When you’re onstage every night, clad in a rhinestone costume complete with an extravagant feather boa and headpiece, you feel like you’re on top of the world.
But when reality hits that your stardom is fading away, you can’t help but wonder who’s more blindsided: you or the audience?
Directed by Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl is an authentically honest drama that takes its audience into the glitzy world of show business and the struggles behind the curtain.
Based on Kate Gersten’s stage play Body of Work, the film includes a well-rounded cast featuring Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd and Dave Bautista. The film first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024 and received critical acclaim for Anderson’s performance, including a Golden Globe nomination.
Set on the Las Vegas Strip, aging showgirl Shelley Gardner, portrayed by Anderson, is distraught when she and her fellow dancers learn their casino revue, Le Razzle Dazzle, is set to close and be replaced by a newer act.
Shelley struggles to come to terms with the fact that Le Razzle Dazzle is becoming old-fashioned and that she must adapt with the changing times. As her younger co-stars begin auditioning for other acts, Shelley worries for her future as a performer and attempts to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Hannah played by Lourd.
Anderson shines on-screen as the sweet and perky Shelley, who always embraces the spotlight and looks back on her 1980s showgirl glory days. As one of the most devoted dancers in her closing revue, she perseveres knowing that as an artist, she must continue doing what she loves even if the stage she calls home will soon be out of reach.
Alongside Shelley is her wise-cracking friend and former showgirl Annette, portrayed with convincing passion by Curtis. The two share great comedic yet tender chemistry as they bond over the struggles they face as aging performers.
Both share a special mother-daughter connection with two younger showgirls, Mary-Anne and Jodie, played by Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka. Shelley and Annette’s relationship with the two younger girls is one of mentorship as they tell them how the industry used to be, while also acting as a pillar of support and a shoulder to cry on.
But when Shelley’s resentment towards the younger performers grows as they start auditioning for newer acts, her once empathetic and motherly nature begins to fade.
Anderson conveys this transition beautifully, becoming more resentful and bitter when she realizes the other younger dancers are moving on to other potential careers in show business while she isn’t. Particularly in one powerful scene when Shelley is turned down during an audition after being told she isn’t good enough, she breaks down in the dressing room upset and angry.
As Shelley’s daughter Hannah, Lourd delivers a more soft-spoken and grounded performance in contrast to Anderson’s animated personality. While they exchange some awkward dialogue at the beginning as Hannah resents her mother for staying in Vegas to pursue her showgirl career, their relationship slowly begins to mend as Shelley encourages Hannah to continue pursuing her passion for photography.
While the story itself is a poignant tale of a fading star, there are a few plotline cracks that aren’t entirely addressed. For instance, the result of Hannah and Shelley’s mended relationship is left ambiguous, leaving audiences to wonder whether Hannah truly forgave Shelly for leaving her behind.
Additionally, there isn’t a fully developed backstory as to why Shelley wanted to become a showgirl in the first place.
One element that shines in The Last Showgirl is the music. “Beautiful That Way,” performed by Miley Cyrus and nominated for best original song at the Golden Globes, is a hauntingly alluring tune mirroring Shelley’s experience as a woman in entertainment: the need to persevere, even when your time in the limelight is over.
The film’s overall message on ageism within the entertainment industry is clear. But what also makes it stand out is its focus on the complex livelihoods of entertainment workers who make Las Vegas as lavish as it appears.
Even when Shelley sadly acknowledges that she must pass the baton to a new generation of entertainers, she maintains a smile onstage, caked in sparkly makeup and bejeweled from head to toe.
As Anderson makes a triumphant comeback to the big screen, audiences will know that she made Shelley’s character her own.
Featured image by IMDb.
