The opening night of Netlfix documentary: “Pamela, A Love Story” was this week at The Paris Theater.
Directed by Ryan White and produced by Pamela Anderson’s son, Brandon Thomas Lee, the film offers an intimate look into Pamela’s life. The documentary begins in the small town where the star grew up, an island in British Columbia. Pamela is glowing and makeup free curled up on her living room couch. She opens up about traumatic experiences in her childhood that shaped her idea of her developing body. She recounts being molested by a babysitter and wishing them death one night, only to find out the next day they were killed in a car crash. As a kid she kept this a secret and attributed it to her “magical powers”. The documentary also follows Pamela through her early days in her career, she was photographed at a Canadian hockey game and discovered shortly after by Playboy. Pamela noted that her time at Playboy was empowering for her. This was the first time since her childhood, that she was in control of her body.
“Pamela, A Love Story” also sheds light on her famous relationship with rockstar Tommy Lee, whom she shares two children with. She recounts marrying on the beach in Cancun after knowing each other for 4 days. Anderson also tells the untold story of her sex tape that was stolen from her house and mass produced against her will. For the first time, in her own words she describes the violation and humiliation she was subjected to,. Anderson was turned into a caricature due to her leaked intimate moments and still gets emotional by the experience. Pamela also notes her disapproval for the Hulu series, “Pam and Tommy” known. The Hulu series recreated traumatizing events in Pamela’s life without any consulting or green light from Pamela or her team.
Throughout the film she manages to keep a somewhat positive outlook, she has been through violations and hardships and still comes across as genuine and unbroken.The last part of the documentary goes into her more recent work including her advocacy with PETA and Broadway debut in “Chicago”. Pamela is often described as vapid and raunchy, but this film shows a true look at the star. Despite the past misogynistic media portrayals of her, Pamela truly has a spirt that cannot be broken.
