Last night I went to my first Screen Unseen at AMC (a movie that hasn't been released yet with the title kept secret until showtime) and I was really excited when it was revealed to be Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass because it was on my short list of movies to see at Sundance this year (I eventually opted for The Weight because I thought my nephew would enjoy that more). It is a hilariously over-the-top spoof of The Wizard of Oz and I had so much fun watching it with a big crowd. Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) is a mild-mannered hairdresser living in Kansas who is engaged to her high school sweetheart Tom (Michael Cassidy). Their relationship is put in jeopardy when Tom sleeps with Jennifer Aniston (herself), his "celebrity sex pass," because Gail thought it was a joke when she agreed to their arrangement. She decides the only way to save their relationship is to sleep with Jom Hamm (himself), her "celebrity sex pass." Her loyal best friend Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) is going to Los Angeles for a hairdressing convention and she decides to go with him to find Hamm. They are eventually joined by Caleb (Ben Wang), a low-level employee at Hamm's talent agency, Vincent (Ken Marino), a paparazzo obsessed with getting a photo of Hamm, and John Slattery (himself), a down and out actor who once worked with Hamm on Mad Men, as they search the city but they are pursued by the wicked mob boss Ludovica (Sabrina Impacciatore) and her henchmen Sergio (Joe Lo Truglio) and Niccolo (Mather Zickel) who want the briefcase, that was inadvertently switched with Gail's at the airport, back. The group eventually defeats Ludovica but, when they finally find Hamm, Gail is disappointed to discover that he is just an ordinary man. She convinces him to give everyone what they want but will she return to Kansas to marry Tom? The many references to The Wizard of Oz are highly amusing (make sure to pay close attention) and I especially loved the use of ruby slippers and a hot air balloon. This also pokes fun at celebrity culture and there a quite a few satirical celebrity cameos (my favorites are Henry Winkler, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Elizabeth Perkins). Finally, the entire cast commits fully to both the zany tone as well as the physical comedy (Slattery is a hoot) and my audience laughed out loud the whole time. I thoroughly enjoyed this madcap comedy and I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.
