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From the Beach to the Strip: A TIFF Review of ‘The Last Showgirl’
September 11, 2024Ben MK
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Best known to television audiences around the world as C.J. Parker on Baywatch, Pamela Anderson is one of the most recognizable actresses of the '90s. Like most on-screen sex symbols, however, Anderson was often typecast into playing a certain kind of part — a situation that many actresses before her, and countless other actresses since, have also found themselves forced to navigate. Whether it's her starring role in the critically-panned Barb Wire or her short-lived TV show, Stripperella, the now-57-year-old has acted in more than her fair share of questionable productions. With director Gia Coppola's The Last Showgirl, however, Anderson has finally landed a role that she can sink her teeth into, in this story of a Las Vegas showgirl suddenly faced with trying to figure out her uncertain future. Shelley (Anderson) has been a showgirl at Le Razzle Dazzle for the past three decades. However, when the show's soft-spoken backstage coordinator, Eddie (Dave Bautista), drops the unexpected news that Le Razzle Dazzle will be shuttering its doors in a matter of days, it sends shockwaves through the ranks of its cast. The very last such show of its kind left on the Las Vegas Strip, Le Razzle Dazzle has been a shining fixture on the city's entertainment scene for so long that Shelley never even imagined working anywhere else. But while younger cast members like Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) and Marianne (Brenda Song) have the option to audition for other performances on the Strip, for Shelley, her options are significantly more limited. With several decades more experience under her sequined belt than her co-stars, Shelley soon discovers that she may very well have aged out of the industry altogether. And although Jodie and Marianne can sympathize, the only other person in Shelley's universe who can truly relate to her situation is Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), a casino waitress who has been serving drinks to inebriated gamblers for just as long as Shelley has been flaunting her assets on stage for complete strangers. Throw in an estranged 22-year-old daughter (Billie Lourd), who has been trying to comprehend Shelley's reasons for ditching her as a child, and you have the makings of a dramatically resonant tale about age, beauty and gender double standards. At its core, however, The Last Showgirl is more than just a commentary on societal stereotypes as seen through the lens of performers on the Las Vegas Strip. Vaguely biographical in the sense that Anderson's character's struggles in many ways parallel her real-life battles, it's a film that not only shines the spotlight on its subject matter, but also on the life and career of its leading lady as well. |
The Last Showgirl screens under the Special Presentations programme at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Its runtime is 1 hr. 25 min.
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