Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, along with Olivia Wilde’s The Invite and Beth de Araujo’s U.S. Grand Prize-winning Josephine, were big favorites coming out of this past Sundance. That’s what made the appearance of David Wain’s sex-comedy at Tribeca so exciting thanks to the hilarious potential its star-studded cast and raunchy premise brought to the table. Sadly, Gail Daughtry is more of a mixed bag as its approach and sex-comedy don’t always land.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass sees the seemingly sublime small-town life of Gail Daughtry (Zoe Deutch) crumble after her fiancee (Michael Cassidy) sleeps with his “celebrity sex pass.” To get even, Gail heads to Hollywood to find her celebrity sex pass, Mad Men star Jon Hamm. Initially, things get off to a solid start. The whole set-up of Gail’s fiancee sleeping with a celebrity is super funny and the person they get is the type of knockout crowd-pleaser who’ll have audiences bursting with laughter. Deutch brings the right energy and creates some truly funny moments by playing up Gail’s small-town personality perfectly to make her fairytale relationship being blown apart incredibly comical. Additionally, between Gail and her fellow hairdresser/bestie Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) carries all the right vibes for a trip to the glitz and glam of Hollywood to make a sex fantasy come true.
However, once Gail and Otto arrive at LAX to find Hamm, the film struggles to live up to its sex-comedy concept. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, outside of Otto experiencing an off-camera, back alley encounter and a hilariously sensual sex scene later in the film, has a pretty mild sex drive. Those looking for something a little less racy might be okay with what Gail Daughtry offers. But in terms of sex-comedies, it’s just not raunchy enough to really capitalize on the best parts of its premise.
The talk of celebrity sex passes is minimal and Gail’s reason for coming to LA quickly gets side-tracked by other things. As she gains new allies in her journey to find Hamm, their issues and needs sometimes overtake the film in a way where you forget what Gail is even after. Often, her mission is impeded by random plot points like a photographer trying to capture a picture of Hamm or some dumb obstacle of her needing a movie to pitch Hamm just to get close. Connections to her overall goal are never strong enough to create worthwhile arcs and clog up the pacing tremendously. Not to mention, there’s a mafioso plotline tossed in that’s super-unnecessary.
The comedy is all over the place but is generally held together by the strong cast assembled, which is excellently led by Deutch. Gail Daughtry, if anything, is a strong showcase of Deutch’s comedic chops and embodies why she’s such a fast-rising name in the genre. She’s effortlessly funny when she’s forced to act quickly in odd situations and has that overtly cheery delivery that makes certain lines instantly hilarious. Plus, she shares great chemistry with everyone she comes across, and if we could get her and Hamm in another movie together ASAP, it would surely be a total riot based on what we see here. Unfortunately, it feels like Deutch and company often get let down by the film’s approach to comedy because it usually beats certain jokes to death or goes too over the top.
This script loves to repeat gags and lines that might be funny the first and even the second time, but quickly lose their power after that. It overplays its hand on some jokes and when it’s not even funny the first time, it’s a palpable strikeout that stings. This film overplays its hand on wildly random jokes and egregious celebrity cameos that do absolutely nothing. Certain scenes go so far that you’re left wondering if this film is trying to parody something. Scenes like Gail having a crazed, blood-fueled retaliation against the film’s big baddie or the group being thrust into an oddly sexualized hair stylist meet-up come off so random.
There’s nothing clever behind them and it’s so exaggerated that you’re not even sure how to react to it. It’s why the film often lacks a satisfying comedic punch, and outside of a few well-delivered lines and scenes, it’s tough to have a memorable laugh. The celebrity cameos in this film are equally as dull. Given the film’s Hollywood setting, it’s no surprise to see Gail run into a bevy of celebs. But most of them serve no purpose in the plot or feel sharply snuck in. They’re essentially unsatisfying eye candy. Some of them are just random as hell, especially the final big one, and it feels like such a missed opportunity for a small-town sweetheart like Gail to drift into the celeb world.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass isn’t a total loss thanks to Deutch delivering strong comedic work and some fun connections. Overall though, it misses the mark on its sex-comedy ambitions and its writing that ultimately make it a lackluster and tame offering.
