Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass

Screened at Regal Cinemas, Rancho Mirage, California

When David Wain's first feature film Wet Hot American Summer was released in 2001, my best mate at the time and myself were apparently two of the very few to check it out in the theater (the former Copley Plaza Theater in Boston's Back Bay, to be exact). Check out the box office numbers and you'll see how poorly it did, prior to its status rising as one of the top cult comedies of all time. But in 2001, I wasn't exactly sold on it either. Going into it, I was familiar with MTV's sketch comedy show The State, but at best had seen a skit or two that left no impression on me. So my interest in W.H.A.S. was purely in seeing a spoof on summer camp films, a la Meatballs, for example. However, I don't recall laughing even a single time, nevermind enjoying the film. I was deeply disappointed.

But something about it stuck with me, and I decided to give it another shot on it's DVD release, and that changed everything for me. I never laughed harder, so much so I was baffled as to why my first watch was unsuccessful. Since then, Wain has made a few other films that are specifically in his wheelhouse of silly, absurdist humor, including the rom-com spoof They Came Together with Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler. Same situation played out there. First watch: deeply disappointed. Second watch: showed promise. By the third watch I realized it was nearly as good as Wet Hot American Summer.

I'm explaining this because at this point of seeing the film just once, it feels like the pattern is similar. Or at least I'm hoping so; additional viewings will determine that outcome. Over the years, the whole family tree of The State, from Reno 911 to Party Down and Children's Hospital has hit the spot for me every single time, so I was pumped for this, especially with the good buzz it was receiving out of the festival circuit. The good news is, unlike Wet Hot American Summer, I definitely laughed during Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, and I for sure found it entertaining. Everything about it is silly and ridiculous, and it's packed to the brim with alums from the world of The State (Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Thomas Lennon, Kerry Kinney, etc.) and those adjacent to it, from 'Weird Al' Yankovic to Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm. It's a wild scene from top to bottom, so I'm really hoping down the road this will become another new obsession for me. The odds are good, so what I would say here is if you NEED something silly to distract you for 90 minutes, you'll be good here. If you're looking for an ultimate "return to form" for Wain, Marino, and the crew, well, I can't answer that yet, but I can at least recommend it for a basic good time, with the potential for it to fully reveal itself in future watches. Recommended for all the absurdists out there.