Hulu's Pam and Tommy series has sparked mixed messages from critics but they at least agree on the 'mesmerising' performance of lead actress Lily James.
The Disney+ show is based on the true story of when Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape went viral, but this 1995 event is stretched out into eight 45-minute episodes.
Critics are praising Lily James' portrayal of the Baywatch icon, 54, who has shaken off her sweet-as-pie roles like Cinderella, and cast aside cutesy typecasting to play the global sex-icon.
"Anderson is so mesmerizingly played by James that every other character feels underwritten in comparison," raved TV Guide's Allison Picurro.
And Variety's Daniel D'Addario heaped praise on Lily for her portrayal, writing: 'James’ Pam is an outright triumph, both of acting and of special-effects makeup.
"To the latter point first, even viewers (like this one) not particularly concerned with visual realness will be genuinely stunned by the degree to which James has been made to resemble the Pam of the 1990s.
"Meticulousness of this sort can sometimes stand in for insight about a character, but here, it allows James leeway to push into aspects of Anderson we might not expect. The makeup department, in so precisely crafting an image, gives James the room to subvert it."
Meanwhile, Arizona Republic 's critic slammed the mini-series for being 'a mess' and misfiring so badly referencing the scene in which Tommy talks to his penis - and it talks back.
The publication's Reviewer Bill Goodykoontz said: "If anything the series, which streams on Hulu beginning February 2, tries too hard. It wants to be too many things at the same time — shocking, enlightened, funny, serious, revealing, intimate, whatever,' he concluded.
But music mag Rolling Stone was somewhat kinder calling it 'whip-smart, funny and a poignant re-examination of an event that once seemed like an easy punchline for tabloids and Jay Leno monologues."
"James, an alumnus of “Downton Abbey,” plays her as a congenital optimist who grows chastened and weary as each seeming chance to push beyond the red swimsuit evades her. Tommy perpetually wants to amplify, to react; Pam is a force for deliberation and calm."
And the Mirror's own columnist Sara Wallis summed up the series concluding: "But from the mega-signposted plot twists to the cartoony stereotypes and odd levered-in reflective moment, this is a hedonistic ride that doesn’t quite go below the surface."
Pam & Tommy premieres with three episodes on Disney+ on Wednesday 2 February.
