Tracker Pixel for Entry

​B.C. Confidential: Ryan White Talks with Anderson in ‘Pamela: A Love Story’

Cinema | May 15th, 2023

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

Filmmaker Ryan White’s documentary “Pamela: A Love Story” (stylized onscreen as “Pamela, a Love Story”) serves as a companion piece to the contemporaneously published memoir “Love, Pamela.” Both artifacts allow model and actor Pamela Anderson the opportunity to reshape many aspects of the media-derived narrative of her once chaotic life.

The performer rocketed to international superstardom in the 1990s on the sandy and sun-soaked beaches of the television series “Baywatch,” but it was her tumultuous and ill-fated marriage to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee – which reached an apex, or nadir, via the public release of a stolen sex tape – that some would argue ushered in the era of the internet-driven celebrity scandal.

Before the movie walks us through Anderson’s shock and frustration at the theft of her private and intimate property – as well as the absolute circus-on-a-rollercoaster that came with an unpredictable and eventually abusive rock star – White presents some background information about the intense relationship between Anderson’s parents and the personality traits of her father that embraces some armchair psychology to suggest the origins of the subject’s penchant for bad boys with wild streaks.

Anderson invites White into her home, narrating the film in a combination of conversational on-camera interviews and audio recordings of excerpts from her many journals, diaries, and personal correspondence.

The specter of the sex tape at first hovers over the story, but White’s curated inclusion of a huge supply of home video – accompanied by Anderson’s explanation that she captured, recorded, and documented her life as a matter of regularity and routine – serves as a reasonable explanation of the intimate footage’s origin and existence.

White also integrates archival material that charts the course of Anderson’s success from the seemingly overnight sensation of being “discovered” at a 1989 BC Lions football game to an invitation to be photographed for “Playboy” (she would end up on more of that magazine’s covers than any other person).

The absence of those who might offer deeper critical insights and context regarding the entrenched double standards faced by women (in entertainment and in general) means that Anderson alone must explicate and deconstruct the feelings that accompanied years of limited and limiting lines of questions that inevitably zeroed in on her physical body, her plastic surgery, and her sex symbol status.

That approach works. Time has not been kind to the casual way in which talk show hosts felt entitled to diminish and objectify Anderson, but the old clips selected by White confirm what turns out to be the greatest delight of the documentary: Pamela Anderson was and is intelligent, quick-witted, candid, and always prepared to deal with the older white men in jackets and ties seated behind desks that inflate their power and authority.

The last sections of the movie follow the stunt casting of Anderson as Roxie Hart in “Chicago” on Broadway in 2022. It is no spoiler to say that she aimed to prove naysayers wrong yet again.

By this point, White has skipped over some of Anderson’s reality television and “Dancing With the Stars” work, but he does manage to squeeze in at least minimal acknowledgment of her animal rights activism, her curious relationship with Julian Assange, the cult film “Barb Wire,” and her five post-Lee marriages. Through it all, a charming Anderson handles everything like a pro. 

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com The onion calendar is an old German folk tradition used to predict levels of moisture each month throughout the coming year using salt, a knife, an onion and a little bit of patience. Donna and…

Sunday, December 29, 9:30 a.m.Cellar 624, 624 Main Avenue, FargoEnd the year on a high note with performances from the CyberHive Collective, pancakes and glitter (served separately of course). Brunch options include gluten free and…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com I’m really sick of the “Nobody wants to work anymore” narrative. Like, really sick. I can’t hide the eye rolls and I don’t even try to hide them anymore. In fact, I feel like they’ll…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comA new type of Civil War: “smash-and grab” capitalism and healthcare The Divided States of America has the greatest economic inequality among wealthy nations on Planet Earth and has birthed a…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comPhoto by Rick Gion To say the least, this election season was a doozy. Anxiety was high for many on both sides of the political aisle. To calm down and settle the nerves, a comforting meal is…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Local band Zero Place has been making quite a name for itself locally and regionally in the last few years. Despite getting its start during a time it seemed the whole world was coming to…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Essential viewing for cinephiles of any generation, director David Hinton’s engrossing documentary, “Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger,” celebrates one of cinema’s…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIn 1974, the Jamestown Arts Center started as a small space above a downtown drugstore. It has grown to host multiple classrooms, a gallery, performance studio, ceramic studio and outdoor art park.…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Josette Ciceronunapologeticallyanxiousme@gmail.com What does it mean to truly live in a community —or should I say, among community? It’s a question I have been wrestling with since I moved to Fargo-Moorhead in February 2022.…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On Dec 5, the Turning Point USA chapter at North Dakota State University hosted an event called BisonFest. This event featured Chloe Cole, a former trans kid, known for detransitioning and…

By Curtis W. Stofferahn, Ph.D.Curtis.stofferahn@email.und.edu In June, two events markedly contrasted the difference between two different visions of agriculture: precision agriculture and regenerative agriculture. The dedication…