Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass Review: The Wizard of Oz meets Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

Chase Gifford
10 hours ago
4 min read

“I look at you and I see the final triumph of stupidity in the world!”

– Lorraine Hansberry

You ever see something and wonder, “How? How did this get made? Why did it get made?” I give you Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass. What’s even weirder is that it isn't necessarily a bad thing. It’s a fair series of questions but to deny its effectiveness is being willfully obstinate. Make no mistake, this movie is DUUUUUUUUUUMB, with a capital sTUPID. But god dammit if it isn’t funny as hell too.

Have you ever thought, “I wonder what it would be like to combine two movies like, say, The Wizard of Oz and… oh I don’t know, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.” Well ponder no more because such a hybrid abomination has arrived.

Let me just start off by saying the bad and getting that out of the way. This movie is horrible to look at. Its lack of visual sense would suggest its budget was around the $10 mark. But then with all the celebrity cameos it would further suggest that this was all made by hopes, dreams, bubblegum, and a whole lot of favors.

A movie like this tested me in an unexpected way by leaning into the stupidity but as it clearly demonstrates immense self-awareness it asked if I truly want in on the joke. It knows. Everything you’re thinking about it as you watch it – it knows. It’s intentional. I swear. You know how I know? Because I thought the same things. “It’s just so incredibly ridiculous and utterly, hopelessly asinine.” Which now that I think about it is a bit of a contradiction. Huh…

Okay, so get this straight – Dorothy, I mean Gail, lives in Kansas right. And she’s getting married! So exciting! So anyway, one day Gail and her high school sweetheart turned fiance, Tom, they’re basically like the perfect couple, go to a book reading by Rachel herself, Ms. Jennifer Aniston! (They were on a break!) At this totally riveting reading Gail and Tom decide that Jennifer Aniston will be Tom’s celebrity sex pass! You know, like the title! Neat huh? Anyway, as with most relationships who have “hall passes”, it’s all for fun and not meant to be taken so totes seriously. But Gail didn’t tell Tom or Jennifer Aniston either apparently. Uh oh! Trouble is a-brewing! Well Gail still loves Tom and does want to get married still but this has left questions about their future that she needs answered. And she’ll do it by fucking Jon Hamm of course! What? Did you think this was going to be some introspective, transitional life journey? Yeah, no. Off to Hollywood to make coitus with Don Draper himself! And she couldn’t do it alone. Always by her side is her bestie, Otto. Once they get to California, shenanigans explode and havoc reigns.

Alright enough of that. Once you understand this is a parody, homage, re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz, suddenly everything becomes so much funnier. Suddenly everything will make sense, even if sense is nowhere to be found.

Make no mistake, while so much of this movie is undeniably funny, a good portion of it just falls flat. Though as much as this movie leans into the absurdity, maybe the flat parts are intentional. Whose to say?

The cast is a weed addled concoction of hilarity and pure randomness. Zoey Deutch proved her comedic prowess as Madison in Zombieland: Double Tap. So her terrific comedic timing here as Gail is no surprise but it’s also a bit of a revelation. She’s so funny (And so hot. Sorry I had to). One of my favorite aspects of this Ritalin-fueled fever dream is her sensational balance of cookie cutter Gail operating with a massive amount of naivety spliced with the random, occasional outbursts of unbelievable crassness and even one moment of incredible, brutal violence. That was really unexpected.

I left the theater disliking it, loving it, and trying to comprehend its very existence. I would say the most perplexing aspect of a movie this baffling is how they managed a theatrical release. It feels like the kind of movie that premieres on Hulu and then gets lost within a month. The unbelievability of its idiocy, the astounding number of celebrity cameos, the insane lack of budget, and yet despite it all, the absurdity that somehow it works. It shouldn’t work. If you explained this movie to someone with any kind of accuracy they’d likely question the smoothness of your brain. This isn’t a movie for everyone, almost no one if I’m honest, but for those out there, you brave few, I think this might be one to check out sometime. Maybe get high first. That might help. 😮‍💨💨

*Nerd Alert in no way condones the use of drugs or drug paraphernalia.👌😉 Even though the creators of this movie were clearly on something.*