The Last Showgirl - Film Review

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Pamela Anderson plays a fading starlet faced with the closure of her Las Vegas revue in The Last Showgirl. Directed by Gia Coppola (granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola), the film follows Anderson's character in the two weeks leading up to her final curtain, as she faces unemployment and the realisation that she has devoted her life to the show at the expense of everything else.



Anderson plays Shelly, a founding cast member of Le Razzle Dazzle, a glitzy mainstay of the Vegas Strip for 30 years. Back in the day (so Shelly regularly informs her younger castmates), the revue was world-famous, the performers sent to exotic locales for publicity purposes. Shelly was at the centre of it all, adorning the show's posters.

But dwindling audiences and the desire for more edgy entertainment have rendered Le Razzle Dazzle loss-making. Shelly hears about the closure from her stage manager and ex-lover Eddie (Dave Bautista) and is sent into a tailspin of grief. Shelly's friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis, playing a crazily over-the-top former showgirl turned jaded cocktail waitress), advises Shelly to join her on the casino floor serving drinks. But Annette, broke and homeless, isn't a sterling advertisement for the lifestyle.

Shelly begins examining her life and makes contact with her estranged daughter (played by Billie Lourde) who shows up seeking answers as to why Shelly gave her up for adoption. Shelly's response is that she had to perform in her show. And now, despite being 57-years-old, she will continue chasing the spotlight. It becomes excruciatingly clear that she will not enjoy success - an audition scene featuring a bombing Shelly is the saddest thing you'll see for a while.

Much has been made of Pamela Anderson's performance in The Last Showgirl. It's been called a comeback and a realisation of her acting ability. And she is excellent playing a character wrought with naivety and contradictions and a longing for something gone. Someone who is entirely self-centred yet kind of likeable. Anderson's Shelly encompasses all of this, and it's something to see.

The Last Showgirl is a slight film. Both plot and character development are thin. And you could easily question Shelly's motivations. She couldn't possibly conceive that the show could end? That Vegas would change over the years? Maybe she couldn't. Maybe that's the point. The film gets in and out so quickly (it is only 88 minutes long) that these questions don't hang around long.

Gia Coppola employs interesting technique. Shot on 16mm film, the pictures are rough and fuzzy (sometimes actors on the edge of the screen are even out of focus). The colour too has been sucked away, leaving the exterior shots of Las Vegas washed out and pale, sapped of sunlight and warmth. Some scenes see Shelly out on the streets, in that light, looking out, trying to find her place in a city which seems to be finished with her. It is all very sad and poignant - and worth seeing.

The Last Showgirl is in cinemas February 20.

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