‘The Last Showgirl’ Review: Gia Coppola Gives Pamela Anderson the Role of a Lifetime in a Performance of Tenderness and Grace | TIFF

There is a scene towards the latter half of Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl that encapsulates the lonely, tender heart of the film. Shelley (Pamela Anderson) is trying to justify the over 30 years she’s spent at a Las Vegas revue that will be closed in two weeks, and her reasoning for staying is one that anyone who has wanted to matter would understand. “Being under the lights, feeling beautiful every night, feeling seen,” she explains, is something that will be difficult to let go of. It’s just one of many flooring moments from Anderson in the film, a compassionate examination of one woman and what happens when she is forced out of the one creative outlet she loves.

Shelley is a dancer in the strip spectacular “Le Razzle Dazzle.” She’s been there since the late 1980s and has taken some of the younger dancers under her wing. Marianne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kieran Shipka), along with former showgirl turned casino waitress Annette (Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis) and show producer Eddie (Dave Bautista) form a misfit work family of sorts. When it’s announced that “Le Razzle Dazzle” will close in two weeks, Shelley has to to reckon with what the past 30 years have meant to her, moving on, and dealing with a world that is actively hostile to aging women. 

It’s a tough journey for Shelley, an optimist and believer in her craft despite the world (and her coworkers) telling her otherwise. At one point, when Marianne insinuates that their show was low class anyway, Shelley rebukes it immediately. “It’s not low class, it is a dancing spectacular with nude figures that has roots in France!” It’s a fine line between how much of what Shelley is saying is what she believes or what she wants to believe. When her distant daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd) begins visiting more often, this tension between following her artistic desires and the consequences of it comes to a head. After seeing a performance of “Le Razzle Dazzle” for the first time, Hannah is furious. Noting her mom’s frequent absences, she seethes, “I wanted to know this was better than me. That this was worth missing bedtime for.” Between Hannah, Marianne, and Jodie, The Last Showgirl is also a movie about motherhood. As penned by Kate Gersten (NBC’s The Good Place), it’s an empathetic portrait of the very human, often imperfect people who become mothers in one way or another. 

The performances buoy the film and help the story move with grace and humor. Pamela Anderson lends a real humanity and glowing optimism to Shelley. The way she immediately lights up when she sees Hannah or talks about her craft is infectious and endearing. When Shelley has outbursts of frustration and rage at what’s happening to her, you can’t help but feel for her. You’re on her side from the beginning, and can’t help but root for her even when she’s refusing to let go of a profession and a place that has used her up. When Shelley auditions for another show and gets rejected outright, she lets the awful man running the show have it and then falls into a mix of anger and desperation. “Please,” she says. “I worked really hard.” It’s a heartbreaking, impactful turn from Anderson. 

The supporting cast is wonderful too, with fun and tender turns from Song, Shipka, Curtis, and Bautista. From Song and Shipka’s sisterly rapport and camaraderie to Curtis’s bitterly funny, jaded former showgirl, there’s a lot to enjoy here. Similarly, Bautista proves he’s got the chops necessary for dramatic work while not losing a sense of humor that’s important for playing someone like Eddie, well-meaning but clueless.

Shelley’s journey, a melancholy one, is painted in soft pinks and blues by the cinematography of Autumn Durald. Her world might be harsh and unstable at the moment, but it’s a thing of soft beauty too. It helps anchor the tenderness at the heart of the film. The sparkles and spectacle of the costuming work by Jacqueline and Jacqui Getty with Rainy Jacobs grounds the film in its setting, making for a powerful dichotomy between the showgirl world Shelley has clung to for decades, and the reality she has to live in everyday and now face.

The Last Showgirl is a tender character study that captures the complications of being an older woman, letting go, and motherhood. Reckoning with what was, and preparing yourself for what’s to come is a daunting task, but it’s what we all have to do at different points in our lives. Watching Shelley’s journey through her last two weeks as a showgirl is compelling because if we look close enough, we can see ourselves reflected in the sparkle and spectacle.

Grade: A

This review is from the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival where The Last Showgirl had its world premiere. There is no U.S. distribution at this time.

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Alejandra Martinez

Alejandra Martinez is an award-winning writer, film critic, and archivist based in Austin, TX. She is a member of the Austin Film Critics Association. Her writing has been published in multiple outlets including The Austin Chronicle, The Wrap, RogerEbert.com, and Letterboxd Journal.

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