“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” follows Gail, a small-town hairdresser whose life takes a turn when her fiancé sleeps with his “celebrity pass.” This leads to a search for Jon Hamm to even the scales while colliding with celebrities and being hunted by Italian assassins.
Phew… that synopsis is a lot, right? Well, if you couldn’t tell by the title and that brief plot summary alone, “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” doesn’t take itself seriously. Throughout the course of the 93-minute runtime, you will likely find yourself asking “why?” on numerous occasions. There’s no rhyme or reason to it; co-writer and director David Wain just has a “why not?” mentality.
Everything inside “Gail Daughtry” is a parody. Wain and Ken Marino’s script is full of contrivances by design, and the characters acknowledge this. It’s a search for sex mixed with an assassin subplot mixed with a journey of self-growth. Through all of the jumbled narrative leaps, it remains an enjoyable experience. There are instances where it becomes too jarring, however. Going from high school sweethearts to Italian assassins to brutal violence to sexual intercourse is a lot. But “Gail Daughtry” spends time showing all of it in some fashion.
Everyone is playing a caricature here, and it’s easy to tell that they’re all having fun with the material. Zoey Deutch (Gail) continues to find herself in outlandishly named movies, starring in “The Threesome” in 2025 and now “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.” She plays the naive and always optimistic character well, with her smile constantly filling the screen. Whether it’s her shaking everyone’s hands for introductions or walking in on Michael Cassidy (Tom) and Jennifer Aniston sleeping together, she manages to craft pitch-perfect reactions and delivery. Also in the film are Miles Gutierrez-Riley (Otto), Ben Wang (Caleb), Ken Marino (Vincent) and John Slattery (himself). Each of these actors brings heightened personalities to the screen, making their appearances memorable no matter how stereotypical they may be.
At a certain point, though, “Gail Daughtry” begins to feel like a cameo-fest. There are already A-list celebrities woven into the central storyline, but that doesn’t stop several others from appearing as well. This especially hinders the first third of the runtime, pausing to acknowledge each new recognizable face that appears. As the movie progresses, famous people continue to show up, but they feel less like interruptions and more like nods.
This is really a testament to the experience as a whole. The first 30 minutes of “Gail Daughtry” will likely let viewers know whether they’re in or out. But… don’t be too quick to judge. Because of its in-your-face style, it takes some time adjusting to the film. For instance, it opens with narration from the mailman. What significance does he serve to the story? None at all. But again, Wain asks, “Why not?” Then it moves into robot-like dialogue that is so abstract that it seems unnatural. This is all part of the movie’s identity, however. Once the characters travel to Los Angeles, the awkwardness begins to fade away.
“Gail Daughtry” is the definition of “turn your brain off” fun. Your mind isn’t going to be stimulated by an intellectual story. It’s quite the opposite. Most of the movie is actually spent mocking Hollywood and the celebrities within it. Film enthusiasts will likely find themselves laughing at the appearances and references that are fired off from start to finish.
Taking place in Los Angeles, the visuals are vibrant and the outfits are eccentric. Director of photography Kevin Atkinson balances the camerawork by keeping it purposefully flat early on before shifting into more movement to match the vibes of Hollywood. Costume designer Bryn Carter equips the talent with a plethora of different outfits to match their personalities.
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” is a lot to take in, but it’s never boring. The film swings for the fences in being a brazen parody of entertainment culture.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
