Pam & Tommy | Review
“Pam & Tommy” is a brand new limited series that tells the story of how Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee’s honeymoon sex tape was stolen and how it went on to become a pop-culture moment. The series stars Lily James (Cinderella) and Sebastian Stan (Marvel’s The Winter Soldier) as Pam & Tommy, with Seth Rogen playing Rand Gauthier, the guy who steals the sex tape.
It follows the events of what led Rand to obtain the tape, which was the result of Tommy Lee refusing to pay Rand for some carpentry work that was being done on the Lee household. And how the tape slowly worked its way out into the world and its impact on Pam & Tommy.
One of the things this series does a great job of doing, is making you feel sympathy for Pam and Rand. There is one scene involving Pam being interrogated by Penthouse’s lawyers, which was just horrible to watch and showcased the difference in how men and women are treated differently. It’s a powerful scene. This series doesn’t hold back on hitting the hard moments, including the impact this situation had on those involved, including how Pamela’s acting career was destroyed and also a scene involving her having a miscarriage from the stress.
I wouldn’t have believed it if you had asked me before seeing this series about Lily James playing this role. Her transformation for this series is amazing. And Sebastian Stan is also incredible as the rock ‘n’ roll star, Tommy Lee. He is utterly believable as this rockstar who doesn’t think. He just reacts, with major consequences. Their performances in this series are fantastic.
As you might expect from a series about a stolen sex tape, this series doesn’t hold back on highlighting the sexual relationship between Pam & Tommy. The majority of these sex scenes occur in the second episode, which explores the history between the couple, giving us an insight into their relationship, how they met and how they made the infamous tape.
The second episode is really going to shock people, especially a scene involving Tommy standing completely naked in front of the mirror, having a conversation with his penis. It’s perhaps one of the strangest scenes I’ve ever seen and reminded me of another Seth Rogen film, “Sausage Party!” This series certainly doesn’t hold back and certainly isn’t for younger audiences (though remember this series is for 18+-year-olds). Other episodes, hint at what’s on the tape and some background scenery. The majority of this show is about the chain of events that this sex tape’s release has an impact on everyone.
Another great thing about this series, is how it plays on the idea of the events kicking off during the first dot com period, where the internet was just taking off, and it was still brand new. The concept of a website or even watching videos on the internet was completely unheard of.
The aftermath of the sex tape being released is already well known, but it was interesting to see how the events unfold, especially regarding Pam’s career. While she was well known on “Baywatch”, this series shows us she wasn’t 100% happy with her role on the show, and we get to see Pam’s getting ready to launch her first film, “Barb Wire”. She desperately wants to have a serious acting career, but everything is thrown sideways once this tape gets out.
This series also showcases Tommy Lee’s struggle with no longer being relevant in the mid-nineties. The band’s glory days are over, and he lashes out, at anyone, without any thought. These sub-plots make the show even better, giving both Pam & Tommy layers by showcasing their feelings and worries.
Rand, Seth Rogen’s character is also rather intriguing, since he just can’t catch a break, and throughout this series, we see the problems he faced during this whole situation. And in the first episode, it’s not hard to see why Rand took such extreme measures.
“Pam & Tommy” is one of the most bizarre series I’ve seen in a while. It shows the dark side of fame and delivers some incredible performances. This will be one of the most talked-about series of the year. It’s like a car crash, in that you can’t look away. I ended up binging the entire series in 2 sittings, because once I got drawn in, I just wanted to know what happened next. It’s a bizarre story, that you probably never thought you needed to know about, but this series does a great job in pulling you in and wanting to know what really happened. It’s a little uncomfortable in places, but this is a series that blurs the line between a series and film, because it doesn’t feel like your typical tv show.
Rating – 4.5 out of 5
The first three episodes of “Pam & Tommy” will be released on Hulu in the United States, on Star+ in Latin America and on Disney+ internationally on Wednesday 2nd February 2022. With new episodes being released weekly afterwards.