The Last Showgirl (2024)

How much story do you need when Pamela Anderson is this good? More than The Last Showgirl has. Its one real plot point is that the show is closing, and it spends 88 minutes circling that. Anderson plays Shelly Gardner, who has spent three decades in Le Razzle Dazzle, a long-running Las Vegas revue in the old French tradition, and believes in it completely. The news that it’s closing in two weeks, to make room for something flashier, hits her like a loss in the family. Jamie Lee Curtis is a standout as Annette, a friend from the old days who now serves cocktails, and Billie Lourd plays Hannah, the daughter who feels the show always came first. Gia Coppola keeps everything small and close, sometimes too small, and Anderson is a revelation in a role that fits her like a glove. Critics gave it 83%. A 6.8 because the star outshines the script. $38.44 says you clap the hardest in the room at the next live show you see, even if it’s a school play.

What works: Pamela Anderson gives a tender, unguarded performance, and the supporting cast gives the backstage world real texture.

What doesn’t: The story is thin, and the movie circles one idea for most of its short runtime instead of building on it.

Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever outlasted the job they gave their life to, and anyone curious to see Anderson in a real dramatic role.