'The Last Showgirl' Review

The Last Showgirl had its World Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Utopia will release it in theaters at a later date.

When people look back on Pamela Anderson's legacy, what comes to mind first? The TV show Baywatch? Her infamous marriage to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee? What about her rise to fame through Playboy Magazine? Anderson has had the spotlight on her for decades, even if the past 15 years have kept her quiet. From being a sex symbol in the 90s to her work as an activist, she’s endured a lot of hard work. Her first major film role in years in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl could be one. She gives a personal performance that audiences can tell comes straight from the heart, but the movie’s end result is a little flat. Whether it’s Coppola’s direction or the film’s odd melancholia, The Last Showgirl is a mixed bag that’ll leave audiences, for the most part, unamused. 

Don’t be fooled by this movie and its intentions because it’s not just Anderson who has her heart in the right place; everyone involved has theirs, too. Anderson plays Shelley, an aged Las Vegas showgirl who has worked with the same traditional floor show for 30+ years. She may be the oldest performer in the room, but she’s a mother figure to her much younger castmates (Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song). When stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) breaks the news that the show will close for good, she must face a new world without performing in one of the world’s biggest entertainment towns. In the film's opening scene and eventual climax, we see Shelley doing her first audition in years. She’s nervous, lying about her age and claiming that she’s not used to the audition process. This could be a slight reflection of Anderson as she hasn’t been in the public cinema eye since 2008’s Superhero Movie (or 2017’s Baywatch, if you want to count that).

Anderson herself may have a poor track record regarding her acting outside of Baywatch. One of her most famous roles outside of C.J. Parker is the titular character in the 1996 flopped action flick Barb Wire, which earned her a Razzie, and Invisible Girl from Superhero Movie. That being said, her performance in The Last Showgirl is easily a standout. While Shelley isn’t a well-rounded character, Anderson captures her struggle to adjust to the new landscape. She’s lost and the mentality she brings to the character is well-intentioned. There’s even a subplot present where Shelley tries to fix her relationship with her estranged daughter Hannah, but it’s not developed enough to be relevant to the plot. Furthermore, Anderson’s physical execution of the character wasn’t strong. It may be her high-pitched voice and offputting demeanor, but she gives a conflicting turn that’ll leave opinions right down the middle. 

Outside of Anderson, Gia Coppola has a nice supporting cast. Shipka and Song’s characters showcase different young generations looking up to Shelley. Shipka is the youngest and more optimistic about the future, looking to adapt to whatever’s coming her way (easy for her to say since she possesses the physical features to adapt). Meanwhile, Song poses as a somewhat seasoned vet who’s a little hardened but still caring. Jamie Lee Curtis and Dave Bautista play Shelley’s friends Annette, a former castmate, and Eddie. Both are reserved in their roles and offer little to the movie, but nothing to detract it from falling farther down.

Gia Coppola’s name may be enough to attract attention being part of the famous Coppola family, but she’s not as strong of one compared to her grandfather Francis and aunt Sofia. The way she tackles this movie and Kate Gersten’s script is almost reminiscent of an obscure, indulgent auteurisitic filmmaker. Compared to another TIFF alum in Lila Neugebauer’s 2022 film Causeway, Coppola makes The Last Showgirl just as meditative and somber. Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s cinematography is grainy, questioning how much integrity Coppola had in her. If The Last Showgirl visually looked stronger and not as bland, it would’ve been much stronger and left a better impression on audiences.  

How The Last Showgirl will pan out in the future will be a big question mark for Coppola as a filmmaker and for Anderson if she wants to make her way back into the public eye. Both ladies are looking to get something out of this movie, with the latter being the most well-intentioned. But the real challenge won’t be how it does on the festival circuit. Instead, it’ll be how it translates to general audiences and if it’ll be mentioned in awards season conversations. Time will tell what the future holds for Coppola and Anderson, but if both gain traction from The Last Showgirl, it’ll be a win for both. If Hollywood is willing to welcome Anderson back, she’ll be in for more than just one average movie where she gives a fitting role. One thing is for sure with Anderson, she’ll have a nice curtain call.

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