The Last Showgirl

The Plot: Shelly (Pamela Anderson) has been in the showgirl business in Las Vegas for a long time. She was once the headliner of her show and her face is still on the poster, but times are moving on. The Parisian-inspired show is now in decline, playing to mere handfuls of punters. Stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) announces that the show is to close in two weeks, sending Shelly into a spiral of desperation. It has been her life for over three decades and she loves it with a passion. It’s what she was born to do, but time is not on her side. It never has been, particularly when estranged daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd) turns up, looking for some kind of explanation for the parental gaps in her childhood…

The Verdict: In the end credits of The Last Showgirl, several familiar names are thanked – director Gia Coppola’s aunt Sofia and grandfather Francis more obviously. Look further down though and the name Sean Baker pops up. He’s been getting a lot of attention recently due to Anora as it moves swiftly forward in the Oscars race. His films have often focused on people living on the fringes of society, so one has to imagine that Coppola took some inspiration from him in her own tale of the lives of Las Vegas showgirls facing an uncertain future. While showgirls have been the most visible faces and ambassadors for Sin City for some time, they are also just working women getting by day-to-day and living out their lives backstage when the curtain is drawn over the glamour. Coppola’s film is that rare glimpse behind the rhinestones and sequins to scratch at the shiny surface and see what makes these women tick.

It is also a showcase for the hidden talents of one Pamela Anderson, joining former ‘popcorn actress’ Demi Moore in giving the performance of her life this year. Sadly, Anderson wasn’t nominated for an Oscar in this highly competitive year, but if she keeps going like this she may well get there. She’s at the heart of this brief but insightful film which is touchingly earnest, funny and realistic about the great expectations placed on women as they fight against the ravages of time but still hold their heads up high. Kate Gersten’s script is a character portrait of a woman who is regarded as on her way out by the industry, as she clings to the kind of tasteful dancing that made the show famous. She has a moral core about what she’s willing to do on stage and is horrified at the youngest member of the troupe, Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), as she gyrates on a chair for what might be her next job. She’s also something of a mother figure to all concerned, including Jodie.

While this is essentially Anderson’s film, Coppola gives generous screentime to the supporting cast. Their characters register in their own way through small, beautifully-realised moments: Dave Bautista’s apologetic stage manager as he stumbles through a potential romance with Shelly; Kiernan Shipka’s next generation dancer who is vulnerable due to her own parental issues; Billie Lourd moving past the familiar neglected daughter role to embrace the possibility of a mother’s love for her child no matter what; and perhaps most memorably Jamie Lee Curtis under several layers of spray tan but no less powerful as her character faces being shut out of her cocktail waitress job – check out that casino table dance. It’s a wonderfully assembled ensemble of actors who respond in kind to Coppola’s careful guiding hand as she moves the story towards its natural conclusion. A bittersweet one at that.

As to Anderson herself, she sparkles like a rhinestone at every turn. She had been waiting for a role like this and very nearly lost it due to a dismissive agent who swiftly passed on the script (who she swiftly dismissed in turn). She’s quite affecting in the role, revealing hitherto unseen levels of character depth and empathy. It’s a role that was made for her and she gives a subtly powerful performance. Between this and the recent, revealing Netflix documentary Pamela: A Love Story, she’s earning new street cred and moving into an interesting phase of her career. While there are some familiar beats to the story, The Last Showgirl has a refreshing honesty about itself that makes it hard to resist – much like Las Vegas itself.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review by Gareth O’Connor