‘Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass’ Review – David Wain’s Wildest Comedy Yet Is a Riotous Trip Down the Yellow Brick Road

Summer 2026 has been a packed season for new theatrical releases, with everything from horror sequels to Disney remakes fighting for screen time. Tucked among the bigger titles is a scrappy, unapologetically raunchy comedy that first turned heads on the festival circuit months before its wide release, and it is finally making its way to general audiences.

‘Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass‘ comes from director David Wain, the filmmaker behind cult comedies like ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ and ‘They Came Together’, working once again with longtime collaborator Ken Marino on the screenplay. The film premiered at Sundance earlier this year before also playing Tribeca, building a reputation as one of the more talked-about comedies of the festival season.

Now that reviews for the wide release are rolling in, critics seem to largely agree on one thing: this is a gleefully absurd, joke-dense comedy that leans hard into ridiculousness rather than aiming for anything grounded. Rotten Tomatoes has the film sitting in respectable territory, with reviewers praising its rapid-fire gags even as some note that the plot itself is mostly an excuse to string sketches together.

The story follows Gail Daughtry, played by Zoey Deutch, a small town Kansas hairdresser who is engaged to her high school sweetheart Tom. Their relationship includes a running joke about a hypothetical celebrity sex pass, and everything spirals when Tom actually acts on his during a chance encounter with Jennifer Aniston at a book signing. Reeling from the betrayal, Gail heads to Los Angeles alongside her best friend Otto, played by Miles Gutierrez-Riley, on a mission to even the score by tracking down her own celebrity pick, Jon Hamm.

What follows is a chaotic scavenger hunt through Hollywood that critics have repeatedly compared to a raunchy riff on ‘The Wizard of Oz’, complete with a ragtag group of allies Gail picks up along the way, including a talent agency hopeful played by Ben Wang, a washed up paparazzo played by Marino, and a fictionalized version of John Slattery playing an exaggerated take on himself. The group also finds themselves pursued by a group of Italian mobsters after a luggage mix up at the airport, adding a layer of chase movie mayhem to the film’s already unhinged tone.

Critics have consistently pointed to the film’s love-hate relationship with Los Angeles itself as one of its sharpest running gags, with the city functioning almost like its own character throughout the story. One reviewer described the movie as a tribute to chain restaurants, star maps, and the tourists who fall for outdated ideas of what Hollywood glamour actually looks like, calling it a satire built on nostalgic affection for a version of the city that barely exists anymore.

Deutch has emerged as one of the film’s biggest strengths across reviews, with critics praising her ability to keep Gail sweet and likable even as the character wades into increasingly vulgar territory. Her performance has been described as reminiscent of a wholesome, old-fashioned leading lady dropped into a thoroughly modern, filthy comedy, a contrast several reviewers cited as key to why the film works as well as it does.

Not every review has been glowing, however, with some critics arguing the film’s constant barrage of jokes and celebrity cameos never fully coalesce into something more substantial, with one comparing it unfavorably to other Los Angeles-set vanity projects that lean too heavily on star power instead of genuine laughs. Pacing issues in the back half of the film have also come up more than once, with a handful of reviewers noting the momentum dips slightly before the story reaches its conclusion.

Even with those criticisms, the overall consensus leans positive, particularly for anyone already a fan of Wain and Marino’s brand of absurdist, cliche-skewering comedy. The film’s willingness to lean fully into its own ridiculousness, rather than trying to ground its premise in anything resembling reality, appears to be exactly the point, and most critics agree that when the jokes land, they land big.

‘Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass’ is now playing in theaters courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics, arriving the same week as several other high-profile releases competing for the summer box office.

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