Movie: The Last Showgirl (2024) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

The Last Showgirl

Came out; 2024

Time; 1 hours 28 Minutes

Watched: Hulu

Rated: R for language and nudity

IMDB Rating; 6.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 83%

Popcorn Meter 72%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Pamela Anderson as Shelly

Brenda Song as Mary-Anne

Kiernan Shipka as Jodie

Dave Bautista as Eddie

Jamie Lee Curtis as Annette

Billie Lourd as Hannah

Story Line;

When the glittering Las Vegas revue she has headlined for decades announces it will soon close, glamorous showgirl Shelly sets out to plan her next act. Reconciling the decisions she's made and the community she has built, Shelly decides to repair her complicated relationship with her daughter.

Thoughts:

This was a great movie! Pamela Anderson & Jamie Lee Curtis play the “old lady stuck in a job” to a perfect T

The younger cast was also perfect!

This shows the dynamic of behind the scenes of all the glitz and glimmer of Vegas!

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Shelly Gardner is a 57-year-old showgirl who has performed for three decades in Le Razzle Dazzle, a classic French-style revue on the Las Vegas Strip. Her co-stars include several younger women like Mary-Anne and Jodie, who view Shelly as a mother figure. Shelly's older friend, Annette, maintains a close relationship with her, 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, to be replaced by a 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 future and livelihood.

Shelly reaches out to her semi-estranged daughter Hannah, who has lived with family friends for much of her adolescence and is now a college student in Arizona. Hannah visits Shelly at her home, but their reunion is marred by Hannah's emotional distance and Shelly's lack of knowledge about her daughter, forgetting Hannah's age and asking 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 secretly attends a Le Razzle Dazzle performance, and afterwards 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, still reeling from the confrontation with Hannah, coldly rebuffs her. At the next show, Jodie refuses to help Shelly get ready, leading her to rip part of her costume as she rushes to the stage 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 while she will be left with nothing after thirty years at Le Razzle Dazzle. Through their conversation, it is revealed that Eddie is Hannah's father, a fact which neither of them has ever disclosed to Hannah. Eddie implies his disappointment about Shelly's upbringing of Hannah, while Shelly condemns Eddie for his failure to be present in Hannah's life.

Annette has her shifts cut early in favor of younger new hires. Annette later tells Shelly that she has gambled away all her money and has been living in 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 good 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 berates 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, reconciles with Jodie and Mary-Anne and tells Eddie she is considering moving to Arizona so she can be present for Hannah's graduation, but also considering working as a cocktail waitress like Annette. At the final performance of Le Razzle Dazzle, Shelly envisions Hannah smiling at her backstage, and watching in the audience with Eddie.