I know I’ve played the “celebrity sex pass game”, and I guarantee most of you have too. Hell, I’ve all but printed mine on a card, and laminated it. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is a film revolving around what a person would do if their partner were actually able to cash in on that hypothetical question.
Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) is happy to live her milquetoast life with her fiance Tom (Michael Cassidy), until a disruption in their plans happens in the most unexpected place, a Jennifer Aniston book signing. After Tom sleeps with Jennifer Aniston since she was his celebrity sex pass, it catapults Gail and her best friend Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) to go to Hollywood, form a team of a photographer (Ken Marino), an agent in training (Ben Wang) and John Slattery as himself; get chased by a mobster (Joe Lo Truglio) and his evil boss (Sabrina Impacciatore), and embark on a quest that will save her marriage. And that is to sleep with Jon Hamm.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is directed by David Wain (The State, Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models) and written by Wain and Ken Marino (The State, Role Models, Wanderlust). As well as the main cast listed above, this is filled with cameos that I will not spoil but I would be remiss not to mention their former “The State” members including Michael Ian Black, Thomas Lennon, and Kerri Kenney.
There’s a lot of ways a comedy like this could be presented. But, given its writers, it’s not surprising that Gail Daughtry is deeply absurdist, leaning close to idiotic on the humor gradient. And honestly, I’m happier for it. Outside of two minute YouTube shorts, this type of humor seems to be a dying art – leaving elder Millennials who grew up on Reno 911 and old Mel Brooks movies wishing for more. This is not the type of comedy everyone may appreciate, given the slapstick violence and South Park-esque sex jokes. My advice to enjoy it if you find yourself in your “mature adult” era? Give the film consent early on to just be ridiculous and enjoy the ride. Know that every character you meet – including celebrities playing themselves and our darling ingenue Gail, will be missing a few screws. With that mindset in place, did every joke land for me? Not all, unfortunately. Some gags stayed just a bit too long past their welcome. But as far as their rapid-fire, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it humor goes, Wain and Marino prove they’ve still got it.
Along with the rather cartoonish characters themselves, the world they interact with is a storybook-like, almost technicolor version of Hollywood (and Kansas), providing a perfect backdrop for Gail and her companions to have an adventure. As a fantasy lover, I will never tire of the “found companions” trope. Deutch and friends play well with each other, each doing well to match the zany energy the script requires. Deutch is particularly loveable as the lead, giving a comedically perky performance reminiscent of “Kimmy Schmidt.” Truly as innocent as a character could be, while still having the goal of pursuing sex with a celebrity.
Look, I can’t exactly say how I would react if my partner was able to fulfill his celebrity sex pass. But I can definitely say that if I pondered the question after having half a bottle of wine and maybe a nibble of special brownie, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass would be the dream I would have after passing out. I would wake up very entertained, and fully accepting of a world that operated on cheesy jokes, whimsey, and absurdism.
