Beautiful That Way

''The Last Showgirl'' is a 2024 American drama film directed by Gia Coppola and written by Kate Gersten. It stars Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, and Kiernan Shipka. Its plot focuses on a middle-aged Las Vegas showgirl who is faced with an uncertain future after learning that the revue she has performed in for three decades is scheduled to close. The screenplay was adapted by Gersten from her own play, ''Body of Work'', which she based on her visits to the ''Jubilee!'' show shortly before its closure in 2016.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024, and began a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 13, before expanding on January 10, 2025. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with Anderson garnering critical praise. Anderson received nominations for Best Actress at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards and the 31st SAG Awards while Curtis received nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the latter as well as at the 78th BAFTA Awards.

Plot

Shelly Gardner is a 57-year-old showgirl who has performed for three decades in Le Razzle Dazzle, a classic French-style revue at a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Her co-stars in the show now include several younger women, including Mary-Anne and Jodie, who view Shelly as a mother figure. Shelly's older friend, Annette, maintains a close kinship with Shelly, despite having been ousted from the show years prior, and now works as a cocktail waitress.

Eddie, the producer of the show, breaks the news that Le Razzle Dazzle is due to close in two weeks due to declining ticket sales, and is to be replaced by the more contemporary, neo-burlesque circus show that had already taken over their most popular nights. Shelly is crestfallen by the news, and views the replacement show as obscene and garish. Mary-Anne and Jodie begin auditioning for roles in other shows on the Las Vegas Strip, despite Shelly's objections that they are low-class and too risqué. With no means for retirement and few resources, Shelly worries for her livelihood.

Shelly reaches out to Hannah, her semi-estranged daughter. Hannah lived with family friends for much of her adolescence and is now a college student in Arizona. Hannah briefly visits Shelly at her home, but their reunion is marred by Hannah's emotional distance and Shelly's lack of realism. Shelly shows lack of knowledge of her daughter, forgetting her daughter's age and asking her if she has declared a major months before her graduation. Hannah declines dinner with Shelly that night but returns the following night and they enjoy each other's company.

Hannah later attends a Le Razzle Dazzle performance. Afterward, she confronts Shelly in the dressing room, offended that her mother prioritized her career over raising her. Shelly storms out and Hannah briefly meets Eddie before leaving. Jodie comes by Shelly's place distraught because her own mother will not talk to her, but Shelly is unsympathetic and rebuffs her. At the next show, Jodie refuses to help Shelly get ready, leading her to rip part of her costume and ultimately miss her cue, breaking down on the floor backstage. Shelly invites Eddie to dinner, where she discusses her future and feelings of alienation as an aging woman, frustrated that Eddie can continue working for the casino as a producer of the new show. Through their conversation, it is revealed that Eddie is Hannah's father, a fact which neither has ever disclosed to Hannah. Eddie implies his disappointment about Hannah's upbringing, while Shelly condemns Eddie for his failure to be present in Hannah's life.

Annette and the other older cocktail waitress have their shifts cut early in favor of younger new hires. Annette later tells Shelly that she has gambled away all her money and needs a place to live, as she has been living out of her car for several weeks. She asks Shelly to let her live with her, and promises it will be only temporary.

Shelly auditions at a casting call also attended by Mary-Anne. The audition goes poorly, as Shelly is clearly nervous and unfamiliar with modern auditioning. The director interrupts Shelly's routine early and plainly tells her she is not a talented dancer, and only made up for it with youth and looks when she was hired decades earlier at Le Razzle Dazzle. Shelly is shattered and humiliated, and Mary-Anne misses her own audition slot to console her and get her to leave the stage. Before driving off, Shelly verbally attacks Mary-Anne in her grief over giving up her life for this unforgiving industry, telling her she is not their mother and she does not love them.

Shelly leaves Hannah an apologetic voicemail and reconciles with Jodie and Mary-Anne. At the final performance of Le Razzle Dazzle, Shelly tells Eddie that she is considering moving to Arizona so she can be present for Hannah's graduation, but also considers working as a cocktail waitress like Annette. Shelly envisions Hannah smiling at her backstage and watching excitedly in the audience with Eddie.

Cast

* Pamela Anderson as Shelly Gardner, a successful seasoned showgirl
* Kiernan Shipka as Jodie, a showgirl
* Brenda Song as Mary-Anne, a showgirl
* Billie Lourd as Hannah Gardner, Shelly and Eddie's daughter
* Jason Schwartzman as the casting director
* Dave Bautista as Eddie, producer of the revue and Hannah's secret father
* Jamie Lee Curtis as Annette, Shelly's best friend, a cocktail waitress and former showgirl

Production

Development

Kate Gersten adapted the screenplay from her own unproduced play ''Body of Work'' (developed at Roundabout Theatre), which she had been inspired to write in conjunction with her visits to the ''Jubilee!'' show before it closed in 2016. Coppola said that the play's structure allowed them to keep the story contained and create an intimate movie. She began collaborating with producer and cousin Robert Schwartzman in 2021, opting for a modest budget and short shoot to keep creative control: "By staying intimate, I get to keep my creative autonomy. When I came across Kate's play, it lends itself structurally to doing a movie in that way. There are not a lot of locations and a small cast, so you can be insulated."

