The Last Showgirl (2024) - Film Review

      The Last Showgirl, 2024.

      Directed by Gia Coppola.

      Featuring Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd, John Clofine, Jason Schwartzman, and Patrick Hilgart.

      SYNOPSIS:

      A veteran showgirl must prepare for her future after her show unexpectedly ends following a 30-year run.

      In one scene of Gia Coppola's *The Last Showgirl* (based on a screenplay by Kate Gersten), the camera captures Pamela Anderson's character, Shelley, a veteran showgirl in a Las Vegas casino, practicing elegant dance moves alone at night while watching television. This moment is contrasted with scenes of her much younger co-star, Kiernan Shipka's Jodie, who is attending a much more risqué and sexually explicit performance that is slowly taking the place of the traditional, family-friendly shows like Le Razzle Dazzle, which Shelley has passionately supported for over three decades, defending their artistic value. This newer show is about to permanently shut down Shelley's long-standing one.

      This striking visual comparison underscores not only the film's themes but also serves as a deeper commentary on Pamela Anderson's career as a blonde bombshell who has been involved in various scandals. In this role, she embodies a character justifiably frustrated that the industry she loves no longer values these shows unless they generate profit, opting instead for more provocative and nudity-focused performances that appeal to the youngest and most conventionally attractive women available.

      After dedicating thirty years to her show, Shelley has developed a maternal bond with her younger co-stars and is often on the verge of lecturing everyone about the show's French origins, its aesthetic value, and its significance. Unsurprisingly, not all of her peers share her perspective. Brenda Song's Mary-Anne views the show as pointless and degrading, though she recognizes it as a job. She would gladly accept one of the aforementioned explicit roles if the producers weren’t dismissing her due to her age, smaller bust, and preference for casting girls "right after they turn 18," as she puts it. Shelley is also a close friend of Annette (played by Jamie Lee Curtis), a former showgirl turned cocktail waitress, who endures similar age-related prejudice and provides a more nuanced perspective in the film.

      *The Last Showgirl* tackles a variety of topics, serving not only as a glimpse into this specific world (enhanced by a fittingly dreamlike score by Andrew Wyatt) but also prompting broader questions about a woman's life and meta-commentaries on Pamela Anderson. For the first thirty minutes, it is quite engaging; the chemistry between the women feels genuine, and they appear to bond as a surrogate family shaped by their experiences. Dave Bautista also appears as the producer of Le Razzle Dazzle, portraying a gentle, sympathetic man who sincerely relates to Shelley’s anguish over dwindling paychecks (with one show selling only around 12 tickets) and the devastating announcement that the show will soon close for good.

      However, the remaining hour of the film feels like the creators are unsure of how to proceed, leading to excessive drama and eye-roll-inducing plot twists. While there are character dynamics and relationships that could have thrived if the film had genuinely sought to examine them, it instead throws them at viewers in a misguided, directionless effort to create narrative momentum. By the time the film addresses Shelley's sacrifices and explores the often unjust choices women face about family, passion, and careers, *The Last Showgirl* has devolved into melodrama that feels exaggerated and overwrought.

      Among the family drama is a somewhat neglected daughter, played by Billie Lourd, who feels abandoned and has been placed in the care of alternative guardians. She struggles to understand why her mother valued performance art to the extent of leaving her in a car with a Game Boy rather than taking a conventional job with regular hours that wouldn’t be sexually provocative. This leads viewers to think that Le Razzle Dazzle, despite its more sophisticated approach to dance, was heavily adult-oriented; however, when we finally see the performance (which is well-executed and captures the beauty Shelley sees in it), it feels tame, raising questions about why her daughter is ashamed and outraged. Yes, she feels her mother prioritized her career over her, but there is a disconnect between how the show is described and what appears on screen.

      For those expecting Pamela Anderson to showcase noteworthy acting skills, prepare for disappointment. While her performance certainly stands out, it is ultimately unconvincing, frequently veering into exaggerated quirkiness or overly dramatic moments that she struggles to convey. Although this role is personal for Anderson and touches on elements from her own life, *The Last Showgirl* sacrifices its intriguing themes for clichéd storytelling that ultimately falls flat. It resorted to unnecessary drama, given that its premise had already provided