Pamela Anderson is considered an icon of television from her days on Bay Watch back in the 90s. She married a rock star Tommy Lee of Motley Crue and had a famous sex tape that made the rounds in Hollywood and the news at the time World Wide Web. She had everything a girl could have possibly wanted. When her career slowed down she had the time to get away from the business that made her a mega star. She’s back though in The Last Showgirl, the first role she had in about twenty years. A role that is garnering her some awards buzz.

Shelley (Pamela Anderson) is a middle-aged woman who works as a burlesque performer for a show in Las Vegas. She enjoys what she does and the girls she works with on a nightly basis. She has an estranged relationship with her daughter and she may be interested in starting one with a line producer of the show she’s on Eddie (Dave Bautista. She gets some advice about her life and work from a retired dancer/cocktail waitress and friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis). When bad news comes her way she has to re-evaluate her life and figure out what to do.

Coppola, the niece of Sofia Coppola and granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, has directing in her veins. She has made a film of quality. It’s about a woman dealing with age and family issues as well as a potential romantic relationship. These are relatable issues for a lot of women in this day and age. Women have a lot to deal with in the world. In a world of looks, body shaming, and age discrimination, it’s hard for women to succeed. This story hits home I’m sure for a lot of women.

There are some story beats in this movie that remind me of another film that’s similar in a way. The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke was about an aging wrestler who wanted to have one last day in the ring before he called it quits or his body gave out on him. The story in this film is easily similar. An aging Showgirl wants one more chance at doing what she loves before she has to call it quits. They both have family and relationship issues. It’s uncanny how similar these two films are when you think about it. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose, but these two films are like two sides of the same coin in a way. A man’s side and a woman’s. Which aren’t different in the end.

Besides Anderson, the cast in this movie is pretty good. Lee Curtis gives a good performance as the older ex-dancer who has problems of her own and needs help from her friend. Bautista is in a tough place; he wants to be open and friendly with Anderson’s character, but she is resentful towards him. Shipka is a new young inexperienced dancer who hasn’t had the chance at failure like others have had. She’s innocent but still needs advice about her life. All of these characters live in the same world, but they have their own set of problems. They can commiserate with each other in a way.  

A subplot in the film deals with an estranged relationship between Anderson’s character and her daughter in the movie Hannah (Billie Lourd) This is hard to watch at times because I went through a similar issue with my father. He wasn’t always there for me and my brothers and sister. He put his life away from home first instead of his family. Both the Anderson and Bautista characters had this problem. This is just one of the things about this film that made it relatable to me and why it hit home so much.

The Last Showgirl was hard to watch for me. Not because I’m an aging woman with family and relationship problems, but because it reminded me of my life to some extent.  Life is hard. Especially when you had a father who wasn’t always there. I am truly only good at one thing and that’s what I’ve done my entire life. I had to force myself to do the thing I truly loved. It’s a difficult thing to do what you love and not what you’re good at. The main character played by Anderson is stuck in the middle of this world. She doesn’t know if she’s going up or down. It’s hard on her. The cast is good and supports her in this film. Coppola captures the feeling of being alone in a way. She shows it’s hard on an aging woman with not a lot of options. This was a good film that reminded me of The Wrestler from 2007. It’s most about aging and being alone which I can relate to in a lot of ways.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen