THE LOST WEEKEND: A LOVE STORY – Review by Nikki Fowler
The Lost Weekend: A Love Story was an interesting but a bit of a tough watch, yet May Pang deserves to tell her story as the lover of global superstar John Lennon who was at the time married to his second wife, Yoko Ono. Pang’s side of the story is narrated throughout the docufilm as she chronicles her 18-month relationship with the star before he abruptly just never comes back to their apartment and ends up returning to Ono for a sum of five years with their son before his untimely murder.
The details, as told by Pang, include being allegedly coerced by Yoko Ono to be John’s lover after she overheard John in bed with another woman. She’s labeled Ono as a manipulator and stalker, stating that the wife of Lennon wanted to be able to control her while she dated Lennon, but states it spiraled out of Yoko’s reach when the two allegedly fell in love. While the film gives some really cool history on Lennon and the music he made during this time, along with a star-struck Pang who names off legend after legend that she had access to during her 18-month fling, some may question what it all means when you have infidelity mixed with an intoxicated at times, musical icon; or is someone getting their feelings hurt a rather predictable outcome?
Pang’s retelling of her first-generation Chinese American history was actually fascinating; growing up in Spanish Harlem along with her mother, her parents came to the states to live the American dream. Her mother was a savvy entrepreneur and opened a Chinese laundry called the ‘OK Laundry.’ Pang details being abandoned by her father with him adopting a son and disowning her; she at the time felt unwanted. Pang described that she was ultimately abused by her father and was encouraged by her mother to do something more with her life, so lands a job with Apple Records by exaggerating that she could type and manage an office. She admits that she was indeed a fan of the Beatles like most in the ‘70s, watching them go on to sell millions of records (the band was first mentored by Little Richard himself). Within a week of applying, she was hired but quickly watched as the Beatles disbanded, with Paul McCartney being the first to leave the group. John went on to marry Yoko Ono, and Pang was assigned to work for them when they returned to New York.
Pang’s journey with Lennon is saturated with story after story of being a part of Lennon and Ono’s avant-garde filmmaking, which earned her production credits, flying to London, where she first met John’s first son Julian through his first wife Cynthia Lennon, to being a part of styling the couple and even getting her image incorporated into their album cover. May boasts, “I did the clothes… I put all the clothes on him; I made them look good.”’ She learned more about John and Ono’s mission to change the world by being on set and reminisced on her first hearing “Imagine.”
Pang’s story leaves one questioning whether she was just truly an assistant and creative by default of being in the right place at the right time or did she play an important part in the creative process that made up this iconic global couple. She did sing with a collection of voices for many of Lennon’s songs and made it onto the album cover for “War is Over.” She was around Lennon when he became a threat to President Nixon’s reelection with John and Yoko’s use of celebrity to gain traction for anti-war sentiment. She overheard the rows between John and Paul McCartney, which Pang states were a catalyst for John to sleep with another woman in earshot of Yoko, which resulted in her insisting that Pang become his girlfriend. Pang claims she was a “naive kid,” and throughout life, she went on several talk shows mid-life, which are shared in the docufilm, including Geraldo Rivera telling intimate details of the relationship that eventually festered. “Yoko knew she could control you,” Geraldo Rivero chants, while Joan Rivers and others called Ono “controlling” with much sensationalism. Pang admitted to moving forward with the relationship because John pursued her and “charmed the pants off her.” After becoming intimate, Pang asked Lennon, “What does this mean,” and Lennon allegedly responded that “he doesn’t know,” and then he sang her Willow Tree.
Pang goes on to say that seeing Ono was uncomfortable, and despite rumors, it wasn’t Yoko but John who invited her to go with him to LA where on $3000 a month and lots of celebrity perks to get by, they used to act like “teenagers” as she describes how Ono cut off her salary. She talks about the parties, the trips to Vegas, and intimate details of Lennon recording music and the neverending celebrities she had access to and friendships with through John. With memories like the Rainbow Bar and Grill with the Hollywood Vampires, a private drinking club made up of John, Alice Cooper, Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, and more, Pang frequently states how much more people saw of John during her time with him, a stark contrast to his very radical time with Ono. Pang is also not shy about discussing her sex life as it related to John, including how great it was and how many times in a day things went down. There’s also a photo that was shared of John signed by him and Pang, which she states was a Christmas card for friends; lots of details to substantiate her case that she was more than just a lover.
