PLOT: A naive small-town woman, Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch), and her fiancé agree (in theory) on a celebrity sex pass, where each of them gets a hall pass with the celebrity of their choice. When he actually sleeps with his celebrity, Gail, to even the score, takes off to Los Angeles with only one goal in mind—to have sex with Jon Hamm.
REVIEW: First things first—you have to be a David Wain fan in order to like Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass. If you don’t find Wet Hot American Summer (and its Netflix sequels) or They Came Together funny, then you should probably pass on this one, as it’s jam-packed with the kind of goofy humour he’s known for. You get repeated jokes that go on way too long, hugely broad performances, hints of the surreal, and more. As an unabashed fan, though, I can tell you that Gail Daughtry made me laugh a whole lot.
It helps that the movie is anchored by a strong star turn from Zoey Deutch, who shows excellent comic timing as the sweet, naive Gail, a (terrible) hairdresser whose boyfriend lucks out and sleeps with his celebrity crush mere moments after the two agree on a sex pass (I won’t spoil which celeb is playing themselves—but they absolutely kill in their limited screen time). Brokenhearted, she sets out for Los Angeles with her best friend, Otto (a funny Miles Gutierrez-Riley), in tow to nail Jon Hamm (lucky guy!).
Along the way, she runs foul of some goons (one played by Joe Lo Truglio) who are after some loose paperwork she’s gotten her hands on. She also puts together a gang of friends on her journey through Los Angeles, with the movie eventually becoming a very adult spoof of The Wizard of Oz. Gail is Dorothy (complete with red shoes), Otto is Toto—but instead of a dog, he’s her sharp-tongued gay bestie. They also pick up a Scarecrow in Ben Wang’s wannabe agent Caleb, a Tin Man in paparazzi Vincent (Ken Marino—who also co-wrote the movie), and finally a Cowardly Lion in John Slattery playing… John Slattery.
The latter will no doubt walk away with the most raves from Gail Daughtry, with Slattery hilarious as a funhouse-mirror version of himself. In the movie’s world, Slattery hasn’t worked since the end of Mad Men and has been cast off by his former BFF Jon Hamm. Hamm is also the white whale of Vincent the paparazzi, who lost his cushy gig with People Magazine after being constantly eluded by Hamm, with the former Don Draper being his last shot at redemption.
If it all sounds insanely stupid, you’re not wrong—but that’s part of the charm. The film goes badly off the rails when too much time is spent on the goons trying to kill Gail and her friends, but when it sticks to Hollywood satire it’s frequently laugh-out-loud funny. Slattery shows some real comic chops here and still has great chemistry with Hamm, who (of course) eventually shows up as the movie’s equivalent to the Wizard—although instead of a trip home, he’s offering Zoey a night of carnal bliss. Hamm has always had a knack for comedy and mocking himself, with the movie’s Hamm being insecure and not too bright as he holes up in the Chateau Marmont.
While Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass isn’t able to keep its momentum going throughout the entire film, more often than not it’s hilarious, and even at the notoriously fickle Sundance press screenings, the journalists I saw this with all laughed consistently. In an era where we lack comedies, the fact that this movie actually makes you chuckle is enough to merit an enthusiastic recommendation from me—and Deutch is a delight.
