The Reel Review
An aging Las Vegas showgirl finds herself in an emotional tailspin when she abruptly learns that the most important thing in her life – the show where she has performed for 30 years – is about to close. Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Dave Bautista star in this drama.
For Shelly (Anderson), being a showgirl defined her. This mother figure to a ragtag group of dysfunctional colleagues put career above all else, including the estranged college-aged daughter (a terrific Billie Lourd) she pawned off on her sister years ago to raise. Dave Bautista is the show manager who clearly has feelings for Shelly, but she is too self-absorbed to see it.
Anderson’s heartfelt performance is an emotional gut punch, in particular because of how the Baywatch star herself was cast aside by the entertainment industry in recent years. Jamie Lee Curtis is terrific as the overly tanned, former showgirl/now gambling addicted cocktail waitress Annette, with Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song as two younger showgirls. Director Gia Coppola smartly allows the simple story to breathe, as we are awash in Shelly’s sadness and hopelessness as she wonders if her career that she had valued so much was really worth it.
REEL FACTS
• Pamela Anderson quickly accepted the part after her son Brandon Thomas Lee came upon the screenplay and shared it with her, with Anderson later learning her now former agent had previously rejected it without ever showing it to her.
• The Last Showgirl is Pamela Anderson’s first starring role in nearly a decade, following the 2015 short film Connected.
• Jamie Lee Curtis says she asked to be in the film after learning Pamela Anderson was going to star.
Video & Photo
