Opening night of the 24th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival took place at the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park, much like last year did. However, compared to last year, the opening screener was much more lighthearted.
Directed by Academy award-winner Jessica Yu, “Quiz Lady” is a family comedy focused on the relationship and reconciliation between two diametrically opposed sisters Anne and Jenny (Awkwafina and Sandra Oh). Complete with a cast of heavy hitters like Jason Schwartzman and Will Ferrel, the latter of whom actually produced the film via his studio Gloria Sanchez Productions, “Quiz Lady” is a film that’s grand in scale but not in scope.
Indeed, the movie is very content with being exactly what it is, a melodramatic comedy studying the complicated dynamics between two Asian American sisters. There’s nothing offensive about it, in fact, it’s one of the safest picks you could make for general audiences. It’s a movie you could recommend to an estranged in-law in order to get on their good side. That doesn’t necessarily make the film terrible but it does leave a lot of room for improvement.
What’s reassuring about “Quiz Lady” is the meta-contextual elements. There are a million white-based comedies that do the same thing as “Quiz Lady,” in fact, the original script was not initially written to be about Asian Americans at all. It tackles all the same tropes you’d see in your usual post-2010 comedy. Personality-based humor, slapstick elements, scenes that run on for an uncomfortable period of time, and even a hyper-edited drug-tripping scene. The only difference is the very light Asian American lens it’s shown through, while that doesn’t save it from ultimately being generic, it does provide a modicum of brevity. In a way, it is refreshing to see it done modestly, without too much attention being drawn to the character’s background or heavy exploitation of stereotypes.
During the Q&A portion held after the film screening, we asked Jessica Yu where the reoriented focus toward Asian American families came from. Yu said many of those post-script changes came as a result of Awkwafina and Sandra Oh signing onto the project as the talent and producers. It’s easy to spot where their creative influences manifested. Their on-screen chemistry is charming if not a bit manufactured at times. According to Yu, a lot of their dialogue was ad-libbed, leaving the camera going and letting the two play off of each other. What makes their performances interesting is once again the meta-contextual elements. Seeing Sandra Oh play the reckless and free-spirited Jenny in contrast with Awkafina playing a more restrained character foil in Anne is certainly a unique experience.
“Quiz Lady” seems like a return to Yu’s roots in family comedy filmmaking à la “Ping Pong Playa.” While the former is not a shining star amongst its contemporaries, it was a fun experience and a pleasant start to what would be another successful run of films at SDAFF.
Turn off the Bright Lights 