David Wain’s hilarious new film, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, is a summer comedy with plenty of wild humor and TV star cameos.
It features current “It” girl Zoey Deutch (Voicemails for Isabelle) as Gail Daughtry, a woman preparing to marry an average guy named Tom (Michael Cassidy). Zany situations ensue with plot twists that will throw viewers and keep them laughing throughout thanks to Deutch’s overwhelming charm.
What is a celebrity sex pass, anyway? It’s a pass issued by a member of a couple to their partner to allow cheating if sex with a celebrity crush were to become a possibility.
This film opens with a funny bearded mailman named Frank (Fred Melamed) narrating the story. He introduces us to Gail, his favorite member of the town the movie is set in.
In short order, Gail and Tom go to a book reading and signing of a new cookbook penned by Jennifer Aniston (Friends). She soon discovers Tom has switched his celebrity crush from Tilda Swinton to Aniston and is engaging in sex with the actress (who plays herself).
Alongside her friend/fellow hairdresser (Miles Gutierrez-Riley), Gail embarks on a journey with The Wizard of Oz parallels to achieve her dream of having relations with her own celebrity crush, Jon Hamm.
What happens next involves a suitcase exchange with some criminals that include the bumbling Sergio (Joe Lo Truglio). Gail and her friends soon find themselves way over their heads in hot water, and the audience will enjoy the results as they survive zany situations by the skin of their teeth.
There are a lot of characters interwoven into the plot, but all this would be meaningless without Deutch.
Deutch is an actress with hidden-gem charm and is now shining brighter than a shooting star with her work in her two most recent movies, this one included.
Some people may also be impressed by how well Hamm handles his role in the action. Hamm’s participation in the wild nature of this film proves to be the very definition of being a good sport. When he shows up to court Gail in a hot air balloon, one can’t help but smile.
This movie can remind one of The Muse, the Albert Brooks comedy from 1999. It possesses the same off-the-wall humor and fascination with celebrities, but this new film is a lot raunchier in select spots. Its over-the-top nature sometimes gets in the way of the entertainment value of the film.
One can’t help but get frustrated at some of the jokes, which showcase rather obvious punchlines that can take viewers out of the storyline.
These types of jokes tend to be sex-oriented and, at one point, they become a bit redundant.
A low tip that Gail gives someone in the movie feels rather lame and doesn’t necessarily help to advance the plot in an efficient way. That being said, it’s a lot of fun to watch Deutch going through her comic paces in an efficient manner.
Deutch is the movie star we’ve all been waiting for, and she just needed a theatrical vehicle to give her the boost that she so deserves after her stellar work in Voicemails for Isabelle and this new comic curiosity.
The celebrity sex pass featured in the film is a rather brilliant idea because we’ve all thought about our celebrity crushes in one form or another and wonder what it would be like to pursue one of them.
However, Tom and Gail never seem believable as a couple, and this affects the movie’s eventual surprises quite a bit.
Still, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass proves to be a winner.
This film’s cast works well together, and let’s not forget co-stars John Slattery and Ken Marino, whose characters join Gail and company on their quest for no other reason than to make us laugh.
Thanks to the comic timing of both actors, the movie gets a boost from their participation in it.
While the parallels to The Wizard of Oz often seem more hopeful in the filmmaker’s eyes than in actuality, this new picture offers audiences one zany ride through Los Angeles that will keep arthouse moviegoers laughing throughout the summer movie season.
It’s a wildly humorous shot at the fanciful dreams people chase that are too often suppressed in favor of the mundane.
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Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is now playing in theaters!
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Thomas Duffy
Thomas Duffy is a Critics Choice member who has written film reviews for most of his life, starting at age 11 when he crafted his first full length movie critique on the film, "Roxanne," a Cyrano story featuring Steve Martin. As a result of that review and other movie obsessive writing, Thomas was awarded a creative writing award in sixth grade. Thomas is the proud author of nine books, including two highly acclaimed novels, "To Never Know" and "Social Work." Thomas can be found on X (formerly known as Twitter) or at a New York City movie theater watching the latest hit or independent movie. You can also run into him at Tribeca or at the New York Film Festival.