The Last Showgirl Takes on Aging and Life Changes

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The Last Showgirl Review

It’s no secret that the entertainment industry is unkind to women. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking Hollywood, performers on the stage, or the Prima Ballerina who is too old by the time she hits 30. Society seems to put a Best Buy date on women and decides when they are no longer useful, pretty, or really worthy to be desired. Just look at all of the movies and shows that have any woman over 40 playing a grandmother figure or bit parts because there’s no way she could be lead material anymore.

In the public eye, Pamela Anderson is taking on the agism she’s faced by doing shows and interviews as her authentic self and without the piles of makeup she has been known to have worn in the past. And in her new film, The Last Showgirl, she’s taking on the topic in another way.

The Last Showgirl Review

Playing a Vegas showgirl Shelly, who has performed in the same old-school show on the strip for over two decades, she finds out that the show will be closed and replaced with a more modern show. Forced to audition for new shows and to come to terms with her future, Shelly struggles to find a show she’d be comfortable doing, that would even take a woman in her 40s on as a performer. What does a woman do when an industry she’s put her life into rejects her at every turn?

The movie has a fantastic cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, and Billie Lourd. Together, the dancers and stage director make a rag-tag type family that is there for each other when they need to be but are often at odds as they all navigate the difficult changes happening around them. Some of the performances and casting choices may seem a little surprising, but when watch the film, you see that all were perfectly cast for their respective roles.

The Last Showgirl Review

The Last Showgirl is thought-provoking, even if it never goes very deep into the feelings of the dancers. Sure, there’s some issues that are brought up, but those feelings of loss, change, loneliness, and abandonment could have been delved into deeper and made the movie a better and richer experience. There’s definitely something to the film, but the issues that are brought up seem to only be addressed at the surface level and not really explored more.

Is there an over-arching message about how the entertainment industry is unfair to women of a certain age? Absolutely, and while it may not be the same for every actor or performer, it seems to be something that effects women in any industry who seem to have an unwritten expiration date by society. The cruelty and unfairness is not lost on the audience, but of course, there’s no easy solution in the film or reality for this prevalent problem.

The Last Showgirl is in theaters everywhere now.

Overall Rating

Three and a Half Stars Review

About The Last Showgirl

The Last Showgirl Review

The Last Showgirl, a poignant film of resilience, rhinestones and feathers, stars Pamela Anderson as Shelly, a glamorous showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. Directed by Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl co-stars Oscar®, SAG® Award and Golden Globe® winner Jamie Lee Curtis as Shelly’s best friend, who brings her own unique interpretation and brilliance to the story, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd. Written by Kate Gersten, the film is produced by Robert Schwartzman, Natalie Farrey and Gia Coppola and features a new original song “Beautiful That Way,” sung by pop superstar Miley Cyrus, produced by Academy Award nominee Andrew Wyatt and written by Wyatt, Cyrus and Lykke Li.

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