It’s been far too long since David Wain and his merry band of freaks got a movie on the big screen. While Showalter is off making movies with Anne Hathaway (great work if you can get it!), Wain has been crafting a spectacular tale of friendship, self-love, and getting laid. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is a delightful riff on The Wizard of Oz with a joke-per-second count that rivals that of 30 Rock’s best episodes. Zoey Deutch holds her own against comedy legends like Ken Marino and Joe Lo Truglio, but the film’s finest moments are courtesy of John Slattery giving a bravado performance as himself. Is this one of the stupidest movies of the summer? Absolutely. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Gail Daughtry (Deutch) is a dorky hairdresser in Kansas, engaged to marry a somewhat careless man named Tom (Michael Cassidy). After a joking discussion of their celebrity hall passes, Tom encounters his – Jennifer Aniston, of course – and immediately has sex with her. To even the score and try to move on from this betrayal, Gail and her bestie Otto (Miles Guitterez-Riley) decide to take a detour from their hairdresser conference and track down Gail’s celebrity crush, none other than Jon Hamm. However, finding this TV legend is harder than it seemed, especially since they have a couple of weird gangsters on their tail, working for a passionate Italian mob boss (Sabrina Impaccitore). With the help of a spirited administrative assistant (Ben Wang), a disgraced paparazzo (Ken Marino), and Hamm’s former co-star John Slattery (himself), Gail can’t possibly fail!
Every actor locked into the exact wavelength needed for this ridiculous sendup of The Wizard of Oz. They each fit their archetype perfectly, especially Slattery as the Cowardly Lion. Thomas Lennon is doing an insane accent as a famous hairdresser. The gay character (our Toto) is actually funny! Cameos cameos cameos! What more could you ask for in this love letter to Los Angeles and the psychos that manage to live there?
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass
2026
Dir. David Wain
94 min
Opens Friday, 7/10 @ Coolidge Corner Theatre, Somerville Theatre, Kendall Square Cinema, Alamo Drafthouse Boston Seaport, and AMC Boston Common
