Being born in the mid 1990’s I was far too young to know exactly who Pamela Anderson was or why she was famous, but my earliest memories of the woman were knowing that she was famous for getting naked and that she had a tape of her having sex on a boat. Not that a child around the age of eight really knew what sex was, but that’s all I knew her for because that’s all people ever talked about in relation to this celebrity. It wasn’t until I was in my early teens when I knew that she was an actress most well-known for starring in TV drama Baywatch. But she was never a big star whilst I was growing up, or at least not related to any media I was consuming, so I never really knew who she was properly. But then I saw a clip of Disney+ series Pam & Tommy with Sebastian Stan having a conversation with his penis and I decided that something that crazy surely warrants further investigation.
The year is 1994 and actress Pamela Anderson (Lily James) meets Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan) in a nightclub. Enamoured by Pamela, Tommy tracks her down to Cancun where she is doing promotional work for Baywatch. After spending four drug and alcohol fuelled days together the pair get married and move into Tommy’s California mansion. Tommy hires Rand Gauthier (Seth Rogen) to redecorate his house, but following a number of altercations between the two over the matter of payment, Tommy fires Rand, who in a fit of rage steals a safe from the mansion.
Rifling through the safe looking for things to sell in order to recoup the money he lost from the job, Rand stumbles upon a saucy home video of the newlyweds getting intimate on a boat. Rand teams up with porn producer Miltie (Nick Offerman) and the two duplicate the sex tape en-masse and sell it. But when others start duplicating the tape and it begins to make its way into the news and spread via the internet Pamela’s life and career starts to fall apart before her eyes.
The year is 1994 and actress Pamela Anderson (Lily James) meets Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan) in a nightclub. Enamoured by Pamela, Tommy tracks her down to Cancun where she is doing promotional work for Baywatch. After spending four drug and alcohol fuelled days together the pair get married and move into Tommy’s California mansion. Tommy hires Rand Gauthier (Seth Rogen) to redecorate his house, but following a number of altercations between the two over the matter of payment, Tommy fires Rand, who in a fit of rage steals a safe from the mansion.
Rifling through the safe looking for things to sell in order to recoup the money he lost from the job, Rand stumbles upon a saucy home video of the newlyweds getting intimate on a boat. Rand teams up with porn producer Miltie (Nick Offerman) and the two duplicate the sex tape en-masse and sell it. But when others start duplicating the tape and it begins to make its way into the news and spread via the internet Pamela’s life and career starts to fall apart before her eyes.
Pam & Tommy is equal parts crazy and wholesome. That’s not a word I would have thought I’d have used, but the relationship between Anderson & Lee is, for all its eccentricities and problems, rather beautiful. Which makes the events that happened all the more tragic. The series comes at quite an appropriate time too as the sexual objectification of women and how they choose to control their bodies has been a major topic over the last few years due to various social injustices. From what I remember as a child, people seemed to be of the opinion that the sex tape was something Anderson wanted to be released and that because she was formerly a Playboy model that she didn’t get to say that she didn’t want her body to be seen that way. This series tackles that head on by having Anderson’s turmoil front and centre, as well as other female characters highlighting the injustice she has suffered. It also looks at how different the public reacted to Tommy in relation to Pamela, only highlighting further how unfairly she was treated simply because she was a woman, and Tommy’s failure to understand how differently she was being affected in comparison to him (likely a key contributor to their eventual divorce).
This show is also a great little time capsule for witnessing the birth of internet pornography, and the last great hoorah of the traditional adult film business. As well as having some general commentary about physical media in relation to streaming, which for a show that’s been made for a streaming platform I find quite ironic. Seeing how dismissive so many people were about the capabilities of the internet, whilst having others truly understand what it was capable of at the time and how it could grow into what it is today is an interesting little side plot for a story about leaked celebrity nudity which is something that’s incredibly commonplace today.
This show is also a great little time capsule for witnessing the birth of internet pornography, and the last great hoorah of the traditional adult film business. As well as having some general commentary about physical media in relation to streaming, which for a show that’s been made for a streaming platform I find quite ironic. Seeing how dismissive so many people were about the capabilities of the internet, whilst having others truly understand what it was capable of at the time and how it could grow into what it is today is an interesting little side plot for a story about leaked celebrity nudity which is something that’s incredibly commonplace today.
Lily James is truly fantastic in the show. She looks the part, and sounds the part, it’s almost like having Pamela herself revert back thirty years and perform it herself. She presents so many sides to the character, giving her great depth and allowing us to connect with her. I think a lot went into trying to shift public opinion into the favour of Pamela for this show, and I’d like to think it succeeded.
Sebastian Stan as Tommy is something I wouldn’t have seen coming, but he certainly throws himself into the role. He’s so energetic all of the time, it’s like watching a puppy. The two have great chemistry as well which really helps sell you on this love at first sight style whirlwind romance that Anderson and Lee shared.
Rogen is fine. I’m not the biggest Seth Rogen fan as it is, but he’s perfectly ok in the role. He doesn’t excel but then again none of the supporting cast do when compared to James & Stan. His comedic timing does bring some much-needed levity to the role, who is otherwise a pretty big scumbag. You can understand Gauthier’s motive in stealing from Lee because of the abuse he endured, but basically everything he does after that point is squarely in douchebag territory so the humour definitely helps his character not be completely loathsome.
Pam & Tommy is great fun, but also helps illustrate the issue of female objectification which is something that desperately needs to be rectified in today’s society. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be in shock, and you’ll be disappointingly unsurprised at how a talented young woman had her career destroyed because someone broke into her house and stole her property. A generally good show, and even better if you want to relish in some 90’s nostalgia, Pam & Tommy is definitely worth checking out.
Sebastian Stan as Tommy is something I wouldn’t have seen coming, but he certainly throws himself into the role. He’s so energetic all of the time, it’s like watching a puppy. The two have great chemistry as well which really helps sell you on this love at first sight style whirlwind romance that Anderson and Lee shared.
Rogen is fine. I’m not the biggest Seth Rogen fan as it is, but he’s perfectly ok in the role. He doesn’t excel but then again none of the supporting cast do when compared to James & Stan. His comedic timing does bring some much-needed levity to the role, who is otherwise a pretty big scumbag. You can understand Gauthier’s motive in stealing from Lee because of the abuse he endured, but basically everything he does after that point is squarely in douchebag territory so the humour definitely helps his character not be completely loathsome.
Pam & Tommy is great fun, but also helps illustrate the issue of female objectification which is something that desperately needs to be rectified in today’s society. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be in shock, and you’ll be disappointingly unsurprised at how a talented young woman had her career destroyed because someone broke into her house and stole her property. A generally good show, and even better if you want to relish in some 90’s nostalgia, Pam & Tommy is definitely worth checking out.