My wife and I were pumped for our recent trip to Los Angeles, but the weather had different plans as NYC was hit with wildfire smoke and randomly, a tornado watch? The heck? In this economy?! After multiple flight cancellations, we were forced to bail.

With no commitments, we were determined to make the most of our unexpected staycation in the Big Apple. We started with a bike ride in Central Park, which might sound romantic, but biking in NYC is an adrenaline-pumping activity as you’re surrounded by delivery drivers whizzing by on e-bikes. But man, does it get the people going!

Afterwards, we popped by a movie theater for the sanctuary of a recliner chair and some popcorn guaranteed to give me a stomach ache. Whenever we see a movie, we try to make our way to the Lincoln AMC, which has some of the best screens in the country (take that, LA!). I was hoping to catch The Odyssey, but I’m not brave enough for the front row so on a whim, we chose Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.

We hadn’t seen a trailer, and the only showtimes were on their less desirable basement screens. I was unaware there were even basement screens, but we chased the spirit of spontaneity and went for it. 

We took the escalator downstairs and when the AMC employee saw our tickets, he said, “Going down to the basement, huh?” 

I looked at him, puzzled. “Isn’t this the basement?” 

He slowly smirked as if he was hiding something sinister. “It’s just down that way.” 

I turned to look and everything seemed normal, but when I turned back, he was gone, leaving behind an unusually rancid smell. A cool chill ran up my spine as I thought, “Well, this seems perfectly safe and normal, let’s see a movie!” 

Ridiculous tangents aside, this movie is literally a tour of LA. We’d just accepted that our LA trip wasn’t happening, and there she was, Gail effin’ Daughtry, gallivanting around LA like she owned the damn place. Really, Gail? Do you have to have everything? Even Jon Hamm?!

It turns out, after Gail’s fiancé used his celebrity sex pass, a fortune teller told Gail she needed to do the same to feel better about it. God damn it, she needed to sleep with Jon Hamm. As always, it was bulletproof fortune teller logic. 

Gail’s character is super innocent, and initially, I wasn’t sure if the movie was too cheesy. But there were subtle, witty moments that kind of made you smirk or go, “huh.” Those were mere appetizers for what becomes a hilarious, unique comedy. In other words, I was dead wrong. What else is new, eh?

From a washed-up paparazzi photographer to Hamm’s former Mad Men costar John Slattery (who uncontrollably farts at one point), Gail somehow keeps finding allies in her noble quest to sleep with Jon Hamm.

If you’re looking for a quirky, fun, laugh-out-loud comedy that’ll keep you guessing (is she really gonna sleep with Jon Hamm?!), this movie is definitely for you.

5 stars out of 5 on my completely arbitrary scale for a movie that truly took me by surprise.

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Seth Borkowski is a NYC-based writer, comedian and paranormal enthusiast. He’s the host of The Spiritual Skeptic, a comedy podcast exploring aliens, spirituality, and other weird shit too.