The Thing About Pam (2022) User Reviews

Renée Zellweger transformation is incredible.

[Horror_Flick_Fanatic · 7/10 · 2 April 2022]

Renée Zellweger transformation in this film is incredible. She really is an amazing actress. Keith Morrison well known crime documentary voice narrating the story of Hupp made it enjoyable. Yeah, the acting in general is a little over-the-top and hammy, but I considered that part of its charm. A comedic crime drama. This seems to be a new trend with real-crime dramas like Netflix's Tiger King and NBC's spoof of the Tiger King on Peacock.

At no time did I feel the producers were trying to make a serious true-crime documentary. It was evident to me this was more of a tongue and cheek show of a real life story.

Why the low reviews? Pam is hysterical and creepy

[catfanatic888 · 8/10 · 23 March 2022]

My husband and I think Pam is a riot. It's a mystery, a comedy, a drama and we get to enjoy Academy Award Winner Renee Zellweger kill it in the lead. The big surprise is the fantastic Katy Mixon in the role of the victim. She is better than I've ever seen her before and deserves accolades as she keeps up with Renee line for line. This show is based on a true story. That real life event was tragic. But this show is really good. Give it a chance. It's not your usual limited series. It's nice to have unique programming. Great job, NBC!

Campy, bold, and pulls it off

[etmachina · 8/10 · 22 March 2022]

I love it. Huge Dateline fan.

Contra the "top review", I think it's an inspired telling. I was surprised by Keith Morrison's narration but it's a bold move that works better than it should. It does an effective job of creating a hybrid of the Dateline roots and a dramatic re-telling. That reviewer wanted a "traditional drama" - this is bolder than that. It's a prestige re-enactment.

For me, the dark humor and the slight camp are a perfect fit for the story. Some people may find it offensive. That's fine, but likely hypocritical unless you are personally affected by this case. There is so much entertainment filled with senseless death and violence, I think it's odd to criticize a show that is at least showing sympathetic victims and the utter immorality of a sociopath - even if with a darkly humorous take.

RZ is fantastic. Duhamel gives the best performance I've ever seen him give in anything. Judy Greer is fantastic in everything she does, no surprise she is here too.

Familiar with the story, not necessarily a fan of RZ, I put off watching the first episode. It far exceeded expectations - currently quite underrated with a 6.1 IMDB rating. I know the story very well and am still very eager for the next episode.

"She isn't lying, she just keeps changing her story."

[TxMike · 30 March 2022]

By now anyone who doesn't know who Pam Hupp is should do a quick search. This limited six-episode series is not intended to surprise you, we pretty well know the sequence of events. It is intended to entertain. With heavy makeup and prosthetics Renee Zellweger is unrecognizable until she speaks. She plays Pam with a lot of dark humor, I'd suppose the character is exaggerated. But the way she does it totally entertaining.

This week I finished the series and my overall take is the old saying "Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction."

Good series. The actors are all in fine form.

Give it a go!

[lyli_e · 7/10 · 26 March 2022]

I honestly do not get the bad reviews at all, even if you object to the subject matter it's actually entertaining!

Renee is always good and josh d puts on another good performance as does judy greer.

Just watch one ep you'll see I am right :)

The real story is even stranger.

[PeteB123 · 10/10 · 24 March 2022]

I've been reading about the actual case, and this movie isn't overexaggerating a thing. The authorities really were that arrogant, Pam really is that psychotic, and the people around her were really that manipulated.

Watching shows like this taught me more about the human psyche than any college psychology course. Another crazy movie was " The Good Father: The Martin MacNeill Story."

Infuriating and thought provoking

[nightimerunner · 7/10 · 23 March 2022]

The limited serie does have its shortcomings such as the hasty production as well as lagging and wasting the limited allotted episode capacity to only the case of Betsy Faria, while the real Pam Hupp, a possible psychopath and all around evil being, who looked nothing like the weird prosthetic makeup over Zellweger, had at least two to three deaths in her hands: allegedly Betsy Faria, possibly Shirley Neumann (Hupp's own mother I might add), and Louis Gumpenberger, which Hupp was actually convicted and serving a life sentence for, almost 5 years after the death of Faria. All the lives Hupp manipulated, deceived, destroyed, and killed, left out by the show's tunnel vision.

