The Last Show Girl - A Review

The Last Showgirl (Currently in release at Cineplex Forum (VOA), Cinema Du Parc (VOA with STF) 

Dir Gia Coppola 

Staring: Pamala Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd 

Runtime: 88 Mins

    What is the legacy you leave as an entertainer, both as an artist and a cultural icon? This is the primary question in Gia Coppola’s new film The Last Showgirl, starring Pamala Anderson as Shelly, a showgirl who has performed for 3 decades in a classic French style revue at a Las Vegas Casino on the strip, Le Razzel Dazzel. Now at 57, Shelly faces an uncertain future after finding out that the show is scheduled to close with a penultimate performance later on in the week. The film looks into the industry's generation gap, and what it means to be a showgirl.

    Shelly, as part of the old guard of Le Razzel Dazzel, is seen as a mother figure to the new generation May Ann (Brenda Song) and Jodie ( Kiernan Shipka ) and, at times reluctantly, gives them advice while reflecting on the decades past of Le Razzel Dazzel. In the same boat as Shelly is her friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), who once was part of the revue, but now is a cocktail waitress on the casino floor, who is seeing her shifts cut and the younger generation working more hours. The scene that highlights this the most is a dinner amongst friends where Jodie, who is 19, keeps talking about retirement as something she is looking forward to, while Shelly and Annette have no prospects of retirement. The generational gap of the industry as a whole doesn't hit Shelly until the end of the film when she auditions for a casting call where the director (Jason Schwartzman) bluntly tells Shelly she is not a dancer and was hired more for her youth and looks, humiliating Shelly in the process. Another person with an unclear future in the aging industry is the show’s producer Eddie (Dave Bautista). 

    Le Razzel Dazzel in Shelly’s eyes is seen as an integral part of the cultural and artistic landscape of the Las Vegas scene, and she sees herself as an artist first and secondly an entertainer. Even when she had the opportunity to audition for a role with the New York Rockettes, there was something special about the Las Vegas scene and being part of Le Razzel Dazzel.  The form of entertainment is called into question for being explicit, especially by her estranged daughter Hannah ( Billie Lourd ), who Shelly tries to reconnect with, eventually leading Hannah to go to see some of the final performances at Le Razzel Dazzel. Hannah feels that she was always sidelined to Shelly’s career in Le Razzel Dazzel, often ending up waiting outside. As for the future in the entertainment dance industry, it is more driven as an industry that wants to be provocative rather than artistic integrity. We see this highlighted as Shelly is flabbergasted and somewhat appalled by the routine that Jodie performed at an audition, she would never do that type of a routine.  

    Music is an integral part of the film. A great use of a needle drop moment comes in with Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of The Heart, seeing Annette have her moment and dance to the song in a spotlight. In the closing scene of the final performance, an original song from Miley Cyrus, Beautiful That Way, puts a perfect endnote to Shelly’s final performance with Le Razzle Dazzle. My only critique of the film is that the film's short run time does not let certain scenes breathe, or allow Pamala Anderson’s character a chance to breathe in between scene transitions. Highlights of the film for me alongside the music score composed by Andrew Wyatt, would be the supporting performance of Jamie Lee Curtis as Annette and Dave Bautista as Eddie.  

Photo courtesy of Metropolefilms