5 Iconic Biopics to Watch While You’re Waiting for the Next Episode of Pam & Tommy
The first three installments of the much-anticipated Pam &Tommy dropped on Hulu this week. The miniseries tells the story of their whirlwind romance, centering around their leaked sex tape which was one of the first big scandals of the internet age.
Episode one is essentially a long construction budget negotiation, resulting in a heist by disgruntled carpenter Rand Gauthier (Seth Rogan) so absurd it involves a dog disguise. It sets up Rand’s motivations, while episode two focuses on Pam and Tommy’s brief courtship before getting married just 96 hours after meeting.
It also involves a talking penis.
If these first few episodes tell us anything, it’s that this series is not going to pull any punches. Lily James as Pamela Anderson and Sebastian Stan as Tommy are performing for the back row here, with manic energy. Just like their relationship, Pam and Tommy goes full throttle.
The series promises to make us reexamine the couple and the media circus that surrounded them, and captures the frenetic energy they brought to our lives. More and more, filmmakers have been shining a new light on the biggest stories and most maligned figures of the twentieth century, forcing us to re-examine our perspective, for better or for worse.
Put on these five films about iconic couples while you wait for the next episode of P&T to drop.
1. Sid & Nancy (1986)
Before Pam and Tommy, there was Sid and Nancy. The film depicts the tragic love story of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and girlfriend Nancy Spungen. It’s a drug-addled mess the likes of Trainspotting or Requiem for a Dream, but there’s a certain charm to the pair that makes them utterly magnetic. Their struggles are hard to comprehend and their story builds to an utterly gut-wrenching conclusion. It’s hard to watch, but the romantic in me sees the pair as a modern day Romeo and Juliet: two star-crossed lovers barely out of high school who simply live and love too hard for this earth.
2. What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993)
It’s said that Tina Turner wanted more true stories in this film, but the studio felt audiences wouldn’t believe everything that happened to her. Few people in showbiz have gone through what Tina Turner has gone through. Angela Bassett portrays her unbelievable courage, strength, and otherworldly star power in one of the most iconic biopic performances ever. Lawrence Fishburn, as Ike, is among the worst villains seen on screen. This film is as much a celebration of Tina as it is of those two Hollywood greats. To hear Tina’s story from the woman herself, also check out 2021’s documentary Tina on HBOMax.
3. The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)
I wasn’t sure I needed a Jim and Tammy Faye biopic. Like so many celebrity stories from when I was growing up, I’d learned everything I thought I needed to know from SNL. I was so wrong. The perfectly cast Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield meet head on Tammy and Jim’s larger than life personalities with even larger performances. To director Michael Showalter’s credit, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, while still treating the subjects with an immense amount of empathy. By the time Chastain-as-Tammy is bringing the house down (if only in her mind) with “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, you’ll find yourself compelled to salute your TV.
4. I, Tonya (2017)
Not long before Pam and Tommy’s sex tape leaked, the world learned Tonya Harding’s name when her ex-husband, Jeff Gilooly, orchestrated an attack on one of her skating rivals. Those of us who came of age in the 90’s remember her as a punchline, but I, Tonya peels back the curtain to reveal a surprisingly relatable story. Whereas Nancy Kerrigan was effortlessly polished, Harding had grit from growing up poor and having to skate with subpar equipment and dreadful homemade costumes. It’s a story any underdog can relate to, all punctuated by a Coen-brothers-level botched crime story and a killer soundtrack. If you’re loving Sebastian Stan as Tommy Lee, you’ll be tickled by his depiction of Gilooly.
5. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016)
Though it’s technically a miniseries, I couldn’t complete this list without at least one season of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story anthology. This first one is probably the best one, though Impeachment is a good watch too. Here, Murphy rehashes the media circus that was the trial of the century with a star-studded cast. Cuba Gooding Jr. is perfectly cast as OJ, and is surrounded by the likes of John Travolta, David Schwimmer, and Sterling K. Brown, along with the regular suspects of Ryan Murphy’s orbit.