Besides Pam Hupp, the gravely flawed and corrupted justice system, from the police to the DA to the judge to the media, reflect on america's crumbling society and brings chills to one's back and sickening feeling in one's stomach. From the 50s to the 90s to even the early 2010s when the murder of Betsy Faria took place, the unjust american justice system still continues to operate like a clunker car or a really unfunny joke. While what the show depicted were somewhat exaggerated for drama, in reality some of these people responsible for letting Hupp get away and Russel Faria wrongfully incarcerated remain unapologetic to this day. And what happened with Faria's case is merely what we are acknowledged and made aware of among countless wrongful convictions and imprisonments which had happened, are happening, and sure will keep happening in the "great country" of america.

I think some people are missing the point

[sarah-payne-847-75997 · 8/10 · 19 March 2022]

Pam Hupp could be anyone from anywhere.

In this Dateline'esque style show about a terrible true crime, it examines the horrible woman at the center of it, Pam Hupp. What it also does is expose the other people who need exposing ... the inept investigators and prosecutor. Talk about misconduct! Wow!

The retelling brings to light how tragically Betsy's children lives were shattered not just by Pam but by all those who were involved from the start. Betsy's husband, Russell, was another victim to Pam. And he wasn't the last.

Understanding how wrong a case can go from the very start can hopefully help someone else from having the same thing happen to them ... because Pam Hupps exist, whether it be LA, California or a small town in Missouri. And while this is entertaining and may feel like it makes light of Betsy's murder, it very much takes the truth and justice of it quite seriously.

Having seen videos of the real Pam Hupp, I have to give it up to Renee on capturing her accent and mannerisms. The supporting cast does a wonderful job, too!

Quite Entertaining, sticks to its lane, and no need for fake outrage.

[gina_gemini · 7/10 · 17 March 2022]

I found the show and Rene's acting very entertaining. It is good for what it is, a light network show.

BTW, Unless you were related or knew the people in this show personally you better stop your fake outrage over NBC's portrayal of them and take it as what it really is, a TV SHOW!

I am enjoying this. The Saddest point about it is.... it is based on a True Story

[tiggerden · 9/10 · 23 March 2022]

I think anyone who writes a review ... especially a negative one. At least get the character's name(s) correct. It's not Pam Huff - it's Hupp. ((rolls eyes))

Keith Morrison as the Narrator ?? Blew my Mind, loved it even more. His voice is one of the best I have ever heard narrating true crime stories.

Small Town, small minds think alike - and that is the scariest truth about this story line.

I liked the story - even though the truth about it is infuriating.

Not as bad as some are saying

[snow_hayden · 7/10 · 9 March 2022]

Only one episode so far, so rating subject to change.

Renee Zellweger does a very good job as Hupp, but otherwise the acting isn't out of this world. It's believable enough.

If you're already familiar with this story from the podcast or otherwise, you'll find the accuracy to real events is pretty dang close, especially considering it's an NBC drama. Hoping it continues like this for the rest of the series and doesn't stray too far from reality.

Where it falls short for me is the tone. As others have mentioned, it feels a little "off," as if they weren't sure whether or not to make a serious true crime drama or a dark comedy. It's a little of both and doesn't do either of them particularly well. Sticking with a serious approach would have been the right move here, and had they done so my opinion of the show would be a lot more positive.

Overall, it's entertaining. It think it's worth a watch if the subject matter is of interest to you. Whether or not you'll like it probably depends on how well the quirky tone sits with you, but it's definitely not a 1 star show - nor is it a masterpiece.

