“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” gives one the decided impression that Shaker Heights native David Wain is pretty good at making friends and maintaining friendships.
Sure, there’s the fact that the director co-wrote the cheerfully absurd comedy film — in theaters this week — with Ken Marino. The two met in New York City nearly 40 years ago, worked with in the sketch troupe The State and with whom he has collaborated on many projects, most notably the hit 2008 flick “Role Models.”
And while “Gail Daughtry” also is chock full of other State alums — Joe Lo Truglio, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Michael Ian Black among them — it also boasts several more famous friends who appeared on other past Wain efforts, including 2012’s “Wanderlust,” 2014’s “They Came Together” and the Adult Swim series “Children’s Hospital.”
Unfortunately, that “Gail Daughtry” is chock full of celebrity cameos and boasts a fun premise — its titular heroine believes she must sleep with her “celebrity free pass” to save her relationship with the man she is soon to marry — is not reason enough to recommend the movie. Despite a strong start and its fair share of laughs, “Gail” becomes a bit of a chore as it flails about wildly in the general direction of a conclusion.
A very game Zoey Deutch (“Set It Up,” “Zombieland: Double Tap”), who had not worked with Wain before, stars as Gail, a hairdresser who has never wanted to leave her beloved hometown of Willowbrook, Kansas. However, after her fiancé, Tom (Michael Cassidy), actually has sex with his celeb free pass — shortly after Gail explains the concept to him — she decides to take up the offer of coworker Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) to travel to Los Angeles with him to attend a hairdressing convention.
Soon Gail, who had portrayed Dorothy in a local production of “The Wizard of Oz,” very much isn’t in Kansas anymore.
In La La Land, Gail visits a psychic (Kenney-Silver), who — much to Otto’s shock — proves to be the real deal, and she suggests Gail must sleep with her celebrity free pass, Jon Hamm, to make things even with Tom. And thus Gail and Otto begin a quest to find him.
If Otto is her Toto and Hamm the Wizard, the ragtag group of newfound friends she puts together — struggling paparazzi Vincent (Marino), ambitious young talent agent Caleb (Ben Wang) and Hamm’s “Mad Men” co-star John Slattery — are the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion, respectively.
The gang’s efforts to get to Hamm — who hasn’t exactly been matching old friend Slattery text for text of late — are complicated by the fact that Gail accidentally has come into possession of an all-important briefcase belonging to a ruthless and ambitious criminal, Ludovica (Sabrina Impacciatore), who wants it back at all costs.
Wain wins you over early on with the playfully irreverent tone of “Gail Daughtry.” Take, for instance, the work of Fred Melamed, as Frank the Mailman, who serves as the narrator.
“You know, I don’t like to play favorites with people in this town,” he tells us, “but (expletive) it. I don’t give a (expletive) — Gail’s my favorite.”
And while Gutierrez-Riley (“Smile 2”) and Wang (“Karate Kid: Legends”) make contributions to the gang of heroes, Slattery stands out, putting his back into playing this version of himself, who, while mostly an out-of-work loser, has been preparing to kick some butt if needed.
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And we can’t overlook the contribution of yet another alum of The State — and its eponymous MTV series that ran in the early 1990s — Tom Lennon, who vamps it up as Gail and Otto’s flamboyant hairdresser hero, Remy Fontaine, the “King of the Whip Curl.”
However, the screenplay by Wain and Marino is increasingly aimless — even with a runtime of just over an hour and a half, “Gail Daughtry” feels a little long — so while Hamm breathes some life into the affair in the third act, it’s too little too late.
It’s hard to envision this movie performing as well at the box office as “Role Models” or becoming a cult favorite along the lines of Wain’s feature-length debut, 2001’s “Wet Hot American Summer.”
That said, there’s probably enough here for Wain devotees and those who will appreciate the parade of famous faces.
For everyone else, though, we suggest taking a pass.
‘Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass’
Where: Theaters.
When: July 10.
Rated: R for sexual content, violence/bloody images and language.
Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes.
Stars (of four): 2.
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