Since its inception last year Disney + has gone from strength to strength. Every time a new show launches it quickly becomes the talk of social media as everyone tunes in desperate to watch as quickly as possible, and they’re newest show is set to follow suit. The programme in question isn’t a new Marvel or Star Wars property, but instead a biopic miniseries that explores the sex tape scandal of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, Pam & Tommy. Airing on Star on Disney + from 2nd February, the show stars an unrecognisable Lily James and Sebastian Stan in the titular roles, and presents the celebrity couple’s very public battle to get their stolen property back.
As the marketing has already proved, the make-up team have done a fantastic job at transforming James and Stan into their famous counterparts. The work with James is especially phenomenal with some images of her almost indistinguishable from the real Pamela Anderson. Watching Pam & Tommy it quickly becomes clear that it’s not just the make-up and well researched costumes that push the illusion, the performances take the lookalikes to another level. Some may say that the hard work has already been done and that all James has to do is simply look like Pam, yet James isn’t content to rest on her laurels. Instead she absolutely nails the mannerisms and voice of Pamela Anderson, having clearly studied her real-life counterpart very closely. When coupled with the magic of the wardrobe and makeup departments, it’s near impossible to believe that you are not just watching a de-aged Anderson. The whole performance is a testament to James’ talent, Pam & Tommy allowing her to show audiences a side to her acting that we haven’t encountered before.
The blonde bombshell was very open about her breast implants, something she didn’t get until after her first appearances in Playboy magazine. This is addressed during the series when events rewind to the year 1989 and cross the border to Canada where the audience is introduced to Pamela. This version of the character looks much closer to Lily James and the decision works as a nice technique to demonstrate the change as girl next door Pamela transitioned into Playboy Playmate Pam. It also gives James the opportunity to prove just how well she has captured Anderson with some of the make-up tricks out of the way.
Stan isn’t quite as visually close to Tommy as James is to Pam, but the actor injects all of Lee’s Mötley Cr?e feistiness in the role. He plays the deranged free-spirit note-perfect, and as the series progresses, is allowed to show a quieter and more reflective side to Lee than the public have been aware of. This role requires a bold commitment and Stan jumps in head first, unafraid to embrace his inner rock star and get comfortable with his own body. Those with an attraction to Stan beware, you may be about to lose your mind as the actor spends much of the first few episodes in little more than a tight little thong. This is an inevitability when you consider the plot of the programme and neither Stan nor James shy aware from the highly sexual and hedonistic nature of the couple’s first few months together.
The commitment of both Lily James and Sebastian Stan has to be commended. Neither Anderson nor Lee were conservative when it came to nudity, and Pam & Tommy doesn’t shy away from that or dilute it. The chemistry between the leads is intoxicating and charged, and when watching their encounters, especially those towards the start, it’s like being transported back to the nineties where you’re hanging out with the authentic article rather than watching a piece of fiction. Their love story was fascinating at the time and those feelings are reawakened here, though those more familiar with the famous couple will note some slight tweaks to timelines and such. It’s an obvious move to streamline the story down, and one which works.
The title may be Pam & Tommy, but the story is first accessed first through Seth Rogen’s character, Rand. Everyone knows about the leaking of the sex tape, but few know the circumstances or person that led to the footage getting into the public domain. Here the character is granted a great deal of screen time. Rogen, yet another almost unrecognisable face, gives a balanced performance as Rand. By showing his viewpoint of the situation, he could easily garner sympathy from the audience, and while there are some instances of that, for the most part the series is careful to show that he didn’t necessarily care, at least initially, that he was about to tear two people’s lives apart. Over the course of eight episodes, Pam & Tommy follows Rand as he acquires the tape and begins to distribute it, whilst simultaneously showing how Pam and Tommy react to the invasion of their privacy. Showing the ‘full’ story raises interesting debates and proves that there really are multiple sides to every story.
Pam & Tommy also gives a platform in which to explore Pam’s side of the whole fiasco. Despite the tape being taken accidentally during a burglary by a disgruntled ex-employee of Tommy Lee, it was arguably Pamela Anderson who was the worst affected. The leaking of the footage is explained as being a revenge move within Pam & Tommy, and whilst Lee might have been worthy of some payback, Anderson was an innocent victim, and one whose feelings never appear to be taken into consideration by Rand and his cohorts. Having the very private video cassette in the public domain really hurt the Canadian actor at the height of her fame. Far worse than her star power taking a bruising, the star was ridiculed, made fun of on late night TV shows, subjected to leers from men across the globe, and found herself alone when called in for a deposition after Penthouse wanted to run images from the tape. These scenes are captured within Pam & Tommy and have hopefully been exaggerated for dramatic purposes as they are excruciatingly uncomfortable to watch. Everything centres around the ownership of one’s own body and there’s a fantastic speech delivered by James that eloquently explains the need to let women’s bodies remain their own.
What begins as a very dry-witted fun-filled affair slowly transitions into a more serious, poignant, and relevant drama. The first few episodes are full of vibrant and somewhat chaotic energy, the hedonistic nature of Pam and Tommy’s romance seducing the viewer. Their instantaneous attraction to one another extends outwards and draws the audience in, and before they know it, they’ll be hooked. Then much like the duo, moments of sobriety creep in as the real world surfaces. There’s a beautiful moment of contemplation to the whirlwind romance early on when, after already having gotten married, they turn their attention to favourite films, realising that they haven’t even learned simple facts about one another. This fleeting calmness presents a crack that will eventually widen to a casasm. By the time the eight episodes are over, Pam & Tommy presents a very different head space and tone, the viewer having been taken on a whirlwind similar to the one that the couple were swept up in. The journey is well worth the ride and there’s no ill feeling about the tonal switch, it’s justified to fully land the impact of the truth of the story at the heart of it.
A perfectly realised reproduction of the heady journey of a relationship as it disintegrates from wild hedonism to the uncomfortable realisation that sometimes love isn’t enough. The performances are out of this world, with everyone bringing their absolute best which, when combined with some stunning make-up and costuming, leaves pretty much everyone unrecognisable to the point of inducing the occasional bout of brain ache. Persevere through the disbelief to enjoy this disarming story of love and woe that will have many feeling pangs of nostalgia for the nineties. Wildly entertaining, utterly charming and entirely mesmerising, Pam & Tommy is stylised biopic perfection. Get ready for Pam & Tommy to become the latest binge-watch obsession.
Pam & Tommy
Summary
Lily James transforms herself completely into one of the most famous faces of the nineties, creating one of the most absorbing performances in years. Paired with the equally strong Sebastian Stan and supported by an excellent Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy is a whistle-stop tour through sex tapes, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, wrapped in a beautifully hedonistic and pure love story.
The first three episodes of Pam & Tommy will arrive on Hulu and Star on Disney + on 2nd February 2022. The remaining five episodes will air weekly.
