The Last Showgirl review: Pamela Anderson delivers a career-defining performance in this luminous ode to ageing

The Last Showgirl Review: Pamela Anderson Delivers A Career-Defining Performance In This Luminous Ode To Ageing

“Everything is so expensive. Lemons are not really food. It’s garnish”, says Shelley (played by an electric Pamela Anderson) shortly after she breaks her wing by bumping into the door handle. Amidst the backstage commotion, the showgirls, dressed in flamboyant outfits and flashy headgears, get ready for their next act on stage. The following day, stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) announces the end of ‘Razzle Dazzle’, a decision which he says was ‘hard to take’.

The Last Showgirl: Plot

The casino owners have decided to replace the 38-year-old show with a circus. Shelley, who is living paycheck-to-paycheck, is devastated. When a young woman walks up to her and brings up her press shots from the early 1980s, Shelley lets out a sad smile. She is half-flattered as she reminisces about her golden days and a little heartbroken since the world seems to have moved on. A ‘dinosaur’ who is now fading into irrelevance, Shelley struggles to make ends meet, much like her showgirl friends Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song).

With a tight runtime of 98 minutes, Gia Coppola’s ‘The Last Showgirl’ has a lingering sadness to it. The all-pervasive gloom sucks you in as Shelley and her friends come to terms with their fading careers. The clash of sensibilities between Shelley and Mary-Anne/Jodie is the strongest arc in the film. Shelley holds a condescending view towards the hedonistic shows, holding Vegas shows in high regard as they are more ‘traditional’ and have a historical element to them.

The Last Showgirl: Performances

Meanwhile, Jodie and Mary-Anne spar with Shelley. In a moment of honesty, they say “the world has moved on” as Shelley reminisces about the time when Vegas showgirls were treated like movie stars. Eddie and Shelley clearly have a complicated history. Hannah, Shelley’s daughter, is an aspiring photographer who feels “being an artist is hard”. Shelley, who has clearly made peace with earning less in exchange for a more fulfilling job, opines “doing a job you don’t really love is hard”.

Jamee Lee Curtis is actually a good actress when she isn’t comparing LA fires to the  devastation of Gaza strip. Curits plays Annette, Shelley’s bestfriend-cum-cocktail waitress who is in denial about her impending retirement. Annette is shown the door at the casino as she is getting replaced by younger waitresses. Annette is, for the lack of a better word, annoying. Her over-the-top mannerisms are less humorous, more out-of-place.

The Last Showgirl: Writing And Direction

For some strange reason, every character in the film delivers lines as if they know they are acting. The film comes across as a theater production. There are some rather confusing directorial choices which don’t quite work (Annette’s unhinged dance number for instance). The Last Showgirl works best when it asks pertinent questions about art. Shelley might just have run out of admirers of her art (Razzle Dazzle has barely eighteen people in the audience). Does her art lose value if it loses its admirers?

The Last Showgirl: What Works, What Doesn’t

Hannah’s dilemma of choosing between being an artist or a job that pays well sums up the predicament faced by most in creative fields. Bautista as Eddie plays yet another meathead but unlike his previous outings, his role in The Last Showgirl is full of pathos. Much of Bautista’s acting prowess lies in channeling Eddie’s pain. He radiates sadness in scenes where he is silent or has minimal dialogue.

As for Anderson, The Last Showgirl is the late career bloom she deserves. By no means is this a perfect film but one can’t help but feel immense happiness for Anderson finally getting her flowers. The final sequence of the film features “Beautiful That Way” performed by Miley Cyrus with lyrics “Just like a rose/She'll Cut you with thorns/She's beautiful that way”.

Star rating: 4 / 5 stars