Run Towards Me in Slow-Motion, Lily James
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 at 1:24PM by Jason Adams
What are your feelings on Lily James, TFE readers? I am aware feelings about her seem to be all over the map, at least in the social media world, because whenever I post or tweet about her I hear the gamut of reactions...
I know we've got some Mamma Mia admirers here, and I personally had a sudden and kind of strange revelation last year that I actually think I love her. It came literally out of nowhere -- I hadn't seen her in anything recently when the thought struck me; it was if a mis-fired love-potion landed upon me. I was inexplicably but totally smitten. Even Rebecca didn't kill it.
Anyway I am now contractually obliged to greet all news of her every project with unbridled enthusiasm, whether I understand it or not, and so it goes with yesterday's news that she is going to play bikini icon Pam Anderson in a eight-part Hulu biopic series about the Baywatch star's tumultuous relationship with Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Attached to that meaty role would be one Sebastian Stan. Meanwhile Seth Rogen (who is producing) will play the dude who stole the couple's sex-tape, so that particular adventure will be covered, no worries.
The series will be titled Pam & Tommy, no surprise there, and is set to be directed by I Tonya's Craig Gillespie -- Gillespie got Stan's best performance to date in that film, if you ask me, so I'm thrilled they're working together again. So... what do we think of this project? And we can all agree that David Hasselhoff should just play David Hassellhoff, age-discrepancy be damned, correct? Some things are timeless.
Reader Comments (35)
she's ok.... but easily forgotten!
Blasphemy, I know, but I thought she made a better second Mrs. de Winter in that unnecessary Rebecca. I love the Hitchcock despite Fontaine, who bugs the hell out of me throughout.
She is just like Jennifer Lawrence to me: an actress who everyone seems to love but I can’t understand why. From Downton Abbey to Rebecca, Lily James was always that blonde strange girl, not necessarily pretty, not exactly super talented, just an average white girl. To have her playing Pamela Anderson is just a bad idea. She never showed sex appeal or voluptuousness previously in any of her works to fit in a “bombshell” category. Are the casting people losing their minds?
Normally I'm allergic to all forms of wokesterism
But has to be said: no girl out there better exemplifies 'white people failing upwards'
She's the female Armie Hammer
Or the millennial Keira Knightley
She's not a movie star. It won't happen.
I think they're both miscast. Same goes for the Whitney Houston biopic.
@ Peggy Sue
Lily James & Sebastian Stan as Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown...now there's a thought... ;-)
Lily James as Pamela Anderson? What's it going to be called, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini?
She definitely does not have the body/look to play Pam, similar acting talent though.
Oof, people here are harsh. I actually find her quite delightful. She weirdly gives off a "girl next door" feel even when playing posh characters which is intriguing to me.
I always have trouble remembering who she is even though I've seen about a half-dozen of her movies.
I adore her. Does she have range? Who knows? Who cares? She is so charismatic in Cinderella, Baby Driver, and MM. Give her more musicals! Give her more romcoms!
I think her general problem is that the roles she is so fun in are mid budget genres that are kind of dead.
I loved her in Mamma Mia (robbed of a golden globe nom?)
But the woman's had two affairs on set already... she's a bit of a homewrecker.
I think she's OK. I liked her in Darkest Hour and the Mamma Mia sequel.
Re: her on-set behaviour: all I know is she and married Dominic West kissed. Not sure she's a homewrecker there. It takes two to tango.
Wasn't a fan until Mamma Mia 2, in which I loved her. She def deserved a Globe nom.
I too find her forgettable. Not trying to be mean... just meh?
I shouldn't judge but google Lily James Armie Hamer, Lily James Dominic West..............
Someone said she was the equivalent of bottled sunshine in Mamma Mia 2 and that stuck with me :)
WAIT. SebStan's playing Tommy Lee. The sex tape's going to be talked about. Bitch, does that mean we might see Seb driving the boat with his dick. Like, I'm not proud of the fact that I've watched the whole tape, but that moment thoroughly stuck with me.
Pamela Anderson was in a series called Baywatch? Wasn't it called Boobwatch?
Better in sunnier disposition roles,Rebecca's failure is not solely down to her.
I think she picks smart roles. Baby Driver and Yesterday have bought her a lot of goodwill from me.
Ahhhhh...I wouldn't call her work "forgettable." These comments remind me that I've liked her in everything I've seen, I just forgot it was Lily James who played those roles. I guess that would make her a "Oh, that guy" leading lady, which is kind of a compliment for an actor. Kind of. I certainly won't forget who she is after this post.
