If ever there was a way to break through the noise of modern Hollywood filmmaking, it's this: embrace silliness and sincerity. That genuine sense of fun has catapulted many recent films to critical and commercial success recently. While the sincerity part may be hit or miss, anyone who’s seen any film from writer/director David Wain (“Wet Hot American Summer,” “They Came Together”) and his longtime collaborator, co-writer Ken Marino (“The State,” “Children’s Hospital), knows that they know a thing or two about embracing silliness.
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” stars Zoey Deutch (“Zombieland: Double Tap,” “Nouvelle Vague”) as the titular Gail Daughtry who finds herself on a whirlwind adventure through Los Angeles after her high school sweetheart and fiancé Tom, played by Michael Cassidy (“Men at Work,” “People of Earth”), meets and utilizes his “celebrity free pass.” Now, with the help of her best friend Otto, played by Miles Gutierrez-Riley (“Smile 2,” “Sweethearts”), and a rag tag group of misfits including wannabe talent agent Caleb, played by Ben Wang (“Karate Kid: Legends,” “The Long Walk”), paparazzi photographer Vincent, played by Marino, and real-life actor John Slattery, played by John Slattery (“Mad Men,” “Spotlight”), she sets out on a quest to fix her relationship by having sex with her celebrity free pass, Jon Hamm, played by Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” “Hoppers”). Meanwhile, a mix-up at the airport leads to her obliviously being chased down by crime boss Ludovica, played by Sabrina Impacciatore (“The White Lotus,” “The Paper”), and her goons Sergio and Niccolo, played by Joe Lo Truglio (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Reno 911!”) and Mather Zickel (“Delocated,” “Man Up!”) respectively.
While that might seem like an awful lot to pack into a film that runs barely over 90 minutes, Wain and Marino keep things brisk by keeping things silly. Nothing is ever taken too seriously, just enough for the characters to buy into the events as they progress. It’s also consistently very ridiculously funny, poking fun at all manner of Los Angeles and celebrity stereotypes, as well as the twee fantasy romantic film genre. While not as incisive of a satire as Wain’s previous rom-com film “They Came Together,” there’s different material more squarely in his sights this time around. About halfway through, it becomes apparent that this film is a direct parody of “The Wizard of Oz,” down to character arcs and specific plot devices.
Smartly, Wain and Marino keep this close to the chest early on, until the third act hits, and it becomes a beat-for-beat parody of the 1939 classic. There are no winking nods with yellow brick roads or people dressed as witches. Rather, even in its most directly referential moments, they make sure to keep things focused on the actual film. Therefore, it avoids the pitfalls most films like this would trip over, as well as making sure it works on its own terms as a film so anyone can watch and laugh along even if they’ve never seen or heard of the original “Oz” tale.
This is a broad ensemble comedy first and foremost, and Deutch leads her group of misfits along with a commanding presence. Equal parts delirious optimist and homegrown heroine, she is a fantastically funny central character that is a ton of fun to spend time with. This isn’t a deep character study, but there is at least some material for Gail to deal with. Not so for anyone else. The rest of the supporting cast is equally funny, although they mostly boil down to vehicles for jokes. Slattery is possibly the funniest outside of Gail, simply because he gets to play his own celebrity persona as a vehicle for the comedy, but they all have their moments. Wain’s direction has a high emphasis on visual gags and overblown dialogue, and each member of the cast is locked in on the exact wavelength needed for a project like this to shine.
Outside of the comedy and visual gags, there’s little of note on the production side. The musical score is fine enough, with Craig Wedren (“School of Rock,” “Wet Hot American Summer”) composing some works that simply get the job done. Visually, it's a film clearly made for a small budget, and it shows. Cinematographer Kevin Atkinson (“A Futile and Stupid Gesture,” “History of the World: Part 2”) works with what he’s got, but this is clearly a film made on a shoestring budget, with favors called in for celebrity cameos and visual bits. None of this harms the film per se, but it does mean that there’s nothing to get excited about if the comedy doesn’t strike your fancy.
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” is a mouthful of a title and a rollicking good time if you enjoy the kind of silly, overblown, satirical humor it’s putting out. A completely committed cast leads a really clever script that gets a ton of material out of its central idea, as well as an unexpected amount of great material out of its “Wizard of Oz” parody. This is nothing revolutionary or monumental, but as a film so directly and embracingly silly, you’ll have a great time tripping down this yellow brick road. 4/5
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