Quiz Lady, 2023.
Directed by Jessica Wu.
Starring Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, Holland Taylor, Will Ferrell, Tony Hale, Angela Trimbur, Joe Chrest, Charlie Talbert, Ginger Cressman, Amy Tolsky, Alan Heitz, Camrus Johnson, Choppy Guillotte, Charles Green, Summer Selby, Ammie Masterson, Jonathan Park, Betsy Holt, Matt Cordova, Annie Boon Karstens, Shirley Chen, Nicole Marie Appleby, Luke Kim, Sarah Grace Welbourn, and Daniel H. Chung.
SYNOPSIS:
A gameshow-obsessed woman and her estranged sister work together to help cover their mother’s gambling debts.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Quiz Lady wouldn’t exist.
Making her narrative feature-length debut after having worked on several popular TV shows, director Jessica Wu (with a script from Jen D’Angelo) occasionally takes the comedic beats of Quiz Lady too far in the broad, slapstick approach. However, stars Awkwafina and Sandra Oh still find the humor and heart even when placed in outrageous situations that stretch suspension of disbelief, even for a film as deliberately silly as this one.
A brief glimpse into Anne Yum’s childhood reveals a hectic household, escaping into a televised trivia game show hosted by Will Ferrell’s endearing Terry McTeer, drowning out arguments between her gambling addict mother and frustrated father, or the latest wild glamorous dream from her ambitious sister Jenny (such as becoming an actress.) Flash forward roughly 20 years, Anne (now played by Awkwafina putting an anxiety-ridden bent on her usual rowdy comedic performances) now works a soul-crushing accounting job, living a knowingly lonely life coming home to soak in more knowledge, still watching her favorite game show alongside a now elderly family dog named Linguini. Aside from work, her only other source of social interaction comes from the cranky next-door old lady neighbor, consistently whining about regularly and wrongly receiving Anne’s mail.
Anne takes on the responsibility of providing for her widowed mother, who, it turns out, has escaped the assisted living facility not for gambling but to go on vacation with a boyfriend no one knew existed. Jenny (Sandra Oh) also shows up at the home under the impression that “gone” means their mother is dead. This results in a mild reconnection where the reckless, boisterous, and trainwreck Jenny decides that her next attempt at a career path should be life coaching, also taking it upon herself to pressure Anne into going on the game show, considering she knows the answer to practically every question.
Despite being obsessed with the show to the point of owning a Terry McTeer bobblehead that Jenny mistakes for Justin Timberlake, Anne has no interest in playing for various reasons, ranging from her responsibilities at home to public shyness to the fear of failure and understandable despise for a charades final-round requiring a partner. She also points out that there is far less pressure answering the questions from home while petting a dog than standing in front of a live audience for a nationwide TV show. Mainly, Anne also doesn’t need the money, at least until Jenny’s sneakily recorded video of her answering these questions like a genius becomes an online viral sensation, subsequently leading to their mom’s bookie entering the picture, demanding to be paid, and kidnapping Linguini as ransom insurance.
This is an undeniably absurd setup to push the gears in motion for Anne to overcome her insecurities and appear on the game show (with some other ridiculous revelations later on, particularly involving the true motives of the bookie), but it has whirlwind energy and hilarious sisterly bonding working in the film’s favor, not to mention some goofy locales appropriately taking advantage of the Philadelphia setting, such as a Benjamin Franklin inn complete with an amusing, semi-committed cosplayer. Even when the comedy starts indulging in clichés such as a drug trip to calm nerves during a tryout to be a contestant on the show, the essential parts of watching Anne rattle off answers, such as the order of every Academy Award Best Picture winner, hold attention while also containing enough sincere dramatic weight to invest in her journey.
There is also a wise choice to have Will Ferrell subdued, playing the role of a believable, charismatic, naturally funny game show host rather than something over the top stealing the spotlight. He comes across as the rare heroic idol worth meeting. Meanwhile, Anne’s competition is a fake nice guy (Jason Schwartzman, also putting on the perfect shit-eating grin you can’t wait to see turned upside down) on the road to becoming the longest-reigning weekly champion of all time.
As Anne and Jenny grow closer to one another, setting the record straight on past incidents that drastically affected their family’s living conditions, they also continuously can’t stand one another, with Jenny causing trouble for the two wherever the journey takes them. That also means the climactic emotional beat lands with a crowd-pleasing game show finale. Jessica Wu achieves a passing grade for Quiz Lady, getting laughs and earning emotion from her zany, eccentric leads.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
