‘Feeling seen, feeling beautiful, that is powerful…’
Hollywood loves a comeback, especially if the star in question is fading, and especially especially if they are playing a distorted version of themselves. Demi Moore in The Substance, Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, Michael Keaton in Birdman… It’s a tradition that goes back to Gloria Swanson and Bette Davis in Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve, respectively. What’s interesting about The Last Showgirl is that its star, Pamela Anderson, never had much of a Hollywood career in the first place, but this only serves to make her captivating performance even more effective…
Shelly Gardner (Anderson) is a seasoned showgirl who finds herself at a crossroads when the French-style revue she has danced with for decades suddenly and unexpectedly shuts down. Shelly receives support of sorts from fellow performers Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) and Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis).
It is clear that director Gia Coppola (granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola) is commenting on the way women are treated as they age, and while this is well-worn territory, it’s beautifully shot, and Anderson’s performance is genuinely pretty astonishing. Who would have thought when watching Barb Wire and Baywatch back in the ’90s that Pammy would have a performance like this in her? Anderson makes it impossible not to root for Shelly and while the supporting cast put in a great shift also, particularly Dave Bautista as the stage manager of the revue, and Curtis, whose performance here is pleasingly unhinged, but this is Anderson’s film and after many years away, it’s heartening to see a true ’90s icon staging an unlikely comeback.
Say what you want about the Coppola filmmaking dynasty but their work is usually at least interesting and The Last Showgirl is no exception – a surprisingly excellent movie.
