

Despite all the technical achievements Barbed Wire wouldn’t be worth remembering if it weren’t for Anderson.
#WAS BARB WIRE A FLOP MOVIE#
It’s packed with whiplash-inducing fight scenes and fantastic set pieces, but its bombshell bottom line makes the movie so damn delicious. In short: It was a catastrophic flop.īut like a whole bunch of critically abused stinkers, Barbed Wire‘s shocking schlock is holding up far better than it would have almost three decades later. When it rolled out of theaters on a stretcher, it drew critical panning and negative audience response, causing it to gross less than $4 million for its worldwide gross. Barbed Wire took a nosedive the minute it hit theaters, grossing a paltry $1 million in its opening weekend - a fraction of its $9 million budget. Instead of helping the film, Anderson’s mega fame bled it dry. would it have been a success Barbed Wire would have catapulted Anderson from tabloid darling to legitimate A-list actress. By the time Barbed Wire was released in May 1996, Anderson was no longer just a household name, she was inescapable. That was just three months after their marriage Barbed Wire was announced at the Cannes Film Festival, closely followed by the release and litigation of Anderson and Lee’s stolen sextape. After captivating the public for a handful of seasons BaywatchAnderson became even more of a tabloid when she married Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in February 1995, after the two had only known each other four days. Pamela, a love story, and her unconventional memoirs, Dear Pamelait’s time to reconsider and reevaluate them Barbed Wire for the campsterpiece it really is.īarbed Wire was developed at the tumultuous height of Anderson’s stratospheric fame. Starring Anderson – the actress, activist and philanthropist – who, thanks to her new Netflix documentary, is penetrating the news cycle in a way she hasn’t in years.
#WAS BARB WIRE A FLOP FREE#
Well, apart from the only remaining free town of Steel Harbor – home of the armed, skin-tight, leather-clad titular heroine Ms. The film, adapted from the Dark Horse comic book series, is set in a not-so-distant, apocalyptic future where democracy in the United States has been overthrown and every city is under martial law.

There is no doubt that “sex” was on the list of priorities during development, ahead of “narrative cohesion”. If Barbed Wire was there, the world fell away. Though I’m very gay, his wanton combination of leather and boobs perforated my budding weirdness forever.

This sensual pottery was perhaps my very first encounter with sex. The sight was burned into my brain as clearly as the ink from the pens that the mug contained, staining its white rim. It’s the sight of Pamela Anderson emblazoned on a promotional coffee mug for her 1996 film Barbed Wiresits on the checkout counter at a local video rental store. It’s neither good nor bad, simple There, always at my side. Photo illustration by Erin O’Flynn/The Daily Beast/Gramercy PicturesĪn unusual, particularly vivid image from my childhood still stands out to this day.
