None of us really felt that emotionally attached to Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee in the 90s, so “Pam and Tommy”, the new show dropping on Hulu today has an uphill battle making us care 25 years later.
When the smartest character on the show is Tommy Lee’s penis, that makes the challenge even harder.
But what still makes it worth your while are the performances from Lily James and Sebastian Stan, who give it everything they have in the title roles. James is charming as the well-meaning Baywatch Bombshell, while Stan is a menace as the Motley Crue drummer.
The story revolves around the couple, and a contractor done wrong by Tommy named Rand, played by Seth Rogen. When Tommy fires Rand with a balance that leaves him on the hook for thousands, Rand decides to rob the happy couple and comes across the infamous sex tape.
The first three episodes that were released don’t let us get too far into the meat and potatoes of the main plot, but instead works through flashbacks to examine Pam, Tommy, and Rand. The careers of the first two and the logistics of the tape with the third.
Let’s talk about the positives. James and Stan crush the acting. They make the 90s look fun. And the soundtrack is the best I’ve heard in sometime. A bunch of gems from the era like The Cardigans, LEO and Crystal Waters are there along with all the cheese you can handle from the fashion of the time.
But besides Pam, everyone else in the story is a dirtbag. There are no redeeming qualities to each of these people and the Rand story does nothing for me. It’s also a raunchy watch that isn’t always funny, just trashy. There is a very real opportunity that when this is over it would have been better done by a 2 hour film.
Anyways, “Pam and Tommy” is exactly what you think it is. If that looks appealing to you, I think it delivers. Just don’t go expecting anything else because its not there so far.
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