the middle for me to actually find this entertaining.
If you’re looking for other bad movies to binge-watch, why don’t you give a shot at:
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