It’s Vital That You Watch “Pamela, a Love Story.”
Pamela Anderson, an icon of the late ’80s and ’90s, recently released a new documentary directed by Ryan White called “Pamela, a Love Story.” The documentary follows the timeline of Anderson's life told in her own words.
When most people think of Pamela Anderson, many think of her career as a Playboy Bunny, a “Baywatch” lifeguard, or perhaps the infamous tape with rockstar Tommy Lee. It seems that Anderson's life story has been told from every angle except hers—until now.
Image Courtesy: Hollywood Life
Anderson is finally taking control of her narrative—and it’s time we all listened. In addition to the documentary, Anderson also released a memoir called “Love, Pamela,” where she also makes a point to “reclaim” the narrative surrounding her life.
The documentary reveals intimate details of Anderson’s life through hours of home-video footage and diary entries that Anderson has collected her whole life. Videos and pictures of everything from her childhood to the start of her fandom to the life she created with Tommy Lee. Nothing is left off the table.
The biggest moment to highlight in the documentary is the truth about the infamous tape with Tommy Lee. Ever since the tape surfaced, rumors about exactly how and why the tape was released have circulated in the media. Many have even accused her and Lee of releasing the video intentionally and selling it.
“We had no idea when [the tape] was stolen because we had construction going on in our house for a while,” says Anderson in the film. According to her, the tape was stolen along with other memorabilia and home videos from early on in her and Lee’s marriage. She kept it in a safe in her basement–which was later stolen out of their basement altogether. They had filed a police report, but the safe could’ve been stolen anytime in those six months while construction was going on. Then one day, a brown package came in the mail, and Tommy opened it to find a VHS tape of him and Anderson having sex.
“[The people who stole the tape] found all the nudity they could from different hi8 tapes and spliced it together,” explains Anderson, “but we had no idea who sent the tape.”
Anderson wants to make one thing clear in the documentary: she was never paid for any of the leaked footage with Tommy Lee. In fact, she actually mentions that they were offered money to sign over rights to the video, but Anderson wouldn’t do it. She wants the world to know that the footage was stolen from her.
“I would never,” said Anderson when asked if she regrets not monetizing the tape, “you could give me hundreds of millions, a billion dollars, I would never take it. Never.”
Anderson’s close relationship with her two sons, Brandon and Dylan Lee, also shines brightly in the film. Pictures and video footage of their childhood and life as babies are revealed, along with touching interviews with the two boys. In an interview, Brandon Lee confessed he wished his mother would have monetized the tape.
Image courtesy: ABC News
“She would’ve made millions of dollars if she just signed a piece of paper. Instead, she sat back with nothing and watched her career fizzle into thin air,” said Lee.
From Pamela’s childhood and the abuse she faced at a young age to the exploitation of her and Tommy’s relationship, this movie is an absolute masterpiece. Pamela Anderson is such an iconic woman. People have made so much money off her without giving her the credit or respect that is due. The film is beautifully directed, using actual footage from her home videos and narration from actual diary entries that Anderson had saved over the years, giving the audience a connection with her that no one has seen before. This documentary is truly inspiring, and hearing the story through her own words is an eye-opening experience.
“I’m not a victim. I put myself in crazy situations, and I survived them,” Anderson says at the end of the film, perfectly encapsulating her attitude around her life and career.
Anderson displays the power of her own actions and words, focusing on her activism and not hesitating to speak out against the tape and the other abuse she has gone through. To tell her story all over again had to be painful, but the fact that she did it anyway so people could know the truth about her shows her strength and resilience.
If one thing was made clear from the documentary, it was this: Pamela Anderson is one bad b*tch, and if you disagree, it’s vital that you watch “Pamela, a Love Story.”
Strike out,
Haley Dockendorff
Strike Magazine Boca
Haley Dockendorff is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. Loud and proud, this Virgo loves writing just about anything that will cause a bit of commotion. If you can’t find her, she’s probably somewhere on a beach with a camera in hand.
