When CPA Anne Yum learned gets a call from her mother’s nursing home and learns that her mother is gone, she is forced to reunite with her older sister Jenny. Together after being estranged many years the two sisters must deal with the chaos that their mother left behind. In “Quiz Lady, the director of the 2007 “Ping Pong Playa,” Jessica Yu,  takes us on an uneven though enjoyable ride as two sisters learn more about each other and reconnect.  While this is not kid-friendly (rated R for drug use and language), there will be no funerals and no dogs die, but a downtrodden accountant gets to be a hero.

When Anne (Awkwafina) shows up at the rest home, she gets good news: Her mother isn’t dead. “Gone” was just a poor choice of words. The mother has taken off, run away. The bad news is: Her mother has violated terms of the residency one time too many and cannot return. Older sister Jenny arrives in a dress that would only be appropriate at a nursing home if you were fishing for an elderly husband or sugar daddy. It was the only black dress she had.

The mom is in Macau on both a gambling trip and a necessary escape. She owes money from her gambling debts and isn’t planning on returning, however, the guy who bankrolled her gambling means to collect from Anne and Jenny. In reality that means, Anne will have to find the cash since Jenny is living out of her car. Although full of ideas about her own potential, Jenny falls back on the mantra, “Do you have any idea how hard it is to be an Asian woman in this country?”

Anne is “a 28-year-old woman living the life of a 90-year-old widower.”  Slouched and shuffling, she’s a fade-into-the-background beige personality, listening to the complaints of her neighbor Francine (Holland Taylor) and hiding in her cubicle at CPYay, alienated and often put upon by her coworkers. Her two joys in life are the aging overweight pug, Linguini, that her sister left behind, before taking off on some escapade and her favorite quiz show, “Can’t Stop the Quiz,”  hosted by a bow-tied Terry McTeer (Will Ferrell). This quiz show provided comfort when her parents argued and her father eventually left. Now, it is the only stable aspect of Anne’s life with McTeer becoming an encouraging father figure in her imagination.

Through flashbacks we learn about Anne and Jen’s difficult family life. The siblings are separated by a decade and we at first see their shared history through Anne’s immature eyes (with Jodi You playing a young 6 to 9-year-old Anne and Shirley Chen playing 16-22-year-old Jenny). The father (Eddy Lee) left. The girls were once shuffled off to their economically more stable cousins in Burbank for a month (The movie was filmed in New Orleans and Los Angeles). That didn’t work out and why will play a key to both improving their economic status as well as their relationship with each other.

Brainstorming over ways to repay their mother’s debt, Jenny suggests Anne consider selling her eggs. “It’s not like you’re using them.” But a better idea comes along when Jenny realizes that Anne has all the answers for the quiz show. Surreptitiously recording Anne in the zone while watching an episode, Jenny uploads it to social media and the viral video results Anne getting the moniker “Quiz Lady” and in calls from the quiz show producers. They want this viral video subject on the show.  Anne, however, is afraid of publicly humiliating herself or drawing attention to herself in any way. Jenny is forced to kidnap Anne and take her to an audition.

The game show is under threat as well. A record-breaking winner, Ron Heacock (Jason Schwartzman), is a preening know-it-all who seems to be plotting to take over for the aging, but beloved McTeer. But no one seems to be able to end Heacock’s winning streak.

You can probably figure out how this adult fairytale goes. Anne will overcome her anxiety which leaves her “armpits like Niagara Falls” at the audition and her dog will be saved (so this film is safe for dog lovers).

Jen D’Angelo’s  (“Young Rock” and “Hocus Pocus 2”) script might be better suited for a TV series because of its meandering. Director Jessica Yu (“This Is Us” and “Citadel”) doesn’t always ably navigate the tonal shifts either. For a feature film, the action and screenplay could have been tightened up. Yet this is still an enjoyable film that works on the chemistry of the two leads and that since we never really meet the troublesome mom, a lot of left to our imaginations.  Ferrell is suitably subdued while Schwartzman oozes over-the-top arrogance. While it’s lovely to see Emmy Award winning Taylor (1999 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for “The Practice”) , she severely under utilized here. The film also features Paul Reubens’ (Pee-Wee Herman) final film role (cameo appearance).

“Quiz Lady” made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival  (9 September 2023) and its US premiere at AFI FEST (26 October 2023).  “Quiz Lady” will be released exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ in all other territories on 3 November 2023. Rated R for language and drug use.