The Pamela Anderson in Pamela, a Love Story, a new Netflix documentary, doesn’t wear make-up. She is consistently dressed in light tones, soft fabrics in whites and beiges. And yet, when the time comes to pack for a trip, she can’t pick between glittery pink platform boots and the zebra print platform boots. (“I’m taking both,” she tells the camera.)
Under the gaze of Ryan White’s camera, Anderson is witty, honest, and spontaneous. She laughs a lot, often at herself. She is not simply ready to open up about her personal life, she’s deeply committed to the exercise. Asked whether she’d be up to reading her old diaries in front of the camera, she says she’s not the best person for the job: “I might say, ‘No, I don’t want to read this, I don’t want to read that’.” The filmmakers should go through the volumes and ask someone else to read them aloud, she suggests. “You have my permission.”
