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The Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy has ended, so a review naturally follows. This covers the big moments of the characters throughout the limited series of Pam & Tommy. This is a review of the miniseries as a whole, as well as how Lily James and Sebastian Stan played their roles. Lily James, of course, played Pamela Anderson and Sebastian Stan played Thomas “Tommy” Lee Bass. The internet may be familiar to the public nowadays, but it most certainly wasn’t in the 90s. Alas, the sex tape of Pamela and Tommy was a victim of the growing popularity of the internet. Lily James and Sebastian Stan journey through the beginning of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s relationship and through the nightmare of the release of the sex tape. The review of the Hulu miniseries will cover the good, bad, and ridiculous.
Before you read further, know that there technically can’t be spoilers for this Hulu miniseries review of Pam & Tommy. Why, you may ask? The events dramatized in this miniseries happened over twenty years ago. It’s basically historical fiction. Lily James and Sebastian Stan only act out things that real people actually experienced. The limited series Pam & Tommy contains explicit language, sexual content, and nudity (obviously). There is even a scene where Tommy Lee has a conversation with his penis about how crazy he is about Pamela Anderson. It’s both shocking and really captures Lee’s personality. Lily James and Sebastian Stan were perfect for these roles and made the Hulu miniseries an easy watch and easy to review. So buckle up and learn something or two for this review of Pam & Tommy.
The Miniseries Should Be Called Pam & Tommy & Rand
The Hulu miniseries review starts with the examination of the craftsperson; Rand Gauthier, played by Seth Rogen. He got screwed out of payment for his carpentry on Lee and Anderson’s bedroom. Throughout Pam & Tommy, it seems to try to humanize Gauthier and visually show viewers why he did what he did. It’s unknown the intention behind detailing so much of his life. It’s a surprise they didn’t play a mini violin to go with his “karma” throughout Pam & Tommy. Okay, his pornstar ex-wife (Taylor Schilling) wants a divorce, and Uncle Miltie (Nick Offerman) screwed him over financially. Gauthier’s story shouldn’t have trumped Lily James and Sebastian Stan’s characters. The direction and writing put him in a more sympathetic light than it did on Anderson.
Lily James and Sebastian Stan rightfully outshined Rogen. Thankfully Rogen didn’t use his signature laugh despite channeling his Pineapple Express character for this. Gauthier is pathetic and dishonest with a permanently damaged moral compass. His ex-wife Erica rightfully flips out on him in “Destroyer of Worlds,” the penultimate episode of Pam & Tommy. Erica explains consent to him, and it almost seems like he gets he isn’t the victim of his wrongdoing. He had a change in morals until he gets paid handsomely for the original tape from a site that was streaming it. The end credits explain that Gauthier brags about being the sex tape thief to this day! Gauthier sours the review of what could have been a better story in the Hulu miniseries.
Lily James and Sebastian Stan Nail Their Character Portrayals
Lily James makes a spot-on Pamela Anderson impression, and Sebastian Stan captures the essence of Tommy Lee. If this were a review of Lily James‘ portrayal of Pamela Anderson in the Hulu miniseries, it would be very positive. Pam & Tommy showed Anderson’s ambition to be sexy and serious like Jane Fonda. She thought the box office bust movie Barb Wire would be her Barbarella. Barb Wire was the film adaption of the comic of the same name. The series showed that Anderson wanted a successful career, kids, and a happy marriage. The review for the makeup team of the Hulu miniseries would be overwhelmingly positive as well. James captured Anderson’s upbeat personality and the frustration she had in the face of her spiraling career. Audiences were shown a more fragile view of Anderson through James for Pam & Tommy.
The Hulu miniseries review of Stan as Lee is good but not as great compared to James. Not because of Stan’s lack of talent, but because the writers focused so much on Rand, it had little left for Lee’s characterization. The most out of character aspect of Lee that the media never showed of him was when he would cook for Anderson. The series left out showing the physical abuse in Lee and Anderson’s relationship, besides adding it in the end credits. Sebastian Stan and Lily James showed the explosive chemistry of Lee and Anderson during their whirlwind romance. Pam & Tommy doesn’t show Lee’s background like they do with Anderson. Regarding the review of Sebastian Stan, he didn’t quite shine as bright as Lily James. His struggles were more with himself and his band losing their studio to Third Eye Blind.
The Media Sexualized a Very Unsexy Situation and Relationship
Throughout Pam & Tommy, James’ character continually tells Stan’s character that people didn’t view him the same way in the tape they did her. Anderson is forced to testify at a deposition in the episode “Pamela in Wonderland,” in which she is accused of releasing the tape intentionally. The Baywatch crew openly watched Anderson and Lee’s sex tape on set. Talk show hosts like Leno made her the butt of the jokes concerning the tape. Lily James as Anderson showed the woman behind the false narrative of the media; Sebastian Stan, as Lee showed the man behind the musician. The Hulu miniseries would have a better review if they focused more on the titular characters rather than the thief Gauthier. Pam & Tommy showed an iota of the media storm that has followed Anderson to this day.
Summary/Conclusion: Pam & Tommy Takeaway
Watch to see Lily James and Sebastian Stan as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.  The review of Pam & Tommy dramatizes certain experiences, but it did at least show that the unintentional release of a sex tape in this instance was not a good thing. It also didn’t mention Anderson contracting hepatitis C from sharing a needle with Lee, which was definitely a significant part of their relationship on top of the physical abuse. There is way too much Rand (Seth Rogen) throughout Pam & Tommy Hulu’s miniseries. It could have shown way more of Anderson; there was more to her than Playboy and losing roles in L.A. Confidential and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Overall the Hulu miniseries offers a superficial take on a huge pop culture event still talked about today.
The real-life documentary of Pamela Anderson will come out, which will change the review of this Hulu miniseries. Sebastian Stan as Lee was more consistently chaotic yet static compared to Lily James as Anderson. The series is really only worth watching because of Stan and James’ acting despite the downfalls of the miniseries. It’s a solid okay because the writing and direction could have been a lot better.
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