What’s streaming this week: Pamela Anderson, the infamous sex tape and a candid look at her life

For a moment, allow us to separate a difficult documentary from its likable subject matter. You will hear a lot about Pamela, a love story (Netflix). So much so that it seems director Ryan White has created the definitive portrait of a global superstar.

rue, Pamela Anderson is still her usual charming self here, and she does what it takes to get her story back. But White’s film is a weird, sloppy monster — well-intentioned, I’m sure, but annoyingly unfocused and, unfortunately, messy.

Everything returns to the scandalous sex tape. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t know the story of Anderson’s stolen home video and ex-husband rock star Tommy Lee.

Anderson, interviewed at her lakeside retreat in Canada, talks about the matter in a light and elegant way. The infamous tape – which became an internet craze before the internet crazes became reality – destroyed her career, but barely affected her ex-husband. Everyone – the paparazzi, the talk show host, Tommy – agitated Pamela.

Again, we’ve heard these stories before. White’s film gives Anderson the opportunity to explain, in her own words, how the ordeal has affected her life. She reminds us that she has never made a dime from the tape.

At one point, Pamela informed us of the abuse and rape she endured as a child. We listened to stories about her parents’ fractured marriage, and about the football game in Vancouver where she was essentially ‘spotted’ on a jumbotron.

Nothing is the same after that night, and these early installments promise a deep and steady study of the character. And then White presses the fast-forward button. Pamela briefly recalls catching the bus to Los Angeles for the first time dissipated shoot. There are quick anecdotes about her time on Baywatch and hemstitch set.

We are presented with mere scraps of Pamela’s activism for Peta, her friendship with Julian Assange, her reaction to Hulu’s Pam & Tommy miniseries, and her 2022 Broadway debut (she played Roxie in Chicago).

Pamela was open and honest all the time, and she invited us to watch home videos and listen to entries from her personal diary. So the material is incredible, but White slides through and through everything, arranging his film in such a dangerous and rushed way that you’ll wonder why he didn’t do a series instead. position.

Oddly enough, for a documentary that’s surprisingly candid, it’s also a bit elusive and that title remains a mystery. Is this Pamela finally learning to love herself? Maybe this is a story about Pamela and her sons, Brandon and Dylan? Or is it something else entirely?

In the end, Pamela admitted that the only man she truly loved was Tommy Lee. But White never follows through on this – he just moves on to the next thing.

Pamela came across here by chance. She’s always warm, compassionate, and extremely down-to-earth, and she says she won’t be watching the documentary when it comes out. In my opinion, that’s more than enough, and that’s fine. But this still feels like a wasted opportunity.

In other places, Dear Edward, (AppleTV+) is a bit of a head scratching. This brightly colored compilation follows a 12-year-old boy named Edward Adler (Colin O’Brien) who survives a catastrophic plane crash.

Everyone else on the flight died, including the boy’s family, and no one knew what to do with their grief. So the mourners – and there were many of them – began to write to Edward. In the end, their lives cross paths.

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You know how these types of melodrama work. Created by Jason Katims and based on the novel by Ann Napolitano, Dear Edward, plays out like a strange cross between Pass away (except the island and the smoke monster) and This is us (except for the witty, charming, and charismatic performers).

Yes, there are too many people and things in this series. Some good things: Connie Britton shines as a widowed sociopath, and the plane crash scene is intense. Some of it is really upsetting and those sad pop songs that don’t stop need to go away. A shaky start, then.

Unlike Lockwood & Co (Netflix), it’s a bit of a hoot. Filmmaker Joe Cornish (Attack the blocks) directs this exciting supernatural detective thread that imagines a spooky England where ghosts are real, something bad has happened, and talented kids are trained to get rid of the spirits. unwanted from their town.

One of these young people, Lucy (Ruby Stokes), has had a particularly difficult time, but a new job at a youth ghost hunting company, opposite Mr. Anthony Lockwood (Cameron), Chapman), could soon change everything. I suspect Mulder and Scully’s teenage vibes are intentional — and that this witty, whip-smart thriller might get a refresh for a second season.​