Dear readers, I am delighted to report Quiz Lady is a damn delight! Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Jessica Yu, it stars Sandra Oh and Awkwafina as sisters who are total opposites but ultimately form a formidable team. Brought together when their mother disappears to Macau with her new boyfriend, the sisters must find a way to pay off their mom’s gambling debts to appease the gangsters who are holding their beloved pug for ransom. When unruly older sister Jenny (Sandra Oh) suggests buttoned-up trivia maven Ann (Awkwafina) win the ransom money on her favourite gameshow, high-jinks ensue!
Overall, Quiz Lady is a well-made comedy. Yu’s direction is fast-paced and sleek, and Jen D’Angelo’s screenplay is full of jokes that are raunchy and sometimes even straight-up disgusting (a gag about pooh is pivotal to the plot). For fans of the Jeopardy-style shows Quiz Lady parodies, there’s a lot of bowtie-related comedy, too. And it must be said Will Ferrell gives a winsome performance as a gameshow host who is also Ann’s parasocial father figure; however, the movie’s secret sauce is Awkwafina and Oh’s chemistry.
Both playing against type, a lesser movie likely would have flipped the casting of the sisters; however, Awkwafina shines as the straight man who balks at her bohemian sister’s hair-brained schemes to “manifest” their goals. And for her part, Sandra Oh has never been funnier than she is playing this rowdy big sister with a big heart. I’d watch a sequel just to see them hang out some more! Yep, comedy is back, baby!
- Rated: PG-13
- Genre: Comedy
- Release Date: 11/3/2023
- Directed by: Jen D'Angelo, Jessica Yu
- Starring: Awkwafina, Holland Taylor, Jason Schwartzman, Sandra Oh, Will Ferrell
- Written by: Jen D'Angelo
- Studio: Hulu/20th Centry Studio