Pang credits that they shared a lot of interests, including music, when she stated on camera that she was a real rock and roller. The camera quickly cuts to John stating he wanted to switch from writing about his feelings and working with record producer Phil Spectre with drummer Jim Keltner. It’s scenes like this in which you feel the filmmakers are making a direct correlation to Pang and her contribution to who John was and the magic he created,
The couple’s lives were also not a bed of roses, and Lennon was abusive as Pang shared on one occasion that Lennon threw her against the wall. Lennon admitted, “he was a violent man who learned not to be violent.” Pang was later dumped by Lennon and found herself back in NYC penniless and jobless, so she called Yoko and eventually went back to LA with John. Pang describes bouts of violence from Lennon, and while all of the invites, dinners, and awards shows were star-studded, and she made sure to remind us, she also describes herself as being the only sober one in the room most times. There were rumors of Ono being unfaithful which Pang fueled regarding Yoko’s guitarist, which may have led to a very public kiss from Lennon at the Troubadour nightclub, which exposed their relationship. Was it vengeful, or was he in love? Only John knows if it was orchestrated at hearing Ono had possibly moved on romantically.
Pang can’t quite let go of her subtle fan energy in this docufilm as she talks about Lennon in a tone of them and us, describing when Mick Jagger walked in the room at an awards show and she compared their looks to chess pieces; she and Lennon in black, and Jagger in white. She states that she and John chatted about all the famous actors that were in attendance. Ironically, Lennon gathered his buddies to record his next album, where Bobby and John Kennedy had their own distinct rendezvous with Marilyn Monroe. Pang got a kick out of Lennon’s fascination with sleeping in the same room, among other things.
May saw Lennon and Paul McCartney reunite in a studio together, but Paul had a message from Yoko about getting back together and what that will take. Lennon’s lover also claims to be the catalyst or at least a soft buffer that reunited Lennon with his son Julian. Pang boasts what she is most proud of is helping to reunite Julian with his dad. How much of a catalyst, only John knows.
The couple moves in together in NYC, make room for Julian and two cats, have a UFO sighting that Lennon inscribed on an album; and Pang was there for all of it, being given production credits on major albums; she also sang backup on Lennon’s hit, #9 Dreams. During this time, May states Yoko insistently called multiple times a day, but we can’t forget that Pang called Yoko when Lennon broke things off and found herself with nothing. She again describes Ono as a “manipulator” and, in an exaggerated tone, quickly narrates what a great time she and John were still having once again, something she stresses throughout the docufilm; we have to admit he is smiling in all of the photos and seemed quite “free.”
The ending includes Pang describing through a series of events that Yoko wanted John to come and sit with a hypnotist to cure his smoking to help his voice, and he never came “home” to her again. John told May that Yoko “allowed him to come home” after she confronted him at a dental visit. May did go on to sleep with him on and off for five years and then heard from him on a trip to Cape Town, but she never saw him alive again.
Not sure if it was the fact that the narration had the voice of an older Pang speaking in a naive young tone which seems a bit biased at times, especially when speaking of Ono, but I was left wondering how naive this twenty-something woman was, as she knowingly slept with a married man. Narratives like this contribute to the backlash Yoko received for being the woman who was labeled as the reason the Beatles disbanded. Ono has been the target for decades of constant ridicule and xenophobia as an Asian female who married the beloved star. I would have liked to have learned more about the accusations of Yoko coercing her to sleep with Lennon if there is more to tell, as that part was more accusatory and less substantiated. While these situations happen all the time in real life, Pang, as well as her mother, seemed to have a good head on their shoulders, so it’s hard to believe this relationship was nothing less than consensual, but we know it does happen to the smartest of people blinded by love and star-studded lights. Was there any temptation with her boss being one of the most adored people in the world at the time? Was it all Yoko Ono as this manipulator and orchestrator as the masses and Pang are scripting it? One can’t help but look at all of the talk show video footage used in this docufilm showing a starstruck Pang being very vocal on her contribution to the lives of two legends but not going into too much detail on how. What one can’t deny is the affection that Julian and Pang have for one another. But in this very saturated world of relationships, we can’t always know if that relationship was pure or if it was used as a tactic to be “unlike Ono” as it relates to Lennon’s son. In a perfect world, many will find their relationship endearing.
The music, score, and use of old photos and some video footage came together to tell a good story that fans of the legend will enjoy, with really great editing to give tidbits into the lives of someone who captivated the world. Pang was able to make a way for herself while dating John but doesn’t seem to have been paid for the experience or doesn’t expound on that, past Ono cutting off her paycheck. Some experiences, however, money can’t buy. The Lost Weekend: A Love Story is worth the watch but may read as a bit biased in its narration, but everyone has a side, including Pang, to this very public love story.
