Film Review: THE LAST SHOWGIRL (2024): Pamela Anderson is Solid in Gia Coppola’s Sharp, Yet Flawed, Character Study

The Last Showgirl Review

The Last Showgirl (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Gia Coppola, written by Kate Gersten and starring Pamela Anderson, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Billie Lourd, John Clofine, Patrick Hilgart, Jason Schwartzman and Sean Patrick Bryan.

Pamela Anderson plays Shelly, an aging Las Vegas showgirl, in director Gia Coppola’s slight but intriguing new drama titled, The Last Showgirl. Anderson’s nuanced performance is backed up by a stellar supporting cast with Jamie Lee Curtis taking top honors and back in top form. While the story of a fading entertainer is kind of old hat, Anderson gives her role a lot of energy and heart though the movie never necessarily makes us believe she has been doing what she’s been doing for around 30 years. Still, the film ably draws the viewer into the situations it portrays.

Shelly is a bit of a ditz at times because of the fact that she pretty much says whatever comes to her mind and this is probably the reason that the character is estranged from her college-aged daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd). When her daughter visits her, Shelly tries to make conversation but falters even going as far as to invite Hannah to one of the last shows Shelly will be performing. It becomes more about Shelly than Hannah and that frustrates the daughter.

Shelly’s stage manager, Eddie (Dave Bautisa, always reliable), has informed her and her colleagues that a “circus” will be replacing the traditional show that the ladies have been putting on for years at a place called Le Razzle Dazzle. This makes Shelly wonder about her future and we first meet her at an audition for something new. When the person conducting the audition asks Shelly her age, we know things won’t be going too well for Shelly’s future, at least as far as this particular situation is concerned.

Jamie Lee Curtis plays another fellow colleague of Shelly’s- a server named Annette who isn’t doing well financially and doesn’t have, as she puts it, “a 501K.” Curtis sinks her teeth into this role and is humorous and believable as Shelly’s friend who offers to help her out with rent if the situation actually comes down to it. Curtis is saturated in makeup that makes her look different than we’ve ever seen her before. Curtis is always versatile and I think this is one of her best supporting performances to date. I wouldn’t be surprised if she got another nomination this year even though competition is fierce in her category.

Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song play Shelly’s besties, Jodie and Mary-Anne, who seem to come across as sisters to Shelly but, soon, Shelly realizes that she should be shifting her attention to her real daughter and work on trying to correct the problems with that relationship. The premise of the movie is further complicated by a scene where Shelly asks Eddie out on a date which ultimately happens and ends with terrible results as Eddie accidentally makes a hurtful statement.

Jason Schwartzman’s jerk of a character spells out to Shelly that she was hired when she was younger because she was sexy and young. Shelly ends up coming back at him with a comment that could inspire people to applaud and root for Shelly to prove him wrong.

The Last Showgirl doesn’t have a lot of meat on its thematic bones. However, Anderson plays her role in such a way that her character is both committed and naive, simultaneously. We can respect her. She has resigned herself to a dead-end career which has only gotten her so far in life. As her daughter, Bille Lourd is quite effective as she plays the part as the complete opposite of her mom. When Shelly asks about her daughter’s boyfriend, and finds out that she doesn’t have one, Shelly couldn’t be further from understanding what’s going on but at least she tries and that’s what makes her so admirable.

Bautista is believable as well, offering solid support in a role which could have been beefed up a bit in terms of its development. Shipka and Song more than hold their own beside the charismatic Anderson throughout the film. In the end, if The Last Showgirl feels somewhat incomplete, it’s because Coppola’s film isn’t ready to answer the hard question of what’s going to happen to Shelly when the end credits come up. But, because of Anderson’s performance, we hope she’ll find some sort of happy medium in her life.

The Last Showgirl is Pamela Anderson’s moment to shine as Shelly encounters what could be her last professional hurrah. And, we feel bad for her and care a lot about what happens to her in the end. That’s ultimately enough to make me like this movie despite its shortcomings.

Rating: 7/10

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