Review: Pam and Tommy

Disclaimer: Rated TV-MA

“Pam & Tommy” is a hilarious portrayal of actress Pamela Anderson (Lily James) and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee’s (Sebastian Stan) stolen sex tape. The Hulu original begins with the couple’s Malibu mansion being reconstructed after their spontaneous wedding in Cancún. Their contractor Rand (Seth Rogen) continuously becomes angrier with Tommy due to his disrespectful behavior towards the crew, demanding changes in architecture and pointing guns at them jokingly. Tommy fires and refuses to pay for any of their completed work. All of his actions inspire Rand to sneak into the garage and steal a giant safe containing the infamous tape. 

In the second half of the show, viewers see Pam and Tommy discover that their private honeymoon film has been leaked on the internet. The leak affects Pam the most as she absorbs disgusting remarks about her while her career as a “Baywatch” actress is threatened. 

Viewers might imagine a relationship between a highly fetishized actress and a notoriously narcissistic jerk being entirely shallow, but the show does an incredible job of showing that the two actually do love one another. They frequently discuss getting pregnant, and surprisingly they do. After ecstatically awaiting their baby’s arrival, they suffer a miscarriage. Pam, now overwhelmed with emotions, shatters a paparazzi’s windshield. 

Aside from the intriguing plot, the casting is nothing shy of spectacular. Lily James and Sebastian Stan are perfect choices, nearly identical to their respective celebrities and playing their personalities well. 

An amusing, shocking, and sometimes emotional rendition of real life celebrity drama, “Pam & Tommy” excellently showcases the lives of Pam, Tommy, as well as Rand while they are enduring very different sides of an infamous event that took the world by storm. 

5/5