Two months after its premiere in TIFF, Quiz Lady arrived on streaming this November. The comedy film has a sort-of buddy cop dynamic, with an anxiety-ridden, tightly-wound Awkwafina as Anne, and a chaotic Sandra Oh that lets loose with free-spirited Jenny. The film does take its time to get to the good part, and in certain scenes, it feels like it’s torn between the heartfelt and the humorous, but the leads’ acting smooths over some of the awkward writing. Quiz Lady still leads up to a fun watch, though better pacing and writing could have made this charming comedy a classic.

Quiz Lady isn’t new, and plenty of the scripts feel fairly uneven, but what makes it work is the film’s main leads. Sandra Oh and Awkwafina are a great team, bouncing off each other with a dynamic that made their sibling dynamic believable. Awkwafina steps into a character that’s more serious and worrisome than her other comedic roles, emphasizing Anne’s neuroticism for laughs, but also to show how she’s sabotaging herself. But Oh is a stand-out in here, as a chaotic but supportive older sister that contrasts her more tense dramatic roles. The contrast is delightful as it feels like she’s having fun letting loose in her role.