Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass

The games we play in relationships can be dangerous. Some can drive a wedge between you, while others are harmless fun. I’m talking about those hypothetical games where you sit around asking, “What would you do if…?”

One of the classics is the celebrity hall pass game—the one celebrity you’d let your significant other have a free pass with if the opportunity ever presented itself. After all, it’s not like Jon Hamm is going to show up in a hot air balloon and steal your girlfriend away…or is he?

Gail (Zoey Deutch) and Tom (Michael Cassidy) have been together for most of their young lives and are finally approaching the day they’ll say “I do.” But their relationship is unexpectedly put to the test when she catches him in a compromising position with a celebrity who he claims is his “hall pass”.

Needless to say, Gail isn’t thrilled.

Determined to even the score—and maybe rebuild a little trust—she decides it’s time to track down her own celebrity pass: Jon Hamm.

Lucky for her, Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) is heading to Los Angeles to meet his idol, “The Wet Curl” legend Remy Fontaine (Thomas Lennon), and Gail tags along in hopes of making her own dream encounter happen.

Naturally, things don’t go according to plan.

Her luggage gets swapped, the trip quickly spirals into chaos, and finding Hamm proves far more complicated than expected. Along the way, Gail crosses paths with Caleb (Ben Wang), an employee at Hamm’s talent agency who agrees to help, Mad Men co-star John Slattery, and photographer Vincent (Ken Marion), who is just as obsessed with tracking down Hamm as Gail is.

Together, they embark on an increasingly ridiculous adventure that builds toward an ending you probably won’t see coming.

Written by Ken Marion and David Wain, with Wain also directing, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is exactly what its title promises: an over-the-top comedy that races from one absurd situation to the next. Thankfully, if you’re someone who enjoys rapid-fire jokes, visual gags, and ridiculous bits, the movie just keeps getting funnier as it goes.

Not every joke lands, but there are so many coming at you that it’s easy to forgive the occasional miss.

The film is an unapologetically silly romp, and it succeeds largely because everyone involved completely commits to the insanity. The cast is incredibly talented and clearly having a blast, and that infectious energy carries over to the audience.

Zoey Deutch once again proves she’s one of the most naturally charming comedic actresses working today, throwing herself into every ridiculous situation with complete confidence. The supporting cast is equally game, and the movie is packed with surprise cameos that only add to the fun.

Ultimately, Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass isn’t trying to reinvent comedy. It’s simply trying to make you laugh, and more often than not, it succeeds. At a time when so many comedies lean heavily into crude humor, it’s refreshing to get something this goofy, almost wholesome, and this committed to a premise that’s as ridiculous as someone traveling across the country just to get some Hamm action.

Brian Taylor

Member of the North Texas Film Critics Association, and lover of all things Cinema