SHOW OF THE WEEK: Pamela, a love story (Jan. 31, Netflix)
One thing you’ll notice about this documentary is that it’s mostly Pamela Anderson doing the talking, a contrast with other biographical docs in which a variety of sources weigh in on the person of the hour.
And that is perfectly OK. It’s about time we heard what Pamela thinks about the things that have gone on in her eventful and sometimes painful life.
After a lifetime of being characterized as a pair of boobs and — after the release of the infamous sex tape with ex-husband Tommy Lee — a vagina, she’s earned the chance to have her say.
And talk she does — frankly, matter-of-factly, sometimes punctuated by a still girlish giggle, mostly in interviews from her family home in Ladysmith, B.C. — about her tumultuous upbringing with an alcoholic “bad boy” father and parents who fought constantly, sometimes violently; about being molested by a female babysitter for several years; about being raped at 12 by a 25-year-old man.
The interviews are supplemented by entries from the dozens of journals that Anderson kept throughout her life — read, at her request, by an actor.
As Pamela tells it, she felt ashamed and confused about her body and her sexuality, and posing for Playboy — recruited after her discovery via the Jumbotron at a B.C. Lions football game — allowed her to break free of the cage of that insecurity.
But that act of taking charge was to be weaponized against her.
The doc moves on to subjects that would be familiar from years of tabloid coverage: the many romantic relationships and marriages, “Baywatch,” “Barb Wire” — during the strenuous filming of which she suffered a miscarriage — the sex tape stolen in a safe from her and husband Tommy Lee’s garage and distributed worldwide via the fledgling internet, her activism with PETA and more.
Tommy Lee looms large over the doc, which opens with Pamela somewhat wistfully watching other tapes they made during their marriage (she says she has never watched the sex tape).
“I’ve never loved someone so deeply and by deeply I mean I loved his soul,” says one journal entry.
Despite their divorce after Lee was charged with spousal abuse, one gets the sense that Anderson still loves him or at least loves what the relationship was before it went bad.
“I love being in love and being vulnerable and being giving,” she says at one point.
The other part of her story that looms large in the doc is the sex tape and the unsuccessful battle to keep it off the internet. Anderson describes being deposed in that lawsuit as “complete humiliation” and like being raped again when her Playboy history was used to paint her as a whore who wasn’t deserving of privacy.
“Why do these grown men hate me so much?” was her reaction at the time.
The release of a miniseries about the sex tape, “Pam & Tommy,” brings up the trauma of the events all over again.
Pamela and sons Brandon and Dylan say the tape meant the essential end of her career; she “had to make a career out of the pieces left.” According to Dylan, she has been in debt most of her life.
Mind you, the doc finishes with her making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” in April 2022 and suggests she isn’t ready to give up just yet.
Nor is it framed as an attempt to garner sympathy.
“I’m not a victim,” Pamela says. “I put myself in crazy situations and survived them. I’m grateful for all the experience I had and I don’t blame anybody for anything.”
All autobiographical documentaries are, by design, self-serving. This one is likely meant to stoke interest in Anderson’s new memoir, “Love, Pamela.” But again, why shouldn’t one of the most exploited women in the world have her say?
As she herself says, “It’s good to get it out at least once or twice in your one words.”
Netflix also has the docuseries “Gunther’s Millions” (Feb. 1), about a German shepherd who inherited millions when his countess owner willed her entire estate to him in 1992, now worth an estimated $400 million (U.S.) and passed down to his heirs; plus the series “Freeridge” (Feb. 2) about four friends trying to reverse a curse; and Indian drama series “Class” (Feb. 3), about three poor students who attend an exclusive Delhi high school where a murder takes place.
