The Last Showgirl
Pamela Anderson astonishes her critics in her award-winning role as a 57-year-old Vegas dancer.
Pamela Anderson
Image courtesy of Picturehouse Entertainment.
When you come across a film that is set in Las Vegas and contains the word ‘showgirl’ in its title, you might suppose that you know what kind of movie it will be. But not so here for The Last Showgirl goes against expectations and proves to be very much a woman's picture in every sense of that term. It was written by a woman, Kate Gersten, directed by a woman, Gia Coppola (niece of Sofia), and predominantly features female characters. But, if that means that the film embraces a woman's perspective, it has not resulted in a work which leaves a clear-cut impression of what it wanted to achieve. Instead, The Last Showgirl comes across as a mixture that can only be thought of as an odd little piece.
When it comes to selling the film the most likely hook to intrigue potential viewers is that it stars Pamela Anderson here seen in a strikingly unfamiliar light. More famous for her sexual allure than for her acting chops even after becoming a performer as well as a model, Anderson’s past fame is of a kind that makes it newsworthy that she should now take on a role as a 57-year-old showgirl (her own age in fact) and do so in a drama about a woman facing the end of her show business career. Shelly has long been a dancer in a show called Le Razzle Dazzle which, as we learn at the outset, is due to close after a run of thirty-eight years. One way or another two younger friends of hers who are also part of the show – Jodie (Keirnan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) – may be able to keep going, but for Shelly this looks like the end of the road. Indeed, her best friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis) has ducked out some years earlier and switched to becoming a cocktail waitress in a casino. At least Shelly has reached a stage when as a single mum she can claim that her career has provided the support needed for her daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd), in the years when she was growing up. However, now that she is a young woman Hannah is less than fully appreciative taking a poor view of shows like Le Razzle Dazzle.
Rather than offering any elaborate plot, The Last Showgirl concentrates on reactions to the closure of the show as it continues to play for its last two weeks to poor attendances. Thematically, however, several elements feature. One, of course, is the relationship between Shelly and her daughter and another is the way in which in their contrasted ways Shelly and Annette exemplify women facing up to the need to find a way of looking to the future in a world that is not easy for older females who want to maintain their independence. On top of that this is a film about the changing nature of the world of show business, not least in what is expected of showgirls. Shelly is somebody who thinks of herself as a dancer first and foremost and who is eager to point out that a show such as Le Razzle Dazzle had its roots in stylish entertainments in France. The younger girls may accept the increasing emphasis on nudity that is involved but Shelly sees it as cheapening as it becomes ever cruder.
Bringing these issues together means that The Last Showgirl is a drama with potential, but Kate Gersten's screenplay never makes the most of it. Indeed, the project comes across as confused in more ways than one. Pamela Anderson certainly has the leading role and doesn't seem to find it too daunting even if one is surprised that it gained a number of award nominations for her as Best Actress. But Shelly with her reluctance to facing up fully to facts is a less strong personality than her friend Annette with the result that in nailing that role it is Jamie Lee Curtis who steals the film despite having considerably less screen time. As part of its emphasis on women's lives, the film unusually for a show business story spends very little time on the show itself. Shelly may defend it but her daughter defines Le Razzle Dazzle as “a stupid nudie show”. Nevertheless, when we get a longer extract from it in the film’s concluding scene featuring the original song ‘Beautiful That Way’ the nudity is played down. There's almost a touch of Busby Berkeley about this scene and, of course, despite her earlier comments, Hannah is in the audience. What this means is that a film which starts out with some overlapping dialogue and carries a hint of the more gritty cinema of John Cassavetes ends up displaying a degree of sentimental gloss. It is characteristic that the stage manager played by Dave Bautista is a decidedly sympathetic figure and that even though she is no longer in the business Annette is given a set piece which sees her dancing on a table to Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’.
Ultimately, then, it's all a bit of a hodgepodge and short with it (the end credits are so long that the drama really plays for scarcely more than 80 minutes). Nevertheless, The Last Showgirl does have novelty value in looking at Las Vegas showbiz from a female viewpoint and many will welcome it for that.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Pamela Anderson, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd, Jason Schwartzman, Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Curtis, Linda Montana, Giovani L. DiCandilo, John Clofine, Gypsy Wood, Simon Bradley.
Dir Gia Coppola, Pro Robert Schwartzman, Natalie Farrey and Gia Coppola, Screenplay Kate Gersten, Ph Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Pro Des Natalie Ziering, Ed Blair McClendon and Cam McLaughlin, Music Andrew Wyatt, Costumes Jacqueline Getty.
Utopia/Pinky Promise/Digital Ignition Entertainment/High Frequency Entertainment-Picturehouse Entertainment.
89 mins. USA. 2024. US Rel: 13 December 2024. UK Rel: 28 February 2025. Cert. 15.