This sounds like a bad idea plus I can't see Lily James as Pamela Anderson. The boobs aren't big enough and she's not tan enough. It's not going to work. Jennifer Lawrence is a better fit for that role. Plus, I just don't think a film about Pam/Tommy would be interesting because Pamela Anderson isn't an interesting person to make a film about. It's bad enough she supports the actions of Julian Assange who is really just a piece of shit hacker who will do anything for money and to create chaos for all of the wrong reasons.
I don't Lily James. She hasn't any particularly interesting tor unique traits as an actress. I mean, she's fine but nothing more than that.
This isn't a criticism of her as she's not at fault but Lily James is everything that is wrong with the British film industry.
The very idea that she would even try to fill the shoes of legendary bombshell Pamela Anderson is utterly absurd.
Pretty much a non-fan at this point. She was charming and personable in Downtown Abbey and Mamma Mia, completely anonymous as Cinderella, less than mediocre even taking her role into account in Baby Driver, and disastrous in Rebecca. Casting her as Pamela Anderson sound pretty ersatz to me, but maybe it’ll allow her to show more than she’s been called upon to do thus far.
But I kind of feel like if it was going to happen for her, it would have happened already. Unless she suddenly shows some genius talent that hasn’t been apparent I can’t imagine she’ll maintain interest for much longe. Even looks wise, she’s beautiful but hardly unique or interesting.
The millennial Keira Knightley IS Keira Knightley.
And I say amen to pretty much everything chasm301 said.
The very definition of "blah"
I like her and I respect her.
I’ve seen her in half a dozen things. She can make a tricky film proposition come absolutely alive, like in Cinderella and Mama Mia.
I get an impression of her as someone who works hard to become better at her profession, and who takes her work very seriously.
The things I’ve seen her in that didn’t work for me (Rebecca, Baby Driver, All About Eve, etc.) I don’t think of as her fault. She does what the script and director ask of her. That must make her easy to work with on the set, but the flaws in the overall interpretation show up in her performance.
Which is kind of fascinating. Most actors find a way to paper over the shortcomings of what they are asked to do, to pretend it’s interesting. Her kind of honesty and sincerity in doing exactly what is asked, lays everything bare.
I, too, am in the camp that was fairly meh on her (although I liked her in BABY DRIVER) until MAMMA MIA 2, when I fell madly in love with her - though I haven't seen her in anything since then so it's hard to tell whether that was just a passing sentiment or permanent shift.
Edit: I guess I saw her in YESTERDAY, where she was fine in a totally thankless role. Did not really move the needle either way.
Not the greatest casting choice for Pamela Anderson, though. She's very attractive but not really...zaftig enough?
I thought she was a blah blonde in Cinderella, but then a bombshell brunette in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I do wonder if she just accepts every project that comes in front of her. She's a bit too young for that. She's not Michael Caine, or Samuel L. Jackson. I mean, playing Pamela Anderson? Saying "no" is an option.
She has a knack of being kind of forgettable, which can make her immune to the occasional bad performance or bad movie. I suspect this worked to her advantage in the Rebecca remake, though I didn't see it because I don't believe in Netflix.
What the hell?
LMAO Hollywood keeps pushing her as a Star. I just don't get it.
And this story?! Why make it? and Why cast her?
They really are running out of ideas.
She's grown on me on film, but I saw her in a stage version of All About Eve and thought she was awful. Felt sorry for Gillian Anderson who was playing opposite her.
I guess I quite like her really, in that when her name pops up in the credits it's more a plus than a minus. I liked her in The Guernsey Literary...movie, Cinderella, Mamma Mia 2, and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. I can barely remember her in Baby Driver and some other things.
So in the category of "annoying" actresses, I like her much more than Jennifer Lawrence, and quite a bit less than Anne Hathaway. ;-)
Thought she was great in Cinderella and MM2, meh on everything else. Thought Stan deserved an Oscar nomination for I, Tonya.
I'm late to this and I'm disappointed in how harsh some of these evaluations are. I found her to be exceptional in MM2. She has enormous potential, and I wish her all the best. I don't immediately think of her as Pamela Anderson, but I'm willing to wait and see. I join others in wishing she could do more musicals.
Keira Knightley doesn't deserve to be written off either. To be beautiful and talented is to invite enormous (and unwarranted) criticism.