Movie Review: 'The Last Showgirl'

She is and always will be a showgirl. In her late 20s, Shelly (Pamela Anderson) moved to Las Vegas to appear in the classic French-style review La Razzle Dazzle. Three decades later, she is still in the show, but now appears in the last row of the chorus line behind the newer younger show members.

At 57, she is now more of a mother figure for the new girls than a team member. Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis) is her long-time best friend and former dancing partner. She was removed from the stage, but not the clubs or The Strip. She prances around the gaming floor serving drinks to the thirsty gamblers. The two women share lots of fond memories.

While the dancers are preparing for the next show, their producer, Eddie (Dave Bautista), announces that the show will be closing in two weeks. Declining ticket sales is the reason. The cause being that the show is too traditional for younger audiences, they want to see something fresher, more circus/burlesque.

To worsen Shelly’s situation, her paycheck has been getting smaller. This has happened because of fewer shows each week and the ongoing cost of repair to her costumes. She is still a showgirl, but soon to be one without resources.

Some of her fellow dancers are auditioning for other shows and encourage Shelly to try also. Not being familiar with modern auditioning, Shelly is nervous jittery and performs poorly. The director stops her midway to tell her she is not the talented dancer she might have been years ago at La Razzle. He asks her to leave. After a lengthy argument, Shelly, shattered and humiliated, leaves the stage.

Not making her day any better, she returns home to find her estranged daughter, Hanna (Billie Lourd), at her front door.

Hanna had been raised most of her life by neighboring families and is currently a student in Arizona. Because she is not emotionally attached to her mother, and Shelly not being familiar with her daughter (even her age), the meeting ends with hard feelings. No, Hanna doesn’t want to stay and have dinner with her mother. As she walks away, Shelly turns and enters her dark gloomy living room.

Things are no better for Annette. Her work hours are cut to allow younger new hires to replace her. Drunk on the job, she performs a lewd dance on a small stage and is soon thereafter after fired.

Her next “appearance” is at Hanna’s front door. She has been living in her car for the last few days. With no place to stay she would like to move in – assuring Shelly it will be for only a brief period. Still, worse to come.

During a farewell dinner with Eddie, Shelly tells him that he is Hanna’s father – a secret that neither he or Hanna were aware of. But that’s not the last of it, there is the final La Razzle Dazzle show to perform. Break-a-leg Shelly.

Directed by Gia Coppola (Credits: Hasley, Lucky, Mainstream), “The Last Showgirl” runs 88 minutes and is a “see” for a well acted peek into the backstage life of the Las Vegas Strip. This film premiered at the ‘24 Toronto International Film Festival.