Quiz Lady Review
PLOT: A brilliant but tightly wound, gameshow-obsessed young woman, Anne, and her estranged, train-wreck of a sister Jenny, must work together to help cover their mother’s gambling debts. When Anne’s beloved dog is kidnapped, they set out on a wild, cross-country trek to get the cash the only way they know how: by turning Anne into a bona-fide gameshow champion.
REVIEW: I love quiz shows. I also love movies and series about quiz shows. Whether it be Robert Redford’s acclaimed Quiz Show, the subplot in Magnolia, or the long-running SNL sketch spoofing Celebrity Jeopardy, something is fascinating about trivia challenges and the people who participate in them. The new Hulu original Quiz Lady takes that concept and adds elements of various comedies, including road trips, raunchy humor, family dysfunction, and more. The result is a far more nuanced film than the trailers present, but one that is absolutely focused on being funny. Directed by Jessica Yu and featuring Awkwafina and Sandra Oh as siblings, Quiz Lady is a touching comedy about reconnecting with family and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. While not nearly as zany as the trailers make it seem, I smiled through this movie and enjoyed every minute.
Quiz Lady centers on Anne (Awkwafina), a milquetoast accountant who hates the limelight. Living alone with her dog, Linguini, and trudging along day-to-day, Anne seeks comfort in her daily viewing of a Jeopardy-esque game show hosted by Terry McTeer (Will Ferrell). Watching the show as a kid helped Anne cope with her tumultuous home life as her parents fought and her older sister left Anne home with their gambling-addict mother. When their mom escapes from the assisted living facility she resides at, Anne and Jenny (Sandra Oh) reconnect begrudgingly. When Ken (Jon “Dumbfoundead” Park) dognaps Linguini in exchange for their mother’s debts, Jenny convinces Anne to apply to be on her favorite quiz show. Anne scared to death of being on stage but masterful at trivia, refuses, and Jenny takes it upon herself to force her sister to go to Philadelphia for auditions. On their journey, the sisters fight, reconcile, and fight some more as they try to save Linguini. They also rediscover each other as they take on whatever life throws their way.
The plot and formula of Quiz Lady is familiar and hit the same notes you would expect it to. This could easily have been written off as another familiar comedy, but what elevates it is Awkwafina and Sandra Oh. In any other case, I would have expected the roles to be reversed. Still, thankfully, Awkwafina plays Anne far more conservatively than the comedian is known for, echoing her more nuanced role in The Farewell. Sandra Oh, known for her dramatic performances, is wonderfully unhinged as the bohemian Jenny and steals the film. The two actresses play off of each other like real siblings, giving Quiz Lady a heavy dose of charm that would have been missing with less talented leads. It also helps that the supporting cast is all very good, especially a subdued Will Ferrell, who channels the aura of late Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, a spoof of which he played for years on Saturday Night Live. Ferrell is charming and keeps his performance on the subtle side, playing to the strengths of the actors around him.
We also get a nice turn from Holland Taylor as Anne’s agoraphobic neighbor, Francine. Taylor is good in everything she does, but in playing Francine’s obsession with actor Alan Cumming, she is very funny. The Alan Cumming obsession allows Quiz Lady to provide the late Paul Reubens with a fitting cameo send-off. There is also a small turn by Tony Hale as a Benjamin Franklin-themed innkeeper that had me laughing every time he was on screen. The other key role in the film comes from Jason Schwartzman as Ron Heacock, the reigning quiz show champion portrayed as an evil mirror take on Jeopardy champions like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer. All of the supporting actors in Quiz Lady have shown an ability to go deep into comedies. Still, they support the material rather than stealing the limelight from Awkwafina and Sandra Oh.
Written by Jen D’Angelo, who co-wrote the recent horror comedy Totally Killer and last year’s Hocus Pocus 2, never pushes the comedy in Quiz Lady to be graphic or shocking. Even though some moments include scatological humor and a funny sequence involving a grossly dislocated wrist, most of what made me laugh in this film was organically driven by the cast’s performances. Director Jessica Yu, best known for documentaries including In The Realms of the Unreal and her Oscar-winning short Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien, shows she is truly adept at narrative filmmaking. Having directed comedian Maria Bamford’s 2017 special and multiple Ryan Murphy series, Yu has a great grasp of ensuring the performances take center stage and allow the actors to do their thing. Even when the film risks going off the rails with a hallucinogenic drug sequence, Yu never loses sight of the charm and realistic comedy that makes Quiz Lady work.
I really appreciate that Quiz Lady is not entirely the movie the trailers make it out to be. From the preview, I thought I was in for another zany, gross-out comedy, but I am glad to say that Quiz Lady is a feel-good comedy that showcases Awkwafina and Sandra Oh in ways we have not gotten to see them before. Both actresses are really good at playing against expectations and are the most believable siblings I have seen in a movie in a long time. I smiled throughout this movie even though I knew exactly where it was going the entire time. Familiarity is not always a bad thing when a movie makes you feel good, and Quiz Lady definitely succeeded in making me feel good. While it is rated R, there is not much that would prevent all ages from enjoying Quiz Lady outside of a few swear words. I enjoyed this movie and have no doubts anyone will be charmed if they check it out.
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