In poor taste, but entertaining

[trademarcdesigns · 8/10 · 9 March 2022]

I am uneasy with the idea of turning the story of a serial killer into a comedy - especially since these crimes are recent enough to still be very painful to the survivors. But if we judged Hollywood according to the standards of good taste, we'd all be watching nothing but Leave It to Beaver reruns.

The pacing is good, the script is well written, I like the narration (something I usually dislike), and Renee Zellweger is quite convincing as the "psycho next door." So despite the fact that I agree with the reviewers who say this is in poor taste and it's all about turning a tragedy into a comedy. I am going to continue watching...

... because the bottom line is this is an entertaining show.

The thing about Pam is she's a low life psycho!

[staciarose20 · 7/10 · 6 April 2022]

How was this woman able to get away with so much for years?! It's unbelievable. She stooped so low. Murder for life insurance. Even her own mom! The nerve of taking insurance money from the victim's kids.... She was constantly plotting. The prosecutor is a pos too. In real life Leah Askey can never admit what she did or Russ' innocence.

The tone of the series feels wrong.

[jpverni · 4/10 · 4 July 2022]

It's always surprising to me to see how can someone rate it with a 10 and others give 1 star, but I guess this is the type os series that elicit those reactions.

I had a really hard time getting into this series because the overall tone is somehow confusing. I remember watching a documentary about the case on Youtube and I was instantly hooked, the story was gripping, raw, complex and ultimately bitter. Here we find none of that, it feels more like a parody of the case, with scenes of humor and acting that can only be described as taken from a soap opera. There's a narrator that sounds almost exactly like the narration in Desperate Housewives. At moments it even feels disrespectful for the persons involved, let's not forget real people died here.

Music is cheesy and there are some very unnecessary VFX (I'm looking at you fake dog).

Seeing that some people gave it a perfect score, I think you have to set your expectations right before watching. The real events were so shocking that I was expecting a crime Thriller in the vein of Mindhunter, but what we're presented with is a thriller/comedy, which I found totally inappropriate and not fitting the source material.

Bizarre telling of an otherwise fascinating story

[jasonsgk · 6/10 · 18 March 2022]

There's a lot to like about this series unfortunately not much has to do with the series itself. It's a very interesting story. It's a crazy story. But this series is just kinda... weird... First Renee Z does a good job capturing her likeness which is pretty shocking but she did. However RZ has a very distinct voice that really doesn't work at all. Pam Hupp sounds like baritone 30 year smoking lady at the DMV. So it does pull you from the moment. She was okish in the role but this is one of those scenarios I can't help but wonder if they casted too high for that role. RZ can't be the best fit. There has to better fits to try to capture an ugly middle aged mean scowled woman than RZ. The strangest thing is without a doubt Keith Morrison though. He narrates the story at unnecessary time which I assume is suppose to be reminiscent of Dateline but instead feels like Christmas movie. It's just bizarre and would work better without this constant fourth wall stuff. A traditional drama I was genuinely looking forward to so this was disappointing. The only other odd thing was that this woman was indisputably evil, so why play it for laughs? She killed 3 people. I mean there's dark humor and then just tasteless humor. These laughs they were going for kinda flopped. The series is really worth watching but the show has some massive weirdness that is pretty distracting.

Small Town, Big Crime, Master Manipulator

[bosporan · 8/10 · 23 March 2022]

Zellweger is excellent in this playing the Machiavellian Pam up against weak-minded, incompetent, small-town law enforcement. This whole works extraordinarily well despite my prejudice against narrated stories and 'true story' drama. Judy Greer performs admirably as the closed-minded prosecutor, and effectively colludes with the police, the judge and Pam in framing the innocent husband.

The show is entertaining ...

[sjsmithers · 7/10 · 24 March 2022]

... but oh boy, did they EVER do that monster too many favors in casting. Even when you try to make Renee Zellweger look like a flaming pile of garbage, it still can't accurately capture the level of absolute droopy, pock-marked hideousness that is the real deal. And that's just Pam's soul. Never mind that face. Yikes.

