{"id":27360,"date":"2023-11-03T15:22:16","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T22:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=27360"},"modified":"2023-11-03T15:22:16","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T22:22:16","slug":"quiz-lady-earns-a-few-laughs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=27360","title":{"rendered":"QUIZ LADY Wins a Few Laughs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/24_0008_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10620\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Running Time: 100 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This film from 20<sup>th<\/sup> Century Studios will be\nreleased in the United States via the streaming service Hulu on November 3<sup>rd<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The long history of television game shows isn\u2019t a\nparticularly popular subject in cinema, even though witnessing an average\nperson appear in front of millions in a high-stress situation would seem\ntailor-made for drama. There have been a couple of notable efforts, like the\nOscar-nominated <em>Quiz Show<\/em> and Oscar-winner <em>Slumdog Millionaire<\/em>,\nbut otherwise they are few and far between. The new comedy <em>Quiz Lady<\/em>\ncertainly isn\u2019t designed for awards consideration, but it delivers a cute and\namusing little story about two quirky sisters learning how to support one\nanother through trying times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Quiz-Lady-02-fixed-1024x615.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27361\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anne Yum (Awkwafina) is an awkward bookworm who has spent\nmost of her life in front of the TV watching \u201cCan\u2019t Stop the Quiz,\u201d a popular\ngame show. When she receives word that her gambling-obsessed mother has\ndeparted the country owing $80,000 dollars to gang-leader Ken (Jon Park), Anne\nfinds herself in a state of panic. Her estranged, financially strapped older\nsister Jenny Yum (Sandra Oh) arrives to help out, but is anything but reliable.\nWhen the criminals kidnap Anne\u2019s dog and demand payment, Jenny encourages her\nsister to apply and compete on the game show. In order to earn the required\nfunds, the shy protagonist must overcome being starstruck by host Terry McTeer\n(Will Ferrell) and defeat reigning champion Ron Heacock (Jason Schwartzman), a\nman who aims to be the show\u2019s longest-running champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Quiz-Lady-01-fixed-1024x615.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27362\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The approach to the humor is over-the-top and blunt in some\nrespects, with the problems the protagonist faces and her own personal history\nbecoming odder and odder as more details are revealed. Anne may be something of\na genius, but the situations presented early on involve odd interactions with a\nharsh neighbor (Holland Taylor) and exaggerated arguments with her sister that\nemploy slapstick humor. It does take a bit of time to get onto the movie\u2019s\nwavelength and not all of the gags work in the beginning, but the talented\nleads slowly eke laughs out of their predicament and win viewers over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Quiz-Lady-04-fixed-1024x551.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27364\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And some of those physical gags do make an impact. One bit\ninvolving a nasty injury gets used to maximum comedic effect in a hospital\nwaiting room. As the two sisters open up to each other, the humor surrounding\ntheir bizarre quest starts landing with more efficiency. Both Awkwafina and\nSandra Oh are charismatic and Oh really gets a chance to stand out with her\nwild older sister persona that contrasts well with the introverted sibling.\nThreats made by villain Ken about the kidnapped dog become more surreal and\ncomical. And the screenplay even manages to provide a big unexpected yuk during\nwhat first seems like an inspirational (and cliched) speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are plenty of amusing cameos from supporting\nperformers like Tony Hale, Maria Bamford and the late, great Paul Reubens that\nalso hit the mark. And the game show recreations feel accurate with stilted\njokes and conversations between the host and contestants. By the time the\nclimax arrives, the film really kicks into high gear as Anne is forced to take\nthe initiative while competing with Ron Heacock. In the end, this reviewer did\nwant to see the characters succeed and overcome their personal issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Quiz-Lady-05-fixed-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27365\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This isn\u2019t a subtle comedy, but after a slow start it\ndelivers more and more effective material. The cast ultimately generates a lot\nof goodwill and the film finishes on a sweet and likable note, encouraging\nviewers not to worry too much about failing and also live in the moment, all\nwhile promoting the importance of sisterhood. <em>Quiz Lady<\/em> may not be an\nall-time champ, but it wins the night and furnishes an enjoyable night of\nentertainment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Running Time: 100 minutes This film from 20th Century Studios will be released in the United States via the streaming service Hulu on November 3rd. The long history of television game shows isn\u2019t a particularly popular subject in cinema, even though witnessing an average person appear in front of millions in a high-stress situation would [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":27362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[213,221,2114,4660,8079,9474,10438,16538,16539,16540,16541,17622,23289,24286],"class_list":["post-27360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-213","tag-20th-century-studios","tag-awkwafina","tag-comedy","tag-game-show","tag-hulu","tag-jason-schwartzman","tag-quiz-lady","tag-quiz-lady-film-review","tag-quiz-lady-movie-review","tag-quiz-lady-review","tag-sandra-oh","tag-trivia","tag-will-ferrell"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27360"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27360\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}