Five (more) things to watch this weekend
Pamela: A Love Story (Netflix)
“Pam & Tommy”, Hulu’s comedy drama series about the bizarre series of events and characters involved in the Pamela Anderson sex-tape scandal of the early internet ‘90s, may have attracted plenty of critical plaudits and awards nominations, but it certainly wasn’t well received by one of its main protagonists.
After publicly coming out to say she was deeply pained by the series and star Lily James’s portrayal of her, the once globally ogled blonde bombshell vowed that she would soon be telling her own story in her own words.
That moment has now arrived with Netflix’s two-hour documentary — sanctioned by Anderson and with her participation. Directed by Ryan White (“The Keepers”), it offers a surprisingly restrained and genuinely intimate and empathetic portrayal of its nomake-up, gently funny and home-loving subject.
Here in all its glitzy glory and not so glamorous detail is the story of the shy, abused and very ordinary, sometimes painfully naive, Canadian girl whose world changed almost overnight when she became a Playboy superstar whose private life was the subject of unending media attention and late-night comedy show ridicule.
Anderson is very likable and easy to root for and, while the documentary may be a little more low-key than Netflix has led viewers to believe, it’s quietly effective in offering a solid argument that institutionalised misogyny had a far larger role to play in the destruction of her career than bad boy Tommy Lee and his overexposed appendage.
Gunther’s Millions (Netflix)
This docuseries about a multimillionaire German shepherd is so unbelievable it could only be the true story of the world’s richest dog. It has all the sordid details and slimy cast of characters that give it a carcrash watching bingeability. It starts with the story of an ordinary-looking Alsatian that just happens to be worth millions of dollars and is the head of real estate portfolio left to him by a wealthy German countess on her death. Things take ever more outrageous twists and turns as we’re introduced to the shady members of a sex cult and a final left-field bomb that’s sure to keep tongues wagging at the office water cooler for months to come.
Jane Fonda in Five Acts (Showmax)
A documentary that uses a wealth of archive and revealing personal interviews to paint the sometimes messy but always fascinating story of one of recent Hollywood’s most singular icons. From her childhood as the daughter of Hollywood royalty through to deserved recognition as a star in her own right; her righteous activism against the Vietnam War; and her emergence as a feminist and personal fitness icon — here in five acts is the inspiring story of the one and only Jane Fonda.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney+)
Fresh off its blockbusting theatrical release, in the wake of the tragic death of its star, Chadwick Boseman, and on the heels of its five Oscar nominations, Ryan Coogler’s much anticipated sequel delivers a solid, feminist-centred adventure focused on the uncertainties and rivalries that erupt in the kingdom of Wakanda after the death of Boseman’s King T’Challa.
From France With Love (Mubi.com)
The 13th edition of the annual online MyFrenchFilmFestival returns with a selection of French classics new and old from a host of directors including Samuel Theis, Maurice Pialat and Leyla Bouzid.