Episodes watched 3/8
Based on the article “Pam and Tommy: The Untold Story of the World’s Most Infamous Sex Tape” from Rolling Stone in 2014, Pam & Tommy tells the story of the infamous 90s sex tape scandal between Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.
The Baywatch star and Mötley Crüe drummer got married back in 1995 after just four days of dating. The pair quickly became pregnant with their first son. It wasn’t long after that a sex tape of the two was leaked.
People didn’t believe they had nothing to do with its release, despite them both saying so multiple times. For years, the tape followed the pair around and the pressure it put on them is said to be what caused their split.
Lily James and Sebastian Stan star in the titular roles and they are incredible. We already knew they looked amazing from the promo pictures released last year, but nothing will prepare you for how much they melt into their roles. From the way they hold themselves to the way they speak. James in particular is almost unrecognisable.
Kudos needs to be given to the amazingly talented make-up team. They put in every little detail, even down to the tiny scars on Pam’s shoulder.
Episode one gets the show off to a great start. Seth Rogan stars as Rand Gauthier, the constriction guy Tommy Lee fucks over, resulting in him stealing the sex tape of the couple. We follow Guthrie through the events leading up to the theft of the tape and the tension start to build.
Rogan, as usual, kind of plays the role he always does and hasn’t strayed too far from his recognisable self. It’s not anything special but what he does do, he executes well.
Episode two switches to Pam and Tommy’s story and we flashback to when the couple met. The details of their life have clearly been extremely well researched and based on real stories the couple have told in interviews (yes, the face-licking really happened – how that drew her to him, I have no clue).
As we move into Episode three, the show begins to set up for the release of the tape. They leave just enough of a cliff-hanger for the audience to be looking forward to the next episode, but not enough to be left frustrated.
So far, the series has promise. It’s an undeniable interesting story and is very well-cast, it seems like it would be difficult for them to mess it up.
It will be interesting to see where the show goes from here. It has been nice to see that they have shown a multidimensional Pamela Anderson, as it would have been easy for them to write her as a vapid, sex object.
In particular, I am interested to say the way Pam’s experience of the scandal progresses. The way the show handle’s it could go either way. Sex tapes and revenge porn almost always affect the woman more and one would hope that would be reflected in the plot. Only time will tell.
The first three episodes of the show are available from February 2 with new episodes being released on Disney+ every Wednesday. A Star subscription through the streaming service is needed.
Featured image credit: Hulu
3rd year Journalism student | Film and Television Editor @ Brig Newspaper
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