What did you do with your Monday evening?
Because I saw Sebastian Stan talk to his penis (who was obviously voiced by Jason Mantzoukas), Lily James take a lot of drugs and flash her special effects boobies, and Seth Rogen masturbate using a bag of frozen peas.
No, I didn’t eat too much cheese slices before bed and have some weird fever dream – I did, instead, go to a premiere of the first two episodes of Pam & Tommy.
(Although, I did also eat a lot of cheese that night.)
Can you believe that Disney+, the streaming service where you can quite literally watch all 125 episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, is also the home to the dramatised series depicting how Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s stolen sex tape was leaked to the public?
And what makes it even worse is that my Mum’s name is Pam. This just feels oh so wrong.
Firstly, I want to applaud Lily James and Sebastian Stan for their stints as the titular characters, and I want you to do the same. (If you don’t, I’ll never know, so don’t worry too much.)
From the initial production shots, the world was wowed by Lily James’ physical change to portray Pamela Anderson – she looked more like Pam than Pam did herself – but it’s not until you watch the series that you realise how incredible this transformation is. Lily’s performance is incredible; she sounds just like the Baywatch star, and sometimes I found it difficult to remember that it wasn’t Pam herself, thanks to Lily’s amazing attention to detail. She nailed every single mannerism; from the hair twirling, to the coy looks over her shoulder.
As for Sebastian Stan – it’s hard not to be in love with him in this. (Hell, it’s hard not to love him a little bit regardless of what he’s in.) There’s something so enticing and captivating about his performance. Whenever he leaves a scene, a little part of you feels a bit deflated, longing for him (and his huge, huge, huge package) to return to the scene. He’s over-the-top, eccentric and just a lot of fun to have on the screen. Together, with Lily, the pair have some incredible chemistry; they honestly feel like the real Pam and Tommy.
The supporting cast – which includes the likes of Seth Rogen, who plays Rand, a contractor wronged by Tommy Lee, and Nick Offerman, who plays Uncle Miltie, a porn director – are also very fun to watch, but are (obviously) overshadowed by the likes of Lily and Sebastian. Which is understandable. One of them’s a contractor and the other is the drummer of Mötley Crüe; I just don’t think the series ‘Rand & Uncle Miltie’ would have sold as well.
As I mentioned in the first paragraph, Pam & Tommy is wild. It’s so visually exciting; there’s slapstick comedy from Seth Rogen; slow-motion sex fests with champagne spraying in the air and bikini tops being launched across rooms… And a talking penis. Which moves in the direction of which he wants to talk. (At least I assume Tommy Lee’s penis is a ‘he’.)
But, on occasions, these wild and zany visuals can lead to the actual substance being neglected. You almost forget that this is a series based on something quite serious; the criminal act of Pam and Tommy’s sex tape being stolen and sold against their will. Maybe that will come in the later episodes, but so far, I found Pam & Tommy to just be a lot of fun; I laughed a lot; I bounced around to the incredible soundtrack (and in doing so, probably annoyed the poor bloke behind me in the cinema.)
But that’s my only real criticism so far. I promise you, I will watch every single episode the millisecond they’re released, because I’m not only fascinated by the insane story, but by the extraordinary performances from Lily and Sebastian, and – most importantly – I’m fascinated by Tommy Lee’s winky. There. I said it.