If you want better production design
Choose The Rip. It scores 5.0 vs 2.0 for production design, with a 3.7 overall score.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass Movie Review
Bottom Line
Choose it for fearless absurdist comedy, rapid-fire gags, and a terrific self-mocking cast. Skip it if loose plotting, niche Hollywood jokes, or cartoon violence quickly wear you down.
Best for
Best for fans of David Wain’s deliberately stupid anti-comedy, rapid-fire non sequiturs, celebrity self-parody, and Los Angeles industry jokes.
Not for
Skip it if you need a tight story, broadly accessible humor, restrained repetition, or a consistent tone without raunch and cartoon violence.
Verdict
This gleefully ridiculous Wizard of Oz riff succeeds when its cast fully commits to the nonsense. Zoey Deutch gives the movie a warm, mischievous center, while John Slattery and Jon Hamm turn celebrity self-parody into its most reliable laughs. The tradeoff is a deliberately flimsy story built to carry an enormous volume of gags, and critics sharply disagree about the hit rate. Fans of David Wain’s anti-comedy may find it refreshing, fast, and highly rewatchable; others will see an overlong string of forced jokes, insider references, and tonally jarring violence.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
34 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.06 (18%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.412 (35%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.49 (26%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.46 (18%)
-
Very negative below 1.51 (3%)
Pros highlights
-
The joke density is enormous, but the hit rate is the central point of disagreement. Some laughed harder than they had at a recent comedy, while others found it painfully unfunny.
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Supporters describe a breezy, irresistible theatrical experience; detractors found it a draining slog. Enjoyment depends heavily on whether the intentionally stupid humor clicks.
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The central premise and gleefully irrational turns feel fresh and surprising, even though the story openly borrows its basic journey from The Wizard of Oz.
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The cast commits fully to the movie’s heightened silliness. Some found the early overacting tiring, but most agreed the performers understand the absurd tone.
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Los Angeles is presented as bright, tacky, sleazy, and affectionately artificial. Some critics enjoyed that vulgar postcard look, while others found it cheap or visually shallow.
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David Wain’s commitment to absurdity, fast comic rhythm, and playful celebrity cameos is widely admired, though some felt the film shows less control than his best work.
Cons highlights
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This is sharply divisive comedy. Fans of David Wain’s anti-comedy and Los Angeles industry jokes are likely to enjoy it most, while mainstream viewers may find it exhausting or inaccessible.
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The pace is deliberately relentless and often gets funnier as it goes. Still, repeated bits, a slow first half-hour, and a sagging back half test the patience of less receptive viewers.
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The story works primarily as a frame for jokes and cameos. That loose construction delights viewers who accept the format but frustrates those looking for a coherent, fully developed narrative.
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The screenplay is either tightly engineered nonsense or an underdeveloped spitballing session, depending on the viewer. Its strongest recurring bits show real craft, but weaker sections feel unfinished.
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The cartoon and gory violence is a major tonal divider. Some viewers found the sudden brutality hilarious, while others thought it struck a sour note against the movie’s cheerful mood.
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The Wizard of Oz structure gives the movie a recognizable path, but the gangster subplot and constant digressions leave the narrative feeling loose, contradictory, or barely held together.
Cast & Creators
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Gail DaughtryZoey Deutch anchors the movie with bright sincerity, fast comic instincts, and a mischievous edge. Even many negative reviews praise her ability to sell the ridiculous premise.
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John Slattery is the broadest consensus standout, embracing a pathetic, filthy, self-roasting version of himself and often supplying the movie’s biggest laughs.
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Jon Hamm leans fully into handsome-guy self-mockery, turning his celebrity image and Mad Men history into an easy source of playful comedy.
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OttoMiles Gutierrez-Riley makes Otto a charming, supportive companion whose steadiness helps balance Gail’s increasingly chaotic mission.
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Ken Marino gives the fallen paparazzo a mix of demented comic energy and surprising warmth while also helping shape the film’s absurd screenplay.
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NarratorFred Melamed’s increasingly irritated narrator turns a small role into one of the movie’s most consistently praised running jokes.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in dialogue quality, family friendliness, originality, near average in humor, cast chemistry, below average in production design, action sequence quality, message quality.
Comparison summary
34 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher12 (35%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts10 (29%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower12 (35%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| production design | 2.0 | 4.3 | -2.3 |
| dialogue quality | 5.0 | 3.0 | +2.0 |
| action sequence quality | 2.0 | 3.8 | -1.8 |
| message quality | 2.0 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
| language level | 1.0 | 2.7 | -1.7 |
| family friendliness | 4.0 | 2.4 | +1.6 |
| story quality | 1.9 | 3.2 | -1.4 |
| editing quality | 2.0 | 3.5 | -1.5 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better humor
Choose Crime 101. It scores 4.8 vs 3.6 for humor, with a 4.0 overall score.
If you want better critic appeal
Choose Night Nurse. It scores 5.0 vs 2.0 for critic appeal, with a 3.4 overall score.
If you want better theme depth
Choose The Love Hypothesis. It scores 5.0 vs 2.5 for theme depth, with a 3.6 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
- Better: laugh-out-loud humor The critic enjoys the world but finds it much less laugh-out-loud funny.
- Better: absurdist comedy effectiveness The critic says this joke-delivery system is far weaker than that cult comedy.
Wet Hot American Summer
- Similar: loose string-of-gags narrative Its loose gag structure is compared favorably with Wain's comedy classic.
- Better: overall comedy quality The film is considered enjoyable but below Wain's benchmark comedy.
Evil Dead 2
- Compared: effectiveness of gory slapstick Gory slapstick is said to suit horror comedy better than this cheerful farce.
FAQ
Is the movie actually funny?
It depends heavily on your taste for deliberate stupidity and anti-comedy. Supporters call it one of the funniest recent theatrical comedies, while detractors found most of the jokes forced or painfully unfunny.
Who gives the best performance?
Zoey Deutch is the most consistent point of praise for anchoring the chaos with warmth and precision. John Slattery is the most frequently named comic standout, with Jon Hamm also praised for fearless self-mockery.
Does the Wizard of Oz structure work?
The familiar quest gives the movie a useful framework and several clever parallels, but the constant digressions and gangster subplot leave the story loose and unfocused for some viewers.
Is it suitable for children or family viewing?
No. Although the tone can feel oddly wholesome, the film includes sexual material, profanity, and cartoonishly bloody violence.
Who is most likely to enjoy it?
Viewers who already enjoy David Wain, Wet Hot American Summer, repeated anti-jokes, celebrity cameos, and Los Angeles industry satire are the strongest fit.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - Fish Jelly Film Reviews
- Review score
- 4.8
YouTube - Anthony A. Perez
- Review score
- 1.9
YouTube - Eric Goldman's Cultured Pop
- Review score
- 4.3
YouTube - Lost In the Reel
- Review score
- 3.2
Article Reviews
rogerebert.com
- Review score
- 2.4
time.com
- Review score
- 4.0
thetraverstake.com
- Review score
- 4.5
chicagoreader.com
- Review score
- 4.8
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