Anderson triumphs in sobering tale of an aging showgirl
Demi Moore just picked up her first Golden Globe in a 45+ year career for her ferocious performance as an aging, cast-aside starlet in The Substance. That Moore, a 62-year-old former 1980s it girl herself, so deftly inhabits that character speaks to the power of an art-mirroring-life role. Now Pamela Anderson, the 57-year-old former 1990s it girl of Baywatch fame, follows in Moore’s footsteps, turning in an exceptional, unforgettable performance as an aging showgirl in the far less bloody but no less affecting The Last Showgirl.
Those who have followed Anderson’s career from her days as a Playboy centerfold and Baywatch pinup through her tumultuous relationship with rocker Tommy Lee know that she longed to be taken seriously as an actress, but became pigeonholed as a lightweight pretty face, thanks both to her swimsuit-clad TV role and an unfortunate sex tape scandal. Now, just as Moore successfully showed she could rise above her Brat Pack infamy, Anderson proves her detractors wrong, exhibiting dramatic acting chops that aren’t merely adequate, but stellar.
As Shelly, the 57-year-old senior member of a long-running, sparsely attended, and soon-to-be cancelled old fashioned Las Vegas revue called the Razzle Dazzle, Anderson eschews vanity and captures the despair and angst of a woman whose self esteem has been tied to her on-stage persona for nearly 30 years. Director Gia Coppola (Palo Alto) and TV writer Kate Gersten, who originally conceived of her script as a stage play, present a slice of Las Vegas life that those who visit Sin City only for a quick bachelor party or brief girls’ weekend never see or think about. Those casino waitresses and Vegas show performers have day-to-day lives in the touristy city, and Coppola and Gersten expose the reality behind the superficial glitz and glamour.
Anderson’s Shelly has loved her showgirl gig so much that she can’t fathom what she’ll do when the show closes, and she bristles at younger dancers who deride the showgirl life. We see how Shelly’s choice to pursue her dream has strained her relationships, particularly with her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), who resents Shelly’s unwavering commitment to the Razzle Dazzle. Anderson conveys Shelly’s confusion and dismay at Hannah’s resentment with heartbreaking authenticity. And a wrenching scene in which Shelly auditions for a new gig and is unkindly dismissed by a terse director (Jason Schwartzman) also underscores how much Anderson’s dramatic acting skills have been underestimated.
While Anderson’s performance is the showstopper, the film also boasts outstanding supporting work, particularly from Jamie Lee Curtis as a career cocktail waitress with a gambling addiction who similarly faces age discrimination. Dave Bautista, too, as Razzle Dazzle producer Eddie, exhibits a sensitivity that may startle those who only know him from his comedic action roles.
The Last Showgirl isn’t exactly an upper of a movie, but its depiction of the dark side of Vegas and how it treats those who have devoted their lives to it is so finely rendered, and its performances so moving, that it’s well worth your time. Plus, Miley Cyrus’s closing original song “Beautiful that Way” may just pick up its own Oscar nomination for its poignant, prescient lyrics:
The night always falls
At least you had your day
Now the light shines on
Some other girl
Who’s beautiful that way, yeah
She’s beautiful that way
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The Last Showgirl opens widely today.
