You can't judge a bookstore by its covergirl, especially when she happens to be Pamela Anderson! Anderson stars as drop-dead sexy Skyler Dayton, a reformed party girl in need of a lifestyle makeover, who takes a job at a family-run bookstore called "Stacked Books." Determined to prove she has ample talent beyond her ample talents, Skyler dazzles the employees and customers with her sweet-natured charm and refreshing honesty. This hip, hilarious comedy also features guest appearances by super-hotties Carmen Electra and Jenny McCarthy and includes 5 unaired episodes that can finally be revealed. You'll bust out laughing!
Though its run on Fox was about as short as some of the skirts Pamela Anderson wears on this show (14 broadcast episodes, five more unaired--all included in this three disc set), Stacked does have more to offer than Pam's pulchritude, starting with its novel concept. Anderson stars as Skyler, a party girl reeling from a busted relationship, who enters the Stacked bookstore for a self-help book. The store is run by two brothers whose dynamic is akin to Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen's in Two and a Half Men. Gavin (Elon Gold) is divorced, a failed novelist, uptight, and a hypochondriac. Stuart (Brian Scolaro) is more of a joker. And by the end of the pilot episode, Skyler, eagerly championed by the gawking Stuart, has herself a job in the store. In the now infamous Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson, comedian Nick DiPaolo joked, ''If I was a baby seal and I had a choice between being clubbed to death or watching an episode of Stacked, I'd be like, 'Somebody call J.Lo and let her know her mittens are ready." Now that's a little harsh. Many of the jokes are actually witty when they're not obsessing over Anderson's Maxim-ized body (it takes four episodes before the inevitable "Nice rack" double entendre). While Anderson will never be mistaken for Judy Holliday, it is wise, as Skyler states, not to underestimate her. Perhaps as a result of being the butt of so many punchlines, she has developed sexy and savvy comic gifts. Her Skyler is not your conventional "dumb blonde." In the episode, "Beat the Candidate," she cleverly turns the tables on a pompous rival for her job (guest star Tony Hale from Arrested Development). Providing inestimable support is Christopher Lloyd (Taxi) as Harold, a curmudgeonly bookstore regular and brilliant scientific mind. His reaction to a Garfield cartoon in "Romancing the Stones" is a mini master class. Marissa Jaret Winokur (the Tony-winning star of Hairspray) holds her own as the hapless, wisecracking co-worker Katrina, who puts a nice Carla Tortelli spin on such lines as, "When I want to hear from you, I'll hold a séance." So we'll never know if Gavin and Skyler ever hook up ("Romancing the Stones" hints at that direction). Like we care. This is a surprisingly enjoyable Pam-athon you don't have to be an Anderson-worshiping Borat to enjoy. --Donald Liebenson
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