Interesting story

[mandy-28044 · 8/10 · 9 March 2022]

I listened to the podcast, so I did know the background on this case. The case is very interesting, so I was intrigued.

It seems like intentionally they don't want you to really like any of the characters.

Personally, I do love when a show is narrated, but it feels almost silly the way that this was done.

If I were a family member or friend of Betsy Faria and watched how this show was framed, I would be upset. Somehow, they managed to take a heartbreaking case and turn it almost 'silly'.

I say check out the show, but keep in mind that this was a woman (Betsy) whose story deserves to be told.

Renee is iconic

[latoronto · 9 March 2022]

This story is so well done and covered. It gives many of the fictionalized documentary type series a run for their money. It is so well done. Definitely watch it.

Interesting story, snoozy storytelling

[Calicodreamin · 6/10 · 20 April 2022]

A really interesting story of a true crime but the way it's told makes it boring. Acting is decent but most of scenes are long and dragged out. Filler including backstories added nothing.

THE SCARY TRUTH IS WE ALL KNOW A "PAM!"

[Sunsphxsuns · 10/10 · 8 April 2022]

Y'all it's true - we all know a "Pam." Sociopathic behavior is nothing new. It's been around (although often misdiagnosed) for many years. But Pam (Renée Zellweger) is a high octane sociopath. She enjoys being pushy and belligerent. Indeed, she shares displays many of the characteristics associated with this particularly dangerous mental disorder.

Sociopaths are typically expert liars and manipulators. They tend to believe in their own lies. These traits can be traced as far back as a person's childhood. In this series, Pam's mother might have unconsciously contributed to Pam's extraordinary bad behavior.

In cinema, Pam seems to emulate the "real life " sociopathic behavior of the fictional Norman Bates from Psycho or Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs. And like a classic sociopath, she beguiles others to believe that she is truly a very nice, caring person. But eventually, under social pressure, the facade begins to erode. And then we get to see the real Pam, and when we do, it's pretty frightening.

She's capable of anything.

Renée Zellweger will likely be nominated for a best actor in a leading role for her performance in The Thing About Pam. But Zellweger also has a very talented supporting cast, including Josh Duhamel, Judy Greer (who is almost unrecognizable), Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers. Suanne Spoke, Mac Brandt, Katy Mixon and Glenn Fleshler.

No spoilers here as usual, but I will reveal the obvious. She's wearing a fat suit. Duh. Renée has said "the daily makeup and prosthetics process was amazing to watch, and part of the adventure of acting, despite it being really hot to wear while filming in New Orleans for hours at a time."

Twilight Zone

[robd2112 · 7/10 · 31 March 2022]

Pretty entertaining show - anyone that was involved in the prosecution of that case including the judge is a disgrace to humanity and should never be allowed in law enforcement of any capacity.

Renee Zellweger is more Pam than Pam.

[clairelouise5 · 8/10 · 3 April 2022]

Well done whoever cast Renee Zellweger as Pam Krupp. She is by far an unobvious choice but is absolutely excellent as the fascinatingly unlikeable- but seemingly mundane and harmless- Pam. There is a true crime book that has recently been released which is how I knew of the story (having never seen the dateline show.) It's twisty and I can see why a show would have been warranted. The creative angle here of Pam slurping her drink and the Desperate Housewives style narrative just work in bringing to story to life as a sort of disturbing caricature as opposed to a dark and miserable crime retelling. This was original and interesting, particularly as I had a vested interest in the case already.

Cringe!!

[bluestminou · 6/10 · 15 April 2022]

The acting was excellent. But making this as a comedy is cringe af. Real people were murdered and this shows a lack of respect not only for the victims' families but also for the very important investigation shortcomings. The entire situation is mindboggling but not funny.

Family didn't consent

[scaleygirl · 1/10 · 21 July 2022]

The family of the victim didn't want their pain turned into a quirky comedy but NBC went with it. Taking inspiration is one thing but to advertise it as the true story and trying to make it an irreverent comedy is not okay. All you need to know.