I hope everyone had a great 4th of July and are enjoying this absolutely amazing World Cup (although most of my top teams are already out), which means we’ve reached the midpoint of the summer movie season with many more potential blockbusters to come this month.
You can watch this week’s The Weekend Warrior Show above with my thoughts on the new wide releases opening this Friday.
First up, Disney continues its run of live-action remakes, this time with MOANA, starring the actual physical Dwayne Johnson as the Polynesian Demi-God Maui, who he has voiced in two previous animated movies, one a massive blockbuster hit just two years ago. The title character is now played by Catherine Laga’aia, because Auli’i Cravalho may have aged out, although she’s only 25 years old! The only other returning actor (essentially as voice actor) is Jemaine Clement. I haven’t seen the movie yet, and I probably won’t be reviewing it, just cause I have too much other stuff going on.
New Line and Warner Bros. continues they’re horror run with EVIL DEAD BURN, the latest installment of the horror franchise begun by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell way back in 1981. This one follows 2023’s Evil Dead Rise, written and directed by Lee Cronin, but it’s a whole new story and cast, with director Sébastien Vanicek (Infested) taking over the reins. Evil Dead Rise did very well, but I think this one will do even better, since it’s a much gorier and more violent movie than that one, and there are no young kids. I’ll have a video review for this on Wednesday afternoon for sure.
I’ve already reviewed Olivia Wilde’s THE INVITE, before its platform release ahead of the 4th of July, but now, A24 is expanding it nationwide into an unknown number of theaters, hoping its hilarious relationship and sex comedy, pairing Wilde with Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penelope Cruz, will find an audience with younger couples tickled by the high concept premise of inviting your sexually-adventurous neighbors over for dinner.
More than anything this weekend, I’m excited for the release by Sony Pictures Classics of GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX TAPE, the new movie from David Wain and Ken Marino of “The State” and Wet Hot American Summer fame. (As I mention, the latter is getting a 25th Anniversary rerelease next month!)
Their latest comedy stars Zoey Deutch as the title character, a small-town Kansas hairdresser about to get married to her beloved high school sweetheart, Tom, when her best friend and fellow hairstylist Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) tells her about the “celebrity pass” where a married couple can break their vows, but only for one specific celebrity. Gail’s “celebrity pass” is Jon Hamm, but she doesn’t take it seriously until Tom meets and has sex with his. Gail decides to join Otto at a L.A. hairstyling convention, but a bag mix-up at the airport makes them the target for thugs who need what’s in the bag Gail took by accident. As Gail and Otto go off to find Jon Hamm, they’re joined by a small group of new friends, and…
Oh, what the heck. I might as well review the movie now, since I’ve already seen it three times, right?
I’ve been a fan of “The State,” back from when they were on MTV. When they started making movies and television content, mostly as separate factions, I was always thrilled for whatever came next. 25 years later, Wet Hot American Summer is still one of my all-time favorite comedies, and director David Wain mostly went on to have a career as a director, making a combo of studio and indie movies. Gail Daughtry, co-written by Wain and Marino, veers closer to their indie work, since it isn’t quite as high-concept as Hollywood studios prefer. Instead, it’s a comedic romp, giving Zoey Deutch the spotlight but also pairing her with an unconventional but equally brilliant supporting cast.
Once Gail and Otto get to L.A., that’s when various members of “The State” begin to show up, whether they be in key roles like Joe Lo Truglio as the criminal who accidentally switches bags with Gail at the airport, or smaller but equally funny scenes, featuring the likes of Kerri Kenney, Michael Ian Black, or Kevin Allison. I mean, sure, an airport bag mix-up is straight out of What’s Up Doc? (another one of my all-time favorite comedies, mind you), but this can actually happen, and it almost happened to me back in January on a rare trip out of town. (Only one of those green suitcases below is mine; the other one is just from some woman sitting at another charging station with her laptop.)
It’s a fine way to set up a recurring sub-plot, as we watch Gail and Otto navigating their first L.A. experience, with the likes of Ben Wang (American Born Chinese) as a CAA assistant named Caleb and Marino’s Vincent, a paparazzi photographer whose white whale is the same Jon Hamm that Gail needs to have sex with. That eventually leads them to the real-life John Slattery, as they try to figure out how to help Gail achieve her “celebrity sex pass.”
More than anything else, I loved Zoey Deutch’s casting as Gail. She just really nails what was necessary for the audience to fall in love with her character and wanting her to achieve what might seem like an impossible goal. For a movie that’s about a “sex pass,” there’s an innocence to Gail Daughtry (the character and movie) I quite enjoyed — much of that due to Deutch — even if it more than earns its R-rating, too.
Besides the hilarious cameos – almost everyone who has done a project with Wain turns up – one of my favorite things was seeing Fred Melamed as Frank the Mailman from Gail’s home in Millbrook, Kansas, who provides a framing device and frequent narration, poking fun at the sort of character we’ve seen in many old-time comedies. (To me, Melamed delivers in this way on par with Jonathan Richman in There’s Something About Mary.)
Wain continues to excel at concocting hilarious montage sequences, and it’s enjoyable to watch each new character being pulled into the madness, particularly John Slattery, who I’m not sure has ever done comedy at this level. I was equally amused by Sabrina Impacciatore as the mob boss, who quickly rids herself of any henchmen who doesn’t deliver on what they’re commissioned to do.
That said, Gail Daughtry gets silly at times as things go along. Tom Lennon, another “State” vet, plays Remy Fontaine, a renowned hairstylist known for his world-famous “whip curl,” the star attraction of the convention Gail and Otto are attending. I just didn’t think this character and concept was funny enough to become an integral part of the story later in the movie. Sadly, that’s been par for the course for much of what the members of “The State” have done over the years, having so many gags and funny elements, but sometimes losing its way as things go further and further afield.
Even so, Gail Daughtry is equally weird and hilarious, with many of those elements that have made Wain and Marino’s previous collaborations so enjoyable. Deutch is a true standout in terms of creating such a lovable character, while also being up for whatever the filmmakers throw at her.
Rating: 7.5/10
Although I’ve already posted my interview with David Wain and Ken Marino, and it’s also at the end of this week’s Weekend Warrior Show above, you can also watch it below, cause there’s no escaping!
Updated Box Office Predictions for 07/10/2026
Box Office Data Provided by The-Numbers.com
1. Moana (Disney) - $58.4 million N/A (down $6.1m)
2. Evil Dead Burn (New Line/WB) - $29.5 million N/A (down $1.8m)
3. Minions and Monsters (Universal) - $20 million -46%
4. Toy Story 5 (Disney/Pixar) - $17.5 million -44%
5. Young Washington (Angel Studios) - $9.5 million -52%
6. The Invite (A24) - $5.3 million +775% (down $700k)
7. Supergirl (Warner Bros.) - $3.7 million -56%
8. Disclosure Day (Universal) - $3.3 million -45%
9. Obsession (Focus Features) - $3.1 million -42%
10. Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (Sony Pictures Classics) - $2.7 million N/A
Hopefully, I’ll have a “Print Edition” this week, though I haven’t watched very much and also have to go back into the studio on Wednesday to prepare for a live show on Friday night. We’ll see how much I’m able to get done on Tuesday, so wish me luck!
