I’ve been a film critic for more than ten years, and there are still plenty of filmmakers I’m not really acquainted with. One of those is David Wain, who’s famous for his bizarre and surreal comedies like Wet Hot American Summer, They Came Together, and Role Models. I haven’t watched any of those, but after checking out Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, I think it’s best to skip them entirely. ‘No amount of celebrity cameos can rescue this unfunny parody that’s meant to be a take on The Wizard of Oz (there’s even a character named Otto, get it?)
Hairstylist Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) is pretty much a modern-day Dorothy, as she’s also an innocent girl from Kansas. On the night she’s heading to a book reading by Jennifer Aniston, she stumbles upon the idea of the celebrity sex pass—the one person that married folks are allowed to hook up with without their spouses getting upset. Somehow, she catches her fiancé Tom in the act with Aniston in the bookstore’s backroom, just minutes after he declared her to be his celeb sex pass (how convenient!). While it’s not graphic, the film is filled with a ton of crude and raunchy sex jokes throughout.
Gail sets off on an adventure to Hollywood in search of her own celebrity sex pass, which happens to be Jon Hamm. She’s got her gay best friend Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) with her—a tired cliché in comedy and rom-coms where the protagonist’s best friend is always gay. As they travel, they stumble upon a band of misfits who join their cause. Among them are a hapless aspiring CAA agent (Ben Wang), a struggling paparazzo (Ken Marino) whose ‘white whale’ happens to also be Jon Hamm, and an older, dejected version of actor John Slattery (playing himself). Sabrina Impacciatore, as an Italian crime lord, is essentially the Wicked Witch; she’s furious with her bumbling (and wildly irritating) goons who mix up her briefcase with Gail’s at the airport.
I must confess, the premise seemed intriguing, yet I found myself waiting for at least a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments that never came. The scenarios seem so random; there’s a bit involving ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic that’s bizarre and mean-spirited. All the characters come off as caricatures with no semblance of real people. The script by Wain and Marino is riddled with lowbrow, juvenile comedic clichés that are poorly executed, and none of them elicited a chuckle. My husband, who was seated beside me, didn’t laugh even once and left less than half an hour in; I wish I had done the same.
The film unfolds like a prolonged improv sketch, featuring more bloody violence than actual humor. The plot, if you can call it that, is just an excuse to string together these sketches. The same unfunny jokes are recycled endlessly, leaving me puzzled as to how this project was ever greenlit and why so many celebrities chose to participate in this cringe-worthy “comedy.” I found myself scrolling through my phone while the movie played, just to endure it. Now, I’m not opposed to silly, slapstick humor; in fact, I thoroughly enjoyed the latest Naked Gun film starring Liam Neeson, which is even referenced here. However, unlike this one, that movie has lots of fun moments that actually made me laugh.
Deutch is charming, but even she is hard to watch here, which is more the fault of Gail’s characterization than her acting. The sex scene with Hamm (the supposed ‘Wizard’ in this story) is beyond cringey, especially considering their 24-year age difference. Hamm’s brief performance isn’t anything to write home about, but at least he wasn’t hammy. The talented character actor Fred Melamed is amusing as the mailman narrator, but overall, everything just feels strangely disjointed.
Wain and Moreno’s existing fanbase might get a kick out of this, but I’m not so sure he’d attract fans with his crude, lame, and LA-centric insider jokes. If done well, this could have turned into a clever satire on celebrity obsession and temptation, rather than a chaotic, unappealing farce that leans more on shock value than genuine humor. If you haven’t seen this one, I’d give it a hard pass. The worst movie I’ve seen in a good while.
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I’m sorry you didn’t like this. I do want to see this as l liked Role Models but Wet Hot American Summer is a MASTERPIECE. One of the greatest comedies of the 21st century so far…. “you taste like a burger, I don’t like you anymore”
Well, if you like his work, you might like this, but nah, I don’t think I ever want to watch anything by this director. Not my style at all.
But you NEED to see Wet Hot American Summer. It is a comedy that is unlike anything else. This is the film that really gave us of who Paul Rudd was going to be. It is the film that isn’t afraid to make fun of the genre it was doing. It also had Bradley Cooper taking it up the ass from Michael Ian Black… and liking it in his very first film role.
ouch! Thanks for being honest. People should do more reviews like this. No sugar coating
Ahah, thanks Elly!! It really is bad even by low-brow humor standards. I think my dislike for this is similar to the pandemic ‘comedy’ called The Bubble from 2022, I also don’t recommend that one.
I have never heard of this movie before and I have never seen any of David Wain‘s movies. I think Wet Hot American Summer became a cult because some of the stars in that film became a household name, mostly Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd. I remember when that film came out, Rudd was the only well known actor at the time and the promotion focused mostly on him.
From the sounds of it, I don’t think I would waste my time on this one either.
Yeah, I think this seems to be made solely for fans of his ‘comedic’ brand and clearly he asked lots of favors from his celeb friends. It seems he hasn’t strayed far from his cult fave Wet Hot American Summer, and Rudd also had a cameo here which is completely useless. Yeah, I should’ve skipped this one but at least now I know to avoid Wain’s movies.
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Geez, thanks for the warning, Ruth!
After reading the review, I’m surprised you even gave it 1 reel. I thought for sure this reel would roll away to nowhere, to 0.
Hey, have you ever given a movie 0 reels?
~~ 𝕆𝖃 🤍❦💙❦🤍 𝖃𝕆 ~~
Ahah, well I guess I’m feeling generous to give it a 1 reel, as there’s really no redeeming quality whatsoever. I don’t think I’ve given a movie 0 reel, I just think it’s so hard to make a film, you still have to give them props for at least making it, even if I do not enjoy it.
XOXO
P.S. Sorry for the late responses, was really busy this weekend!
No worries about responses.
Yes… I see what you mean. There is a lot that goes into making even the worst film. On that basis… 1/2 a Reel is the lowest you could go.
XO꧁❦🌹❦꧂OX
Yeah I think I could’ve given this one a half reel, but honestly I’d rather forget about this movie entirely.
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Hahahahaha!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Agreed…. we enjoy a slapstick as much as anyone, and we weren’t expecting anything other than a silly movie on a Sunday night.
We finally walked out about 1/2 way through when every forced sketch got to be painfully cringy.
When we walked through the theater door to the lobby, my wife said she expected there to be someone giving high fives and prizes to the first people to realize the whole movie was a prank to see how long people would subject themselves to it.
If this movie is funny to anyone, I’m at a loss as to how. Maybe we’re already living inside another movie: Idiocracy.
Hi Eric, thanks for your comment! Boy, it would’ve been nice if someone handed you and your wife a prize for leaving early, sorry that you had to lose your hard-earned dollars to see this at the theater!
Yeah, silly slapstick movies are ok if done right and the actors are watchable. Unfortunately that’s not the case here; everything is so cringe-worthy! I should’ve stopped watching after the Weird Al scene, which just gets worse from there.
I have not seen Idiocracy, thankfully!
Ruth, it sounds like Mrs. B and I dodged a bullet by passing on this film. I thought the trailer was intriguing enough and wanted to give it a go at the theatre, but if anything this will now be a small screen view at this point. Haven’t heard great things. And at that, if we view it we’ll be watching it to see just how bad it is. It doesn’t sound like a cult film candidate either…it just sounds…bad.
Hi again, Bruce! The trailer was intriguing, I agree, though I didn’t realize the Wizard of Oz spoof until I saw the movie. Nah, I don’t see this belonging in the ‘so bad it’s good’ category, as those movies would still have to be watchable.
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