Warning! SPOILERS for Pam & Tommy episode 7 ahead.
Pam & Tommy episode 7 focused on Pamela (Lily James) on the eve of the premiere of her film Barb Wire, which was supposed to be her big break but, in reality, negatively affected her career. The Hulu limited series reached its second to last episode, which showed more facets of Pamela’s life that were affected by the release of her private sex tape with husband Tommy Lee (Sebastian Stan). While the first half of the series focused more on Rand (Seth Rogen) and his theft and revenge, the second half worked as a meticulous representation of the double standards Pamela had to face because of the release of the sex tape compared to her husband.
Barb Wire was portrayed by Pam & Tommy as the movie which would have finally let Pamela reach the career and social standing she desired. Lily James’ Pamela even hired a specific publicist in episode 3 to face the promotional period and the film’s premiere, even before the sex tape scandal had built up, precisely because she had bet a lot on the movie’s success. Publicist Gail Chwatsky (Mozhan Marnò) ended up comforting her even about issues unrelated to Barb Wire, such as the sex tape spreading and the consequences on Pamela’s reputation of suing Bob Guccione and Penthouse magazine in episode 5.
Pam & Tommy episode 7 showed the Barb Wire premiere and the subsequent sneaking out of Pamela and Tommy to a regular theatre in order to see the people’s unfiltered reactions, which unkindly ridiculed the film and Pamela’s role in it. Similarly to what’s shown in Pam & Tommy, Barb Wire was a flop in terms of earnings. The comics-based action movie had an estimated budget of $9mln, but it made less than $3.8mln at the box office on the opening weekend in US and Canada.
Barb Wire scored 28% among critics and 14% among viewers on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a big failure not only for its earnings but also for how it was received. The negative critics’ consensus on the site can be summarized by the scathing top comment that said, “Barb Wire could've been fun camp, but Pamela Anderson can't deliver her lines with any dramatic or comedic impact.” This comment aimed specifically at Pamela’s acting expertise, creating a link between the film’s failure and Anderson’s part in it.
While she hoped it could be successful as it was Anderson’s first protagonist role in a movie that wouldn’t be released direct-to-video, but to the cinemas, Barb Wire hindered Anderson’s career. After the 1996 action movie, Anderson ended up appearing either as herself on films or as her renowned Baywatch character CJ Parker. The only other role in a major franchise Anderson had after Barb Wire happened in 2003 with Scary Movie 3.
Barb Wire’s tendency to heavily rely on Anderson’s sex symbol status did not help her diversify her acting roles, as Pam & Tommy implied it was Pamela’s objective. It also didn’t help that the movie’s release was welcomed with harsh reviews. Still, one cannot forget the timing of Barb Wire’s release, as it happened precisely when the sex tape was circulating. Pam & Tommy makes reminding the viewers of this detail its mission, subtly suggesting that Barb Wire’s flop and Pamela’s dwindling career could even be ascribed to how harshly Pamela was being judged precisely because of the tape.
Pam & Tommy releases new episodes every Wednesday on Hulu.