New R-Rated Comedy Prioritizes Cameos Over Actual Humor 

By Chris Sawin
| Published 24 seconds ago

David Wain film and television projects are an acquired taste. Wain gained recognition as part of the sketch comedy group The State. The State cast members included the likes of Michael Ian Black, Kerri Kenney, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Showalter, and Ken Marino. Wain would go on to develop the comedy TV series Stella with Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, which is arguably his best work. He’s also been a film director for the past 25 years, with his work including Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models, Wanderlust, and A Futile and Stupid Gesture.  

Wain has utilized cast members from The State and recurring cast from his film projects into everything he has done, and Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass continues that tradition. Wain’s new film follows Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) as she’s engaged to be married to Tom (Michael Cassidy). Gail is a hair stylist that works with her best friend Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) at a hair salon.  

After Otto introduces the concept of people having a pass to have sex with their celebrity crush, Gail discusses it with Tom as they are going to a Jennifer Aniston cookbook signing where Gail catches Tom having sex with Aniston. Now Gail tags along with Otto to Los Angeles as he attends a hair convention where she intends to have sex with Jon Hamm to save her marriage.  

David Wain Dialed Down

With a David Wain comedy, you’re expecting stupidity, excessive profanity, and moments of downright raunch. But Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass isn’t enough of anything to be worthwhile or memorable outside of a cameo fest, no character development whatsoever, and an ending that is hopelessly predictable and overwhelmingly dull.  

According to IMDb, Wain and Marino (who co-wrote Gail Daughtry together) came to the mutual conclusion that the celebrity sex pass premise was a “really stupid idea” that “doesn’t make sense and has no point.” That is what they based the film around; the initial sense of stupidity and pointlessness. It’s no surprise the film is as lackluster as it is.  

Outside of appearances or full-on supporting character roles for The State alumni Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenney, and Michael Ian Black, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass also has cameos from Jennifer Aniston, Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Henry Winkler, Richard Kind, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Elizabeth Banks, and Elizabeth Perkins. Penn Jillette and Paul Rudd also appear but have no lines whatsoever.  

A Setup You’ve Seen Before

The film recycles the storyline of Dumb and Dumber right down to Gail having her briefcase mixed up with the mob/a criminal syndicate (it’s never clarified) while traveling to a different state to pursue her crush/sexual desire. It’s funny that Gail Daughtry is reminiscent of Dumb and Dumber since the film is also a lot like Hall Pass, another Farrelly Brothers’ film. 

There are a few gags and lines of dialogue that are slightly humorous. Ken Marino’s speech about having to sell his hair for wigs and eventually turning around to sell his wigs for hair is stupidly amusing. Gail tipping $0.79 on a credit card in California is wild behavior, and John Slattery getting kicked in the balls and farting uncontrollably was unexpected. Somebody almost drowns in minestrone soup while exploring Los Angeles for the first time apparently includes shopping for gum at 7-Eleven and getting fellatio by the dumpster behind Foot Locker.  

The story never evolves past “get to Los Angeles and try to bang Jon Hamm.” Arriving in California means that celebrities can pop in for no rhyme or reason and then disappear just as quickly before moving on to the next cameo. Gail Daughtry tries to introduce a secondary storyline with government espionage, but it’s dropped for idiotic behavior such as John Slattery having his foot slammed in a door for 45 seconds straight.  

It’s not that Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is formulaic, it’s a film that is downright absent minded. It’s friends showing up and creating brain damage passing as so-called entertainment. This is like the cinematic equivalent of mixing ammonia and bleach and pouring it into your eyes and ears for an hour and a half. You feel dumber after watching it like it’s valuable points of your IQ you’ll never be able to recover.

GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS REVIEW SCORE

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is ruining movie theaters across America as we speak.