Quiz Lady
Charismatic leads make up for an uneven script in this light comedy
Awkwafina and Sandra Oh are polar opposite siblings in Jessica Yu's Quiz Lady.
Anne Yum (Awkwafina) is used to being overlooked. She hunches her way through life, shoulders around her ears as she seemingly does everything possible to avoid human contact. The only bright spot in her day is obsessively watching the trivia show Can’t Stop the Quiz and rattling off the correct answers with her faithful, if decrepit, pug Linguine by her side.
But Anne’s routine is shaken when her mother flees from her nursing home, bringing her disastrous older sister Jenny (Sandra Oh) back into her life. Jenny is a failed actress, figure skater, pop star, and yoga influencer. She breezes through life with the sort of unearned confidence that makes her both charming and infuriating. She’s not afraid to make a scene, she’s not afraid to mooch off of others. She’s Anne’s nightmare.
Before Anne can kick her sister to the curb, however, they discover that their mom absconded to Macao with a new boyfriend they’ve never heard of, and left them responsible for an $80,000 mob debt. To ensure they get their payment, the mob kidnaps Linguine and will only return him if Anne and Jenny pay up.
Anne, who has spent a lifetime begrudgingly financing her sister and mother’s lifestyle, starts to panic. But Jenny has an idea: use Anne’s steel trap of memory to their advantage. If Anne scores an audition on Can’t Stop the Quiz, she’s sure to win and win big. It’s a perfect plan if only Anne would agree to it. Can Jenny push her little sister out of her social anxiety? Can Anne win back her dog and clear her mother’s debt? And how old is that ancient-looking pug?
Your enjoyment of this film is going to be directly proportional to your tolerance of quirk. Uneven at times, Quiz Lady manages to keep itself on the right side of amusing thanks to the lead performances from Oh and Awkwafina. Director Jessica Yu makes the smart decision to just let her characters play. She also excels at the quiet character moments of the film, letting the camera observe just how lonely Anne is and just how hollow Jenny feels when they think no one is watching.
Still, this film is essentially a fever dream of oddball ideas and outlandish situations. Think of it like Midnight Run for the influencer generation. Yu throws weird situation after weird situation at the sisters, without much rhyme or reason. The problem is that none of the antics are that outlandish, and the gags are a bit hit-and-miss depending on the setup. The key to the fun is their reaction, logic and real character development have very little to do with this film.
And while there might not be much for her to dig into, Oh is clearly having a blast unleashing her best vapid valley girl. She bounces through scenes with enough chaotic charm to pull laughs even when the setup is ridiculous. Jenny is a self-aggrandizing twit at times, not afraid to throw a screaming fit or make a scene if she can get her way. But there’s a wounded woman at the core of Jenny, that is only visible due to some wonderful work by Oh. It would be easy to make Jenny nothing but a joke, but she’s got moxie and a vicious brand of love that makes her deeply human.
As Anne, Awkwafina has the more subdued of the roles. Usually the outlandish figure in her projects, Anne is a departure for her. She makes some interesting choices, including her constantly hunched shoulders and almost aggressively blank face, but Anne doesn’t really shine until she goes off the deep end (with a little help from Jenny). When the two team up, both come to life.
There are also some fantastic cameos, including a surprisingly sensitive and sweet appearance by Will Ferrell. He offers some excellent tenderness in one of the best scenes in the film. It’s also nice to see him take that Alex Trebek impression and humanize it just a bit.
If you’re a fan of Oh or Awkwafina, Quiz Lady is well worth a watch on Hulu. It’s the perfect light viewing for a night in.
Verdict: An amusing mid-tier comedy that reminds us of Sandra Oh’s brilliance.
Quiz Lady is rated R and is available on Hulu Nov. 3.
