LAST SHOWGIRL, THE
(director: Gia Coppola; screenwriter: Kate Gerstein; cinematographer: Autumn Durald Arkapaw; editors: Blair McClendon, Cam McLauchlin; music: Andrew Wyatt; cast: Pamela Anderson (Shelly), Brenda Song (Mary-Anne), Kiernan Shipka (Jodie), Dave Bautista (Eddie), Jamie Leigh Curtis (Annette), Billie Lourd (Hannah, daughter); Runtime: 89; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Gia Coppola, Robert Schwartzman, Nataley Farrey; Roadside Attractions; 2024)
“I always liked Pamela and like her here in the role of someone so vulnerable.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Gia Coppola (“The Seven Faces of Jane”/”Mainstream”) directs this melancholy lightweight showbiz film, that’s written as a character-driven story by Kate Gerstein.
Shelly (Pamela Anderson, in her first starring role in a decade) is a 57-year-old Las Vegas showgirl dancer who has to recognize that her thirty year career is coming to an end because of ageism. She also has to repair her estranged relationship with her young adult daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), who has been away for the year in an Arizona college.
Shelly has been the star of Le Razzle Dazzle, the long-running 1990s LV topless female dancer show. Shelly’s gruff but not so bad stage manager friend Eddie (Dave Bautista) delivers the sad news that the venue wants to modernize its entertainment and is closing the show for something more modern.
Shelly’s friend and co-worker Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis) some time ago switched jobs to be a cocktail waitress at the casino. At a house party Annette confides her simple life plan to Shelly’s much younger outspoken dancer colleagues Marianne (Brenda Stone) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) of working at the casino for the rest of her life.
LV puts a premium on youth and sex appeal, and leaves Shelly with an uncertain future.
We’ve seen this showbiz story before, and the film has nothing new to say. But I always liked Pamela and like her here in the role of someone so vulnerable.
It played at the Toronto Film Festival.
REVIEWED ON 1/11/2025 GRADE: B-
dennisschwartzreviews.com