The Last Showgirl

The Last Showgirl
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gia Coppola
Screenplay by	Kate Gersten
Produced by	Robert Schwartzman Natalie Farrey
Starring	Pamela Anderson Jamie Lee Curtis Dave Bautista Brenda Song Kiernan Shipka Billie Lourd Jason Schwartzman
Cinematography	Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Edited by	Blair McClendon Cam McLauchlin
Music by	Andrew Wyatt
Production companies	Utopia Media High Frequency Entertainment Pinky Promise Detour Digital Ignition Entertainment
Distributed by	Roadside Attractions
Release dates	September 6, 2024 (2024-09-06) (TIFF) December 13, 2024 (2024-12-13) (United States)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$50,300[1]

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, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd, and Jason Schwartzman.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024, and was released in the United States on December 13, 2024. It received generally positive reviews from critics. It received two nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for Anderson and Best Original Song for "Beautiful That Way".

After a successful thirty-year run, a seasoned showgirl must plan her future after the show closes abruptly.^[2]

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

In February 2024, as principal photography had wrapped, it was announced that a drama film titled The Last Showgirl was being directed by Gia Coppola and written by Kate Gersten. Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd rounded out the main cast.^[3] It was shot over the course of 18 days.^[4] 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.^[5]

The script was adapted from the unproduced play Body of Work (developed at Roundabout Theatre) Gersten had been inspired to write in conjunction with her visits to the Jubilee! show before it closed.^[6][7][8]

Miley Cyrus recorded a song titled "Beautiful That Way" for the film, co-written with Andrew Wyatt and Lykke Li.^[9] It was released on December 9, 2024.^[10]

It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024.^[11][12] It also made it to the main competition slate of the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival.^[13] On September 27, Roadside Attractions acquired distribution rights to the film.^[9] 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.^[14] 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 expansion on January 10, 2025.^[15]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 81 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's consensus 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."^[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[17] 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."^[18] 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.^[19]" 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.^[20]" 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.^[21]"

• Official website
• The Last Showgirl at IMDb