It’s a sad fact of female life that women are most likely to be killed by their male partners than by any other person. But if recent true-crime series like The Thing About Pam and Candy are to be believed, the next most likely suspect in a woman’s slaying is…her girlfriend?
Let’s unpack each of these streaming shows one by one. The Thing About Pam tells the tale of Pam Hupp, a real estate flipper who offed her friend cancer-riddled friend Betsy Faria in 2011. Hupp was initially able to elude authorities by casting blame on Faria’s husband. It was only after the suspicious death of Hupp’s mother and the shooting of a man with disabilities in Hupp’s own living room that police finally got wise to the now-serial killer’s crimes. This tangled web of deceit and tragedy was depicted in a six-part Peacock series starring Renee Zellweger.
Candy is a painstaking and nuanced portrait of Candy Montgomery, an overachieving wife, mother, and Bible thumper from Texas who murdered her friend and fellow churchgoer Betty Gore on Friday the 13th in June of 1980. By her own admission, Montgomery mutilated Gore (who was pregnant) with an ax while Gore’s infant daughter cried from her crib down the hall. Montgomery then showered and returned to her religious responsibilities and family night out (which included Gore’s eldest daughter). Montgomery didn’t confess until after Gore’s husband told police he’d had an affair with Montgomery the year prior…and even then, she claimed the incident wasn’t her fault. Jessica Biel portrays the do-gooder-turned-bad in a five-episode series on Hulu.
Both series involve middle-aged moms from small communities who commit unthinkable crimes out of the blue. But which one leaves a more powerful impression? In this Mandatory Movie Battle, we’re pitting The Thing About Pam against Candy. Be forewarned, this could get ugly.
Cover Photos: Peacock and Hulu
Pam vs Candy
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Storytelling Style
Both series start with their respective murders, then jump around in time to explain how they happened. That’s where the commonalities end.
The Thing About Pam is cartoonish, soapy, in-your-face entertainment. The annoying voiceover (a lazy screenwriter’s tool if there ever was one) narrates things that viewers can plainly see transpiring and blatantly states thoughts they could easily infer; it’s almost insulting how much the series leans on it.
At the other extreme is Candy, which takes itself a little too seriously, but then again, we’re talking about murder here, so maybe the latter is the more appropriate tone.
Neither of these series are “whodunits,” but Candy is far more interested in the “whydunit” aspect. The Thing About Pam is pure, unadulterated sensationalism.
Winner: Candy
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Pacing
The Thing About Pam moves quickly, and Hupp’s ever-evolving lies and slippery nature keep viewers (and law enforcement) on their toes, even though we know she's the guilty party all along.
Candy, in contrast, is a dramatic slog desperately in need of more editing. There are entire scenes and storylines in the show that seem to exist only to elongate the series so Hulu can sneak more ads in. Based on ease of viewing alone, we’re gonna give this one to Pam.
Winner: The Thing About Pam
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Lead Performances
Zellweger is a two-time Academy Award winner, meaning: she's overqualified for this role. And while this series probably won't nab her any accolades, she played Pam Hupp to campy perfection. Hupp is an aloof, unreliable narrator, but she’s enough of an everywoman that it’s easy to see how she was able to escape conviction initially.
Biel hasn’t done much of note in Hollywood, but her talents are on full display here. Perhaps now that she’s in middle age, she’s able to move away from bombshell typecasting and into meatier roles.
Winner: Tie
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Supporting Cast
While The Thing About Pam features a few well-known actors in its ranks including Josh Duhamel, Judy Greer, and Glenn Fleshler, none makes a lasting impact and the rest of the cast is kind of ho-hum.
Candy, on the other hand, boasts a stellar supporting cast consisting of Melanie Lynskey, Timothy Simons, and, yes, none other than Mr. Jessica Biel himself, Justin Timberlake. But the real scene-stealer of the series is Raúl Esparza, who gives a passionate performance as Don Crowder, Montgomery’s defense attorney.
Winner: Candy
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Physical Transformations
Both Zellweger and Biel are near unrecognizable as their murderous lead characters. The former dons body prosthetics and padding for the role (which stirred up a little backlash about Hollywood’s resistance to hiring big-bodied actors), while the latter tried on some very unflattering ‘80s wigs and oversized glasses (where was the uproar about these?).
But when it comes to embodying their characters, which actor killed? (Sorry, not sorry.) Biel. She made us forget we were watching one of the most beautiful women in the world portray one of the most brutal female murderers in history.
Winner: Candy
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Creep Factor
Hupp killed her friend for a life insurance payout. That makes her calculating and cold-blooded, but she doesn't exactly come off as scary.
Montgomery killed her friend because…well, depends on who you ask. She claimed in court that it was self-defense. Others chalked it up to a crime of passion triggered by the end of her affair with Gore’s husband. Either way, the fact that she sunk an ax into her friend's body 41 times is terrifying to say the least. Even more frightening is that she went free. For all we know, she's out there teaching vacation Bible school now. *shudder*
Winner: Candy
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Final Frame
Both series end on an unforgettable note in the final frame. The Thing About Pam goes for the meta ending, featuring Hupp in prison watching the series on the communal TV. “See, told ya,” she snarks. “Got it all wrong. You know how they are.” (Don’t ever change, Pam.)
Candy concludes with the religious allegory from the series opener…and then drops a bomb in the form of an update that tells viewers Montgomery changed her name, relocated, and started her life anew…as a mental health counselor. Total gut punch.
Winner: Candy
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Overall Winner
Save for the obnoxious voiceover, The Thing About Pam is the more mindlessly entertaining, less frustrating show of these two series. It moves quickly, it has a sense of humor, and it doesn’t ask much of the viewer.
Candy is such a slow burn that you might find yourself tempted to give up on it halfway through (but don’t).
Both series put women at the front and center of their own stories, and both provide platforms for impressive performances from their leading ladies. But both also fail in the same way: by neglecting to examine exactly what is behind the rage that infects suburban, middle-aged white women – and drives them to murder their friends. There’s a deeper story here than just a couple of kooky Karens, and neither series is telling it.
Overall Winner: Tie
