The Last Showgirl review

THE LAST SHOWGIRL: 

AN ABSOLUTE SHOW-STOPPER FOR PAMELA ANDERSON! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl

 

            Pamela Anderson (Baywatch, Barb Wire, The Naked Gun (2025)) goes from starring in cinematic poison like Barb Wire to an award-worthy performance in The Last Showgirl, the new film from Gia Coppola (Palo Alto, Mainstream), the granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola. I was born in 1993 so I completely missed the Baywatch and Pamela Anderson craze at the time with most of my exposure to her coming from cameo appearances in films like Scooby-Doo and Borat and her role as The Invisible Girl in the 2008 parody film, Superhero Movie. 

            This movie certainly got my attention after hearing all the buzz it was getting at awards shows and film festivals. So, I decided to check it out and I have to say with this and Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Francis Ford’s children and grandchildren are making far better Coppola films lately than the man who gave us The Godfather: Parts I and II. 

            The Last Showgirl is really damn good and most of that is because of Pamela Anderson’s performance which is about as perfect casting as you can get for a film like this. The best way I can describe the film is like The Substance if it didn’t turn into a body-horror movie as both films deal with aging stars trying to keep their careers intact but are constantly facing roadblocks because of their age with some elements of The Whale thrown in. 

            The film follows Shelly Gardner (Anderson), a 57-year-old showgirl who has performed for three decades in the Le Razzle Dazzle revue in a Las Vegas casino. But when she and the other performers learn that the show Shelly has been performing in for over 30 years is ending its run, she is forced to rethink her future and come to terms that the old ways of show business are diminishing in favor of newer, raunchier fare.

            The film also stars Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween franchise, Freaky Friday (2003), Everything Everywhere All at Once) as Shelly’s best friend and waitress Annette, Dave Bautista (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spectre, Dune: Parts 1 and 2) as Eddie, Brenda Song (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, The Social Network, Amphibia) as Mary-Anne, Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, When Marnie Was There, Twisters) as Jodie, and Billie Lourd (Star Wars franchise, Booksmart, Ticket to Paradise) as Shelly’s daughter Hannah. 

            Overall, The Last Showgirl is a solid comeback for Pamela Anderson much like what The Whale was for Brendan Fraser a couple years back. She makes this movie and the performance really showcases her skills as a dramatic actress…in other words, way better than Barb Wire! 

            You legit feel for Pamela Anderson’s character throughout the movie whether she’s trying to figure out how to save her career or reconnecting with her estranged daughter (The latter is very much like in The Whale). She sells the emotional moments very well especially during this scene with her daughter in a dressing room after her show that’s pretty damn heartbreaking, and has great chemistry with Billie Lourd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, and Brenda Song. 

            Just about all the performances in this are very genuine and Jamie Lee Curtis gets a few witty lines as Shelly’s friend though it is Anderson’s movie all the way through. The acting is what makes this otherwise generic indie drama into something spectacular. 

            That’s not to say the plot is bad or anything, it works well enough for a film like this, but it does hit a lot of those indie drama beats or plot elements that are reminiscent of other movies about fading stardom. Things like moody montages and characters pondering while walking or dancing by themselves. 

Also, there’s a lot of handheld camera work and out of focus shots used here which I get is for artistic purposes, but it ironically makes the movie look like any other indie drama. It reminded me a lot of A Complete Unknown where the performances were the big highlight of a movie that hits the beats you’d expect, but like that movie, it hits those beats well. 

The Last Showgirl isn’t the most original film with this sort of premise especially with The Substance tackling the same sort of thing (and doing it better), but it’s still a competently made drama about the effects of aging in show business that’s heightened by a pitch perfect Pamela Anderson performance and strong emotional moments. Here’s hoping that Gia Coppola and Sofia Coppola will continue to follow in their grandfather/father’s legendary footsteps…preferably without making a bloated mindfuck like Megalopolis during their careers.