Short Takes
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of BBC Studios
Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World (Jan. 31, 9 p.m., PBS/YouTube)
If you define music and other art as, in part, a response to oppression then it makes perfect sense that one of the most explosive and influential musical genres of the 20th century was pioneered by Black Americans. This four-part docuseries, created by rap legend Chuck D and Lorrie Boula (“Rebel Music”), explores hip hop from its roots with DJ Kool Herc in the Bronx in 1973 to present day with the help of groundbreakers like Chuck D, Grandmaster Caz, Ice-T, Abiodun Oyewole, Roxanne Shanté, Darryl McDaniels of Run-D.M.C., Melle Mel and many more . Most importantly, it links the music to the social, political and cultural upheaval that gave rise to it: the persistent and systemic racism, the urban blight, the war on drugs, police brutality and so much more while highlighting the joy and pride that are part of the music, and the Black resilience and creativity that flourished amid the struggles. Law professor Jody Armour says in Episode 2 that “Great art broadens your perspective.” Whether or not you consider hip hop great art, this docuseries will expand your perspective on it and on the ways in which Black Americans have been and continue to be subjugated.
Dear Edward (Feb. 3, Apple TV+)
“Dear Edward” does a good job of reminding us that the trauma of a deadly disaster radiates far beyond the event itself. Based on the Ann Napolitano novel of the same name, it’s about Edward (Colin O’Brien), a 12-year-old who’s the sole survivor of a plane crash that kills his parents, his beloved older brother and some 200 other passengers. It’s also about his aunt Lacey (an excellent Taylor Schilling) who struggles to care for Edward amid the grief she feels for the loss of her older sister, and others who are mourning the plane crash victims. The stories that feature most prominently, at least in the four episodes I screened, involve Dee Dee (Connie Britton), a rich housewife who learns that her late husband has left her his debt as well as evidence of a double life, and Adriana (Anna Uzele), who must decide how best to fulfil the legacy of her congresswoman grandmother. Not surprisingly, the road to healing involves connection with other people, whether it’s Edward bonding with the quirky girl next door, Shay (Eva Ariel Binder); Dee Dee helping a young, pregnant woman, Linda (Amy Forsyth), whose boyfriend was a victim; or Adriana opening her home and her heart to Kojo (Idris Debrand), who lost his sister, and his niece Becks (Khloe Bruno). The series was developed by Jason Katims, creator of “Parenthood” and a writer on “Friday Night Lights” (in which Britton starred), so it’s definitely a tearjerker. It sometimes strays into emotional manipulation and predictability, but the quality of the acting helps to balance occasional heavy-handedness.
Odds and Ends
CBC Gem debuts the second season of Australian miniseries “First Day” (Feb. 1), in which transgender teen Hannah (Evie Macdonald) is back at school and feeling more comfortable but also keen to craft an identity as more than just a trans girl.
CBC and CBC Gem also have a number of premieres tied to Black History Month. Among the most intriguing is “Dear Jackie” (Feb. 5, 8 p.m.), a documentary framed as a letter to Jackie Robinson, the first Black man to play Major League Baseball after a stint in the minor leagues in Montreal, that examines ongoing racial inequality in Montreal and Quebec. There is also the doc “John Lewis: Good Trouble” (Feb. 1, CBC Gem) about civil rights activities John Lewis; Season 2 of variety/sketch comedy show mockumentary “Sherman’s Showcase” (Feb. 1, Gem); another doc, “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” (Feb. 1, Gem), about the legendary Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning American author; and “Moonlight” (Feb. 3, Gem), the Oscar winning Barry Jenkins movie about a young gay boy growing up in Miami.
Just in time for your pre-Oscars movie binge, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is streaming on Disney+ on Feb. 1. The film has five Oscar nominations, including Best Actress for Angela Bassett. Disney+ also has the second season of animated comedy “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” (Feb. 1).
I don’t watch horror movies, but I hear the Canadian-made experimental film “Skinamarink” is a viral and box office hit. It’s on Shudder on Feb. 2.
Finally, if awards shows are your thing, Citytv has “The 65th Annual Grammy Awards” Feb. 5 at 8 p.m.
NOTE: The listings here are in Eastern Standard Time and I’ve verified the times where possible, but it’s always best to check listings for your own area. The selection of programs reviewed reflects what I’m given access to by networks and streamers, whether reviews are embargoed, how many shows I have time to watch and my own personal taste. The Odds and Ends section includes shows that I have not watched.
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