THE LAST SHOWGIRL
Pamela Anderson is a sublime, sequin-adorned presence in Gia Coppola's (PALO ALTO) heartfelt portrait of a Las Vegas showgirl facing the end of her 30-plus-year career. In her 50s and as passionate as ever about her craft, Shelly (Anderson) lives a hardscrabble life among her chosen family of fellow performers — a loving motley crew who all respect the grind of making a living as part of the Strip’s last remaining traditional floor show, “The Razzle Dazzle.” When the show's stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) unexpectedly announces its imminent closure — to be replaced by a “dirty circus” — Shelly and her fellow dancers must make some tough decisions about their futures. But for Shelly, “The Razzle Dazzle” has become inseparable from her very identity. Struggling to process the news, she attempts to reconnect with her semi-estranged daughter (Billie Lourd) and seeks the advice of former showgirl Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), a gambling-addicted cocktail waitress with her own losses to process. With Anderson at its emotional center, THE LAST SHOWGIRL features a phenomenal supporting cast including Bautista, Curtis and Lourd, as well as Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka. Coppola sensitively, even humorously, explores the impossible expectations placed on women in the entertainment industry — as true for a longtime Vegas showgirl as they are for the phenomenal veteran Hollywood actress who plays her. DIR/PROD Gia Coppola; SCR Kate Gersten; PROD Natalie Farrey, Robert Schwartzman. U.S., 2024, color, 88 min. RATED R