Casting

The casting of Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd was announced in February 2024 as filming had wrapped. Coppola wanted to cast Anderson as Shelly after watching her 2023 documentary '' Pamela, a Love Story''. She sent the script to Anderson's then-agent who turned it down within the hour without letting Anderson know about it. Coppola then reached out to Anderson's son Brandon through mutual friends, passing it along to his mother, who had largely given up on acting. Anderson said: "I've been handed a lot of scripts in my life, but never a challenge like this. You don't see parts like this when you're working in your bathing suit. I was so drawn to the character, I heard her voice in my head and pictured everything. I thought, 'Oh! This is that thing people talk about when they read material and know they have to do it.'" Anderson likened the film's style and her emotional trust with Coppola to the works of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands. Curtis agreed to star in the film when director Coppola told her Anderson was playing the lead character. Similarly to Anderson and Curtis, Coppola instantly thought of Bautista for his part after recalling a conversation between the two from years prior about his desire for dramatic roles.

Filming

Principal photography took place on location in Las Vegas over the course of 18 days on a budget of under $2 million. Coppola was inspired by nonfiction views of Vegas, from documentaries to the work of the late journalist and art critic Dave Hickey, stating: "I didn't look to movies for inspiration on this project; I was looking to photography. I knew this world because of that." Coppola reunited with cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who shot her 2013 directorial feature film debut ''Palo Alto'' as well as 2020's ''Mainstream''. Arkapaw shot ''The Last Showgirl'' on 16mm film to capture a raw, grainy quality, using a handheld camera and custom anamorphic lenses. The scenes with Curtis were shot first as she only had four days available to film in January 2024.

The showgirl costumes worn by the cast in the film were archival pieces designed by Peter Menefee and Bob Mackie, some of which were used in the actual ''Jubilee!'' revue.

Music

The film's score was written by Andrew Wyatt; the film also featured an original song "Beautiful That Way" in the end credits, performed by Miley Cyrus and written by Cyrus, Wyatt, Lykke Li. It was released as a single on December 9, 2024, and was included in the accompanying soundtrack album which released digitally on December 20, 2024, through Milan Records.

Release

In May 2024, unveiling the first look for the film, Goodfellas and Utopia, the latter of which was co-founded by Coppola's cousin once removed Robert Schwartzman, announced that they would be teaming up to handle international sales on the film, which had already generated much interest among distributors, at the Marché du Film.

''The Last Showgirl'' had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024. It also made it to the main competition slate of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival. On September 27, Roadside Attractions acquired North American distribution rights to the film. A few days later, it was announced that Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions had acquired all remaining international distribution rights to the film, including Latin America, France, Scandinavia, Greece, Portugal, Turkey, Israel, Eastern Europe excluding Poland, Asia, and Africa. The film was released in one theater in Los Angeles for one week beginning December 13, 2024, in order to qualify for the 97th Academy Awards, before receiving a wide release on January 10, 2025. The film's premiere scheduled for January 9 at the Chinese Theatre was canceled due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

The film was released on video on demand on February 18, 2025. It began streaming on Hulu on May 23, 2025.

Reception

Box office

During its one-week run in Los Angeles in December 2024, the film earned $77,589 screening at one theater. It was the fifth best per-screen opening of the year and marked Roadside's second-highest opening per-screen average in its 20-year history. Upon its expanded theatrical release on January 10, 2025, it grossed $620,700 on its first day from 870 theaters, and went on to finish in tenth place at the box office with $1.5 million. The film's weekend was touted as a success by the industry, and was noted as outperforming '' Better Man'', another expanding film that made just $1.1 million from 1,291 theaters.
The film has grossed a worldwide total of $7 million.

Critical response

Writing for KTLA News in Los Angeles, critic Russell Falcon positively compared the film's themes to those of Coralie Fargeat's ''The Substance'', opining that both films observe the prices women pay for their beauty and career. ''Time's'' Stephanie Zacharek named Anderson's performance as one of the 10 best of 2024, writing that her "take-me-as-I-am face intensifies both the vulnerability and the defiance she brings to the role."

Writing out of the film's world premiere RogerEbert.com's Marya E. Gates praised Anderson for her nuanced performance, writing, "As Shelly, Anderson is a revelation, bringing the same balance of buoyancy and pathos that Judy Holliday brought to each of her roles." Sheila O'Malley also compared Anderson to Judy Holliday, further writing, "And so 'comeback' isn't the right word at all for Anderson's performance, one of the best of the year. Her performance is an inadvertent indictment of an industry who pumped her up while simultaneously de-valuing her, barely considering her an 'actress' at all. Nobody could play Shelly the way Anderson plays it." Citing Pamela Anderson's turn as Shelly as one of the ten best performances of the year, ''The Boston Globe's'' Odie Henderson writes, "Anderson gives the kind of lived-in performance that proves the actor knew her character inside and out."

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Showgirl
2024 films
2024 drama films
2024 independent films
2020s American films
2020s dance films
2020s English-language films
American dance films
American drama films
American independent films
Constantin Film films
English-language drama films
English-language independent films
Films about alcoholism
Films about mother–daughter relationships
Films directed by Gia Coppola
Films set in casinos
Films set in the Las Vegas Valley
Films shot in 16 mm film
Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley
Madman Entertainment
Roadside Attractions films
Slice of life films
Stage 6 Films films
Utopia (company) films