Pamela Anderson in “The Last Showgirl.”
Pamela Anderson’s drama The Last Showgirl is new in theaters. Are critics in sync with Anderson’s award-nominated performance?
Directed by Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl opens Friday in theaters nationwide. The official logline for the film reads, “A seasoned showgirl must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run.”
Anderson stars as Shelly, a veteran Las Vegas showgirl who is devastated to learn from her show’s producer, Steve (Dave Bautista), that her show is coming to an abrupt close three decades after it opened.
Jamie Lee Curtis also stars as Annette, Shelly’s best friend and former dance colleague who is stuck in a dead-end job. The film also features Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song as a pair of Shelly’s fellow showgirls and Billie Lourd as Shelly’s estranged adult daughter.
The Last Showgirl is directed by Gia Coppola, the granddaughter of legendary writer-director Francis Ford Coppola.
The Last Showgirl earned Anderson an Outstanding Female Actor in Leading Role in a Motion Picture nomination from the Screen Actors Guild Awards Wednesday, as well as an Outstanding Female in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture nomination for Curtis.
Anderson was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.
To date, Rotten Tomatoes critics have given The Last Showgirl an 80% “fresh” rating based on 122 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, “A wistful showcase for Pamela Anderson in a refreshingly dramatic role, The Last Showgirl pays homage to the working class of Las Vegas with a superb collection of performances.”
The Last Showgirl also earned a 73% “fresh” rating on RT’s Popcornmeter, based on 100-plus verified user ratings.
How Are Individual Critics Responding To ‘The Last Showgirl’?
Peter Travers of ABC News is among the top critics on RT who give The Last Showgirl a “fresh” rating, even if he finds faults in the film. Travers writes, “Gia Coppola’s film has barely a sketch of a plot, but soars on the quietly devastating performance of former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson as an aging Vegas showgirl who learns her hopelessly outdated dance revue has been given the hook after 30 years.”
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also gives The Last Showgirl a semi-complimentary “fresh” review of The Last Showgirl on RT, writing, “If the breathy Marilyn voice and constant, nervous verbal diarrhea wear thin at times, Anderson’s transformative performance is undeniably affecting.”
While Odie Henderson is also complimentary of Anderson in his review of the film for the Boston Globe, he ultimately gives The Last Showgirl a “rotten” rating on RT. Henderson writes, “The verdict is still out on whether this film will rejuvenate Anderson’s career, but I can pass judgment on her performance — it’s very, very good. It’s so good, in fact, that I’m angry she’s saddled with such a bad screenplay.”
Variety’s Peter Debruge also gives the film a “rotten” review on RT, writing, “The Last Showgirl intends to reclaim the nobility of these women, to remind that they’re real people, with dreams and disappointments of their own. But a little more dimension would have gone a long way.”
Rated R, The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis, opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.
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