THE LAST SHOWGIRL

USA | 2024 | 85m | English

Cast: Pamela Anderson, Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, Billie Lourd

Director(s): Gia Coppola

Shelley (Anderson) has been a Las Vegas showgirl for over 30 years, the feather and crystal–adorned centrepiece of Sin City’s last remaining traditional floor show. The stage and the women she shares it with are her loving, bickering, sequin-clad family. When the stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista, an island of masculinity in a sea of women) announces the show will close permanently in two weeks, Shelley and her co-workers must make decisions for their future. But the future looks different when you are 50 rather than 20, and your sole job skill is dancing.

Emotionally floundering, Shelley tries to reconnect with a daughter she hardly knows, which proves just as difficult as losing the only job she has ever had. Bolstered by her best friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), a brash cocktail waitress who laughs a little too loud and too often, Shelley must find her place in a world that she shut the (stage) door on years before.

Courtesy of TIFF

TIFF 24 REVIEW BY: KURT MORRISON

DATE: SEPTEMBER 8, 2024

RATING: 1 out of 5

There’s always one….. One every TIFF, that I hype myself up for, that ends up being a complete disappointing disaster. And folks, I tried. Trust me, I REALLY tried hard to like this film. But even with such a great cast and an interesting plot, nothing could save The Last Showgirl from being a parked car on the train tracks, and sadly it came down to one, and only one factor.

The Last Showgirl stars Canada’s own Pamela Anderson (Baywatch, Barb Wire) as Shelley, a long-time dancer who sparkles in the last remaining traditional floor show in the heart of Las Vegas. The seasoned veteran of the show, Anderson’s Shelley has been in the role for 30+ years and believes that unlike new shows in Vegas, their show still has class and integrity. Yet even as the Las Vegas strip continues to grow, the days of this particular showgirl are numbered as her stage manager Eddie, played by Dave Bautista, lets her and her fellow dancers know that the show will be closing permanently in two weeks.

I listened to writer Kate Gersten discuss the process of writing this film during a Q&A after the screening I attended and was so enamored with her articulation and excitement while telling the process of how she came to create the film's plot and script. That in and of itself was fascinating and would be ripe for a documentary.

So in terms of the plot and overall pacing, I have to say this script is very good! This is a complex and excellent story that features a lot of depth in terms of character development, particularly when you dissect both Anderson’s character of Shelley and Jamie Lee Curtis’ Annette. Shelley is now being forced to come to terms with her age and her inability to grow, not only within the industry but as a mother and human being. She has burned every bridge along the way because she was/is beautiful and sexy - both of which are things that a cameo by Jason Schwartzman really hammers out, with a fiery combo that might be the best moment of the film. But because of that leisure in beauty, grew a self absorbed and neglectful mother - who relied on her good looks to get by and now has to come to terms with the consequences of her actions, many years removed from them.

As I watched it, I began realizing there were glaring parallels to one of my all-time favourite films, Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 film The Wrestler. So - again - I tried. I commit to the process of watching this film.

Sadly, it’s one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch, and in this case, the casting of Pamela Anderson was a giant mistake. You’ve got Oscar Winner Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song and Billie Lourd all holding up Anderson’s bad line delivery and overacting through the entirety of the film.

And guys, trust me when I say, I feel bad even as I write this piece but Anderson’s inability to act made for a really tough watch. Especially when your lead is in 85-90% of all the scenes in the movie. There are three to five actresses who I could see playing this role better and making this a genuine award contender of a role.

Maybe I am in the minority after seeing this, but The Last Showgirl is a lost cause. A great script feels squandered by a poor performance, and even the likes of Jamie Lee & Bautista can’t save this from feeling misaligned from start to finish.