TMS Movie Review: The Last Showgirl
(Utopia / Roadside Attractions)
Right as Demi Moore and Angelina Jolie are in the process of successful career comebacks, another 1990s icon, Pamela Anderson, jumps in with her own dramatic screen vehicle. Following a surprise SAG nomination for Best Actress two weeks ago, Anderson’s recent turn in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl is a revelation for both the actress and movie fans. While Moore and Jolie were global movie stars in their primes, Anderson was mainly a TV starlet recognized as ‘the hot chick’ from ABC’s “Home Improvement” (1991-96) and NBC’s “Baywatch” (1992-97) who gradually became less popular over time. Without any critical or box-office hits on her resume and no praise for her acting, Anderson proves she really is the definition of a comeback.
Set roughly in the early 2010s, Shelly (Anderson) is the oldest showgirl at a legendary burlesque show called ‘The Razzle Dazzle’ in Las Vegas and has prided herself as the most seasoned veteran who respects the history of the show. But when head director, Eddie (Dave Bautista), informs the performers The Razzle Dazzle is closing soon because of low ticket sales, Shelly is shocked and heartbroken. Now she’s struggling to accept she has to start her career all over after being the face of the revue for three decades. Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka play the young showgirls who see Shelly as a matriarch figure, Jamie Lee Curtis co-stars as her best friend and a former showgirl who works at one of the local casinos, and Billie Lourd appears as Shelly’s estranged daughter.
(Utopia / Roadside Attractions)
The Last Showgirl was written by Kate Gersten, produced by Coppola’s cousin Robert Schwartzman, and also features a cameo by third Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, two months after appearing in family patriarch Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis (2024). While the screenplay for The Last Showgirl isn’t very original or subversive, the performances are what glue the feature together. Whether it’s Anderson’s perfect casting as a once desirable dancer or former wrestler Bautista showing his appreciation for auteur directors outside of his roles in the Marvel franchise and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune film series. It’s also nice to see Song and Shipka as grown-up characters after starting out as child stars; and Curtis is even better here than she was in her controversially Oscar winning performance of the Daniels’ Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (2022).
Though I enjoyed Last Showgirl, I will admit, from a technical standpoint, if you had replaced the name ‘Gia’ with ‘Sofia,’ it probably would be the same movie. The younger Coppola seems to be following the exact same trajectory as her famous aunt and doesn’t appear to mind the comparisons, including using similar directing cues and aesthetics. This works both for and against the film in some ways. A couple of things that didn’t jell for me was the extreme soft focus used on various scenes, especially for exterior day shots; and I wish we could have actually seen some of the stage choreography for The Razzle Dazzle besides briefly near the end. Shelly makes such a big deal out of how important the show and dancing is to her that I feel we should have seen why she was so attached to the experience. Nevertheless, The Last Showgirl is an easy 85 minute run with a tour-de-force effort from Anderson.