Last Showgirl, The (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Gia CoppolaRelease Date(s)
2024 (June 23, 2026)Studio(s)
Roadside Attractions (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B+
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl is a hard one to categorize. It’s a solid exploration of aging out of a profession built upon youthful beauty—in this case Las Vegas showgirls. It’s also a sharp character story focused on the self-same showgirls. Finally, it’s a quiet tour de force for Pamela Anderson, a pop cultural icon not necessarily known for her sterling acting ability, an attitude easily changed after viewing this film. She is key to this film working, so much so that Coppola and her filmmaking partners did everything they could to get Anderson cast in the film after her agents passed. Instead of taking the answer “no” they went around to her producing partner and son Brandon and got him interested in the film.
Based on an unproduced play by The Good Place and Schmigadoon! staff writer Kate Gersten, The Last Showgirl features Anderson as Shelly, a showgirl who has been at the same Vegas Revue, going on 30 years now, she has her little life and her friends, former showgirl and current cocktail waitress Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her two fellow current cast members Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song). They get together for “girl days” and life is what it is, until one day, Dave Bautista’s Eddie, the stage director for the show, swings by one such event and lets the girls know the show is closing within the month. What follows is a whirlwind of emotion as Shelly wrestles with her future, her relationship with the other girls and her past actions of putting a career that is throwing her away when she gets “too old” above being a mother to her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd). It gives Anderson a lot to chew on and boy does she chew—she’s perfect as the once ideal standard that isn’t anymore; maybe because it’s her truth. Of course, she’s the standout here, but no one else in this cast is chopped liver—everyone in this cast gets a moment to shine.
The Last Showgirl is presented in a AVC encoded 1080/24p transfer at 2.39:1. The video has an interesting lived-in old school look considering it was shot on 16mm. The image is clean, with soft edges but nice detail and has a beautiful grain. It’s a lovely image and suits the film quite well. Sound is presented in an atmospheric DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track with optional English and Spanish subs. Extras on board include The Last Showgirl: Unreserved, a group interview with Anderson, Curtis, Shipka, Song and Coppola discussing the making of the film and A Conversation with Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis, a thirty-minute interview with Anderson and Curtis from the AMC Simulcast event from the Lincoln Square 13 on January 18, 2025. A Digital Copy is also included.
These types of films aren’t being made much anymore, but they should be. Character studies are important and, in some cases, more entertaining than the tent pole movies being made for theaters today. If you get a chance to see The Last Showgirl
- Todd Doogan