In Zoey Deutch‘s new Sundance feature Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, she clicks her heels three times and transports audiences back to the mid-budget comedy era of the aughts.
Written by David Wain and Ken Marino, the Wain-helmed sex romp parody stars Deutch as the titular happy-go-lucky hairdresser, who spirals after finding out her fiancé quickly took advantage of his celebrity sex pass with Jennifer Aniston, one of countless A-list cameos.
Tagging along with her trusty gay best friend and co-worker Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) to a hair convention in Hollywood, the pair sets out to even the score and help Gail hook up with her own pass, Jon Hamm.
Along the way, they collect a group of LA misfits, including the quick-thinking, overly confident CAA assistant Caleb (Ben Wang), the full-of-heart paparazzo Vincent (Ken Marino), and the actual John Slattery, who’s struggling to get in touch with his inner lion nearly a decade after Mad Men ended.
If that setup doesn’t tip you off to the fact that this absurdist take on Hollywood, the entertainment industry and parasocial fandoms is in fact a parody of The Wizard of Oz, the cleverly named Gail dons a blue dress and ruby red slippers, plus she’s from Kansas.
Meanwhile, Sabrina Impacciatore is a ruthlessly entertaining substitute for the Wicked Witch, sending her henchmen (played by Joe Lo Truglio and Mather Zickel, who clearly had a blast hamming it up as the stereotypical wise guys) after Gail, following an accidental swap with their briefcase containing a stack of documents that could bring down the global financial system.
Deutch nails every joke in this slapstick comedy that keeps the out-of-pocket zingers coming nonstop, complimented perfectly by her crew of Yellow Brick Road (Hollywood Blvd) nomads.
Although this movie is not going to win any awards or be studied in elite liberal arts colleges, it has the kind of comedic power that ends up becoming a mindless comfort watch for generations to come. Instead of churning out another meta indie comedy from cool TikTokers, Gail Daughtry seeks to return the genre to a more careless time for the world… and a much more profitable time for Hollywood.
Producers are Anthony Bregman, Peter Cron, Ken Marino, David Wain, Crystine Zhang and Charles Zhong.
Title: Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass
Festival: Sundance (Premieres)
Director: David Wain
Screenwriters: Ken Marino and David Wain
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley and Ben Wang
Sales agent: Oval-5 Inc., Falco Ink
Running time: 1 hr 33 min
