I was born in the early 1990s, so this whole tape thing missed me. But of course, even I knew about it long before the show. And honestly, who doesn’t know about it? Just before the Internet was mainstream (as this show shows), we all watched the same news, TV shows and movies, so it makes sense that one of the biggest stars of that day would make all the headlines when her sex tape gets stolen and therefore cementing its unfortunate place in our pop culture history. I am also shocked it took someone this long (almost 30 years!) since the theft to transform this story onto our TV screens. And the end result is good, with some caveats…
As the title of this review suggests, I will discuss the morality of making a show based on a stolen tape without the main person involved later. But for now, I will focus purely on Pam & Tommy as presented, trying to distinguish the reality and judge this fictional version of reality on its basis only. It will be difficult to separate reality from fiction, but I will try my hardest.
Ever since we got the first look at this show, we were all impressed by the make-up and prosthetics that transformed Lily James into Pamela Anderson. When I first heard she would be portraying Pamela, I thought I misread it. But even from those promotional pictures with her screen partner Sebastian Stan (who plays Tommy Lee), I was shocked, impressed and stunned by how well they transformed them into their real-life counterparts. And then I finally watched the show and was even more impressed, mainly by Lily. Yes, it’s no surprise I am her fan, so of course, I will praise her. But even if I wasn’t, Lily nailed all Pamela’s mannerisms, the voice, the accent… It was almost scary watching some of Pamela’s old interviews from that era and seeing just how much Lily “got her down”.
I was not as familiar with Tommy Lee, but I thought Sebastian Stan took a risk, and it paid off. The show portrays Lee as this unstable goofball who, despite everything, loves Pamela. And this is where I tried so hard to enjoy his performance and separate the reality from this show, but I will mention this – they displayed him tamely. If you read one or two things about him, especially in his “post-fame” era when he was married to Pamela, allegedly, it got rough a few times. Do I need to say allegedly when he literally went to prison for six months after pleading no contest to kicking Pamela? Besides this, from the little I have seen and known of Tommy Lee, I thought Sebastian did a great job, but Lily was the main star.
Which is ironic, given that Pamela was portrayed with little to no agency over her life. Whether it was on the set of Baywatch (1989 – 2001), in her marriage or in the scenes with their lawyer, her character was (almost) always presented as the voice of reason, who is never heard, and people would make decisions against her wishes. I get that this was the theme of this show. Consent, agency over your body and all that, I get it. But sometimes, it just felt too “Hollywoody”. Let me phrase it better; I genuinely hope that was not the case in real life and that she wasn’t ignored all the time.
As far as the shock factor (the talking penis scene is the prime example of what I am talking about now), I guess it worked…? It didn’t shock me because I remember hearing about it, but this show contains a decent amount of nudity, which seems almost like that would have to be the case when you want to talk about the tape and porn industry.
What I thought was a little weird and would definitely consider a weak spot was some of the character work. I understand this show is called Pam & Tommy; therefore, it will be primarily about those two. But if you introduce a character, played by Nick Offerman (probably the sleaziest he’s ever been), maybe conclude his story…? I might have missed it, but something happens with him, and the show focuses solely on the main perpetrator, played by Seth Rogen, so we get some “closure” for his character and learn what happened to his real-life counterpart. But his partner in crime… nada. And his character is based on an actual person!
Okay, let’s get to the morality question. Many have argued that this show does precisely the same thing to Pamela as the tape did back in the 90s. The arguments are that this show presents itself as a true story (where many things are pure fiction), Pamela was not consulted, and neither asked for permission as the show isn’t based on the tape itself. It is based on the Rolling Stone article from 2014, and that is how they didn’t have to ask for consent…? That’s wild. Anyway, I have been thinking about it for a while and still have no definitive answer. And hear me out here.
The easy answer is: “Of course, it’s immoral!” I hear you, but part of me also thinks this show threads a fine line of never showing too much of that tape; it makes sure we understand how wrong it was and how it changed Pam’s life (although, again, many parts have been adjusted for TV, don’t take this show as gospel). Another argument is that it is already in the public consciousness; whether you, I or Pamela like it or not, it is out there. You can literally Google it within seconds and watch the entire tape without any payment. You can also (and this might blow someone’s mind) rate it on IMDb. I know! Insane, right? Why would it be there? I think the answer to this is the same as what I am trying to say – because it is out there. It exists, and many have seen it, so people behind IMDb have decided it’s significant enough to be there. Now, just because something exists, does it justify anything, or does that make it morally right? No, of course not. And that’s the conundrum.
Whether we like it, it is one of the most watched tapes ever. The show even touches on how it sold like nothing else at the time because everyone wanted to see it. It became a punchline to many jokes, it heavily influenced the lives of both Pamela and Tommy, and it is (thanks to this show) will be part of our pop culture for some time. And it all started (allegedly) with someone stealing a safe and calling it karma. The reason I say “allegedly” is simple – many people (including the journalist who wrote the article Pam & Tommy is based on) don’t believe the character portrayed by Seth actually stole the tape. And to me, I think that’s why I would lean just that tiny bit to the “it’s ok to make a show about it” camp. There are so many different, fictional, fascinating elements to make a good and entertaining show. Unfortunately, the heart of the show is about something that is 100% wrong.
Overall, Pam & Tommy is a wild retelling of a pop culture event that, at one point in time, everyone was talking about. The show struck gold with its unorthodox casting choices that paid off, and the prosthetic/make-up team was also on their best game. The only part I was disappointed by was the lack of some character work/closure, and I am also not sure whether we needed eight episodes. At times, it felt a tiny bit bloated, but not as much for me to complain about it too much. I would recommend it as a piece of fictional content. If you want to know how Pamela herself feels about it, watch Pamela: A Love Story (2023) instead.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke