GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS
Starring: Zoey Deutch, Ken Marino, Ben Wang, John Slattery, Fred Melemed, Sabrina Impacciatore, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Cassidy, and Jon Hamm
Director: David Wain
AMARÚ
I really wanted to like Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, and although I appreciate its commitment to the ridiculous humor, it just didn’t work for me. I can see it working for others, but the fine line of absurdist comedy is the thinnest tightrope, and while there are bits that are funny, much of the set up and running jokes landed on the try-hard side of that line. Zoey Deutch is game, the meta-commentary on Hollywood fits, and the cast and cameos are having a blast. But, yet again, pure comedy films prove to be an elusive nut to crack these days.
PAIGE
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is a zany, over-the-top comedy. Although the flick has an eccentric ensemble led by the always charming Zoey Deutch and features plenty of celebrity cameos, it's ultimately a bit all over the place. The humor is a mixed bag. Don’t get me wrong, some of the comedy is downright hilarious, but most of it had me rolling my eyes. The movie works best when it leans into its ridiculous comedic bits rather than its actual plot. Overall, this Wizard of Oz fever dream riff definitely won’t be for everyone unless you're into off-the-wall comedies.
ROBERT
Sketch comedy movies are not for everyone; you can see that in the performance of David Wain’s classic Wet Hot American Summer. However, absurdity is an elixir that can elicit all manner of laughter, if done smartly, and Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass manages to tow that line surprisingly well. It’s reminiscent of the time of the 90s/2000s ensemble comedy film; for me, there are some parallels to I Love You, Man and a little seen movie, Accidental Love. The cast is up for all the shenanigans, the commentary and sight gags work, and the overexposure of jokes get a pass from me.
ADRIANO
I love comedies that operate in an elevated reality where everything is absurd. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass lives there, aware of its silly concept and in on the bit from the start. With that, the only thing that really matters now is: did it make me laugh, and the answer is… mostly yes. There’s a lot of notable misses, especially as more characters get involved and things get messy, but it got me more times than it didn’t. I never laughed hysterically, but it’s a comedy that got me enough times; that’s a win for me.
BODE
Absurdist comedy is an art, and David Wain is one such filmmaker who’s ensured that it’s seen as such with rightfully heralded cult classics like Wet Hot American Summer and They Came Together. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass sees Wain and longtime co-writer Ken Marino return to the mode of those aforementioned films, riffing on The Wizard of Oz, and satirizing Hollywood with anarchic glee and full-blown commitment to its wall-to-wall jokes from its stacked cast. It’s admittedly more uneven than I would’ve preferred (some bits do fall flat), but I laughed more often than I didn’t. Wicked wishes.
NICK
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is an oddball comedy that focuses on maintaining its quirkiness over providing laugh-out-loud jokes. This limits the hilarity and makes the film feel a little goofy at points. That said, the cast is fully bought into this concept and it shows. Zoey Deutch finds a nice balance of naivety and charm as the title character. Meanwhile each member of her Wizard of Oz-esque team brings their own peculiar attributes that fit within this story. Add in a bunch of cameos and you have a film that could’ve been much better, but also could have been much worse.
