January 7, 2024
FILM: THE LAST SHOWGIRL
DIRECTED BY: GIA COPPOLA
STARRING: PAMELA ANDERSON, KIERNAN SHIPKA, DAVE BAUTISTA
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
It’s been an interesting year for older actresses making a comeback with new film roles. Demi Moore did it with The Substance and now Pamela Anderson reinvents herself in The Last Showgirl. I must admit to have never seen an episode of Baywatch and frankly only know about her story from the very good mini-series Pam and Tommy in which Lily James played her. So, when people ask about how she does in this new film, I can only say she handles the role quite well.
Anderson plays Shelly, who has worked as a showgirl in Vegas for the last thirty years. She’s clearly older than everyone else, including Jodie (Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song.) Eddie (Dave Bautista) runs the show and over dinner one night lets them know that it will soon be closing. What’s interesting is how they react. Jodie and Mary-Anne begin looking into other dancing jobs, one that has more sexual content than the ”Razzle Dazzle” work they’ve been doing. It is Shelly’s perspective that is most curious though. She doesn’t quite understand why the show is closing when it’s been a “famous show,” “a tradition,” and “not trash.” She touts the show’s roots in Paris – albeit from decades ago. Essentially she’s in denial. The show has meant everything to her and even distanced her from her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd) when she was very young. Shelly is very serious about her work and would hardly be considered a nurturer to anyone but herself.
Shelly’s best friend is an even older former showgirl named Annette, played by Jamie Lee Curtis with a bad red wig and lots of age lines and cigarettes. Annette is now working as a cocktail waitress in a Vegas casino. She is also clearly older than everyone else working there but generally maintains a positive attitude, at least until she dances to Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart which, along with Shelly’s later dance to Pat Benatar’s Shadows of the Night illustrates, they are relics from another era.
Much has been made about Pamela Anderson’s hedding of make-up and glamor for this role. Like Curtis, she is often shot in extreme close-up, which emphasizes the aging on her face. Standing in contrast to the other young actresses, Anderson definitely appears to have passed her prime, which is exactly what is needed for this role. Like Moore in The Substance, Anderson is perfect for the part as her own career success happened many years ago. While she may not have to go too deep in some of the earlier scenes, she hits the right marks during the more emotional moments later in the film.
Curtis is doing another variation of what we’ve now seen in her Oscar-winning role in Everything Everywhere All at Once and her Emmy-winning turn on The Bear. She goes big and broad and chews up every scene she’s in, for better or for worse.
Director Gia Coppola does a great job with the other actors, particularly Kiernan Shipka as Jodie. She’s more reserved and less emotional than the others and feels very centered in the role. I’d have liked to see more of her in the film.
Coppola creates some appropriately frenetic scenes with a handheld camera that echoes the anxiety associated with the characters. She also effectively captures the less than glamorous side of Vegas by showing older buildings being torn down as the latest hotel monstrosities stand tall behind. Like its shows and performers, the city knows when it’s time to breathe some new life into its game and get rid of all that is out of date and declining.
The Last Showgirl follows a tradition of films about performers being effected by the changing nature of the entertainment business. While watching the film, it’s hard not to think about Burlesque with Cher and Christina Aguilera and The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke. These are all films about people who have survived thus far but now must face a new chapter in their lives while reflecting on how those previous choices may have effected other aspects of their lives.
The Last Showgirl opens theatrically January 10th.
FILM: THE LAST SHOWGIRL
DIRECTED BY: GIA COPPOLA
STARRING: PAMELA ANDERSON, KIERNAN SHIPKA, DAVE BAUTISTA
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
It’s been an interesting year for older actresses making a comeback with new film roles. Demi Moore did it with The Substance and now Pamela Anderson reinvents herself in The Last Showgirl. I must admit to have never seen an episode of Baywatch and frankly only know about her story from the very good mini-series Pam and Tommy in which Lily James played her. So, when people ask about how she does in this new film, I can only say she handles the role quite well.
Anderson plays Shelly, who has worked as a showgirl in Vegas for the last thirty years. She’s clearly older than everyone else, including Jodie (Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song.) Eddie (Dave Bautista) runs the show and over dinner one night lets them know that it will soon be closing. What’s interesting is how they react. Jodie and Mary-Anne begin looking into other dancing jobs, one that has more sexual content than the ”Razzle Dazzle” work they’ve been doing. It is Shelly’s perspective that is most curious though. She doesn’t quite understand why the show is closing when it’s been a “famous show,” “a tradition,” and “not trash.” She touts the show’s roots in Paris – albeit from decades ago. Essentially she’s in denial. The show has meant everything to her and even distanced her from her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd) when she was very young. Shelly is very serious about her work and would hardly be considered a nurturer to anyone but herself.
Shelly’s best friend is an even older former showgirl named Annette, played by Jamie Lee Curtis with a bad red wig and lots of age lines and cigarettes. Annette is now working as a cocktail waitress in a Vegas casino. She is also clearly older than everyone else working there but generally maintains a positive attitude, at least until she dances to Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart which, along with Shelly’s later dance to Pat Benatar’s Shadows of the Night illustrates, they are relics from another era.
Much has been made about Pamela Anderson’s hedding of make-up and glamor for this role. Like Curtis, she is often shot in extreme close-up, which emphasizes the aging on her face. Standing in contrast to the other young actresses, Anderson definitely appears to have passed her prime, which is exactly what is needed for this role. Like Moore in The Substance, Anderson is perfect for the part as her own career success happened many years ago. While she may not have to go too deep in some of the earlier scenes, she hits the right marks during the more emotional moments later in the film.
Curtis is doing another variation of what we’ve now seen in her Oscar-winning role in Everything Everywhere All at Once and her Emmy-winning turn on The Bear. She goes big and broad and chews up every scene she’s in, for better or for worse.
Director Gia Coppola does a great job with the other actors, particularly Kiernan Shipka as Jodie. She’s more reserved and less emotional than the others and feels very centered in the role. I’d have liked to see more of her in the film.
Coppola creates some appropriately frenetic scenes with a handheld camera that echoes the anxiety associated with the characters. She also effectively captures the less than glamorous side of Vegas by showing older buildings being torn down as the latest hotel monstrosities stand tall behind. Like its shows and performers, the city knows when it’s time to breathe some new life into its game and get rid of all that is out of date and declining.
The Last Showgirl follows a tradition of films about performers being effected by the changing nature of the entertainment business. While watching the film, it’s hard not to think about Burlesque with Cher and Christina Aguilera and The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke. These are all films about people who have survived thus far but now must face a new chapter in their lives while reflecting on how those previous choices may have effected other aspects of their lives.
The Last Showgirl opens theatrically January 10th.