The Last Showgirl | TIFF 2024 | Review by: Amanda Guarragi
Some born performers face hardships to get on a stage they’ve dreamed of. It’s not easy to be full of passion and stuck in a standstill trying to make ends meet. For some performers, a position on the Vegas strip dancing is comfortable, and for others, mostly younger girls, it may be a step in a grander pathway for what they’ve envisioned. The more modernized the Vegas Strip, the more dated certain performances become.
In Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, a group of women come to terms with the changing landscape of the Vegas Strip. When the stage manager, Eddie (Dave Bautista), announces the show will close permanently in two weeks, the ladies turn to other avenues while bitterly accepting their time together, sharing the stage will come to an end.
The star of the flashy-sequined show is Shelley (Pamela Anderson). She has been the centrepiece of the last three decades. Director Gia Coppola captures the behind-the-scenes moments of the oldest Showgirl holding her own amidst a younger cast of performers. Anderson’s persona as Shelley is vastly different than the others. She has this confidence and is poised in her every movement. Anderson has always valued her femininity and expresses that through her character, Shelley.
Coppola worked with a small cast of Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd, Brenda Song, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Shelley had become the “mother” of Showgirls, with Jodie (Shipka) and Marianne (Song) working alongside her. There’s a sweet “found family” aspect that Coppola naturally assembles with this tight-knit group, considering this was shot in under twenty days. You could feel their closeness and commitment to sharing this story. There are three generations of women who undergo a massive change in their lives only to feel completely lost with their next decision.
Similarly to Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance in exploring beauty standards, Coppola shows that a performer is a performer no matter what age. Shelley genuinely loved dancing and dazzling the audience every night. Once she sees the new choreography and the way women’s bodies are objectified through a modernized stage performance, she’s confused. She always felt sexy in her sequins and pasties on stage without baring all or dancing provocatively. Shelley believed that trained choreography can still be sexy because you’re selling the fantasy of an untouchable Showgirl.
Coppola captures the reality of working a job and the act of performing. The blood, sweat and tears that go into making a show run. Anderson gives one of her most vulnerable and emotional performances as she controls each scene. Her soft voice and sweetness come through in every piece of dialogue. You feel as if her heart is poured into the role of Shelley, which is also shared with the rest of the cast.
The all-female cast worked well together to highlight women at different stages of their lives and who they aspired to become. Even Shelley’s best friend, Annette (Curtis), started to reflect on her life and the current state of working as a casino floor waitress. Shelley and Annette could have been in different positions, but it’s the safety and comfort of doing what they love. Jodie and Marianne have a bright future, and they want to give them the proper advice to guide them. Screenwriter Kate Gersten weaved three generations of women who share experiences of disappointment. The Last Showgirl is a candid look at performers who don’t make it to the largest stage but settle for a familiar feeling of euphoria when performing.
3.5/5
Review by: Amanda Guarragio
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