Movie Review of The Last Showgirl with Pamela Anderson, Lights and Shadows of a Former Dancer

The Last Showgirl is an American film from 2024 directed by Gia Coppola, granddaughter of the famous director Francis Ford Coppola.

Starring Pamela Anderson, the film offers an intense and surprisingly dramatic portrayal of the actress, very different from the role that made her famous in Baywatch. With a raw and realistic narrative, the film explores the difficulties and uncertainties that permeate the world of show business in Las Vegas, revealing the most ruthless and unstable side of an often idealized industry. 

Plot of The Last Showgirl with Pamela Anderson 

Shelly Gardner, masterfully portrayed by Pamela Anderson, is a middle-aged dancer and showgirl whose life is turned upside down when the historic Las Vegas revue show, in which she has performed for thirty years, is canceled. Only two weeks of programming remain, and disbelief and apprehension for the future spread among the dancers and the show's crew. 

As often happens in the gambling city, Shelly finds herself losing everything for betting on the wrong numbers. For Shelly, for whom this show is life itself, has always put her career before her family, convinced that beauty and youth were eternal and that she had all the time to mend family relationships. For this reason, her relationship with her daughter Hannah, who grew up away from her due to work, has always remained unresolved, conflictual, and full of unresolved tensions. 

Moreover, while her young colleagues seek new opportunities, Shelly clings to the past, terrified of aging and no longer being able to support herself like her friend Annette. Annette, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, after leaving her role as a dancer years ago, also lost her waitressing job that she had fallen back on, replaced by younger staff, and has since lived on the fringes of society, forced into loneliness and poverty, sleeping in her car. 

Trying not to give up, Shelly timidly attempts to react by participating in new auditions, but it's during one of these that she receives one of the greatest humiliations of her life. She is told that she never had talent and that she got her role in the show she's about to leave solely because of her physical appearance and the beauty of her youth. It's the greatest humiliation, the one that pushes her to block completely and plunge into loneliness and despair.

On the eve of her last performance, however, something changes. For the first time, she finds the courage to reach out to Hannah, her daughter, and to her colleagues, finally accepting to turn the page. The future remains uncertain, but Shelly is ready to look ahead for the first time, free, beyond the faded reflection of the woman she once was and will no longer be.

Main Cast of The Last Showgirl with Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson plays the role of Shelly Gardner, an experienced and successful showgirl. Pamela Anderson, a Canadian-born, naturalized American model and actress, after her debut as a Playmate on the covers of the famous Playboy magazine, successfully embarked on a film career that saw her worldwide consecration in the famous series Baywatch, in which she starred for several seasons until 1997. 

Jamie Lee Curtis plays the role of Annette, a waitress and former showgirl, Shelly's best friend. The world-renowned actress has had a career rich in successes, culminating in 2023 with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The actress won the coveted award for her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2022. 

Dave Bautista plays Eddie, the revue's producer. Bautista is a world-famous American actor and former wrestler, having won the World Heavyweight Championship title many times. His career is also studded with many film successes as an action movie star since leaving WWE, the American Wrestling Federation, in 2010.

Distribution and Critical Reception

The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and was then distributed in a limited number of theaters in the United States, awaiting the official premiere scheduled in Los Angeles, which was canceled due to the fires that have devastated the city in recent months.

The film will also be available in Italian theaters starting April 3rd of this year. Critical reviews are generally positive, with particular appreciation for Pamela Anderson's performance, which has stunned audiences with this touching and dramatic performance. Her performance has been particularly praised, with many critics comparing her to classic great actresses like Judy Holliday, who won an Oscar for Best Actress in 1951. 

The film has indeed received two Golden Globe Awards nominations for Best Actress in a Drama Film and for Best Original Song with "Beautiful That Way" performed by Miley Cyrus. Jamie Lee Curtis has also received a British Academy Film Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

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