| Topic: | The Last Showgirl | |
| Posted by: | Joe Conneely | |
| Date/Time: | 11/02/25 21:48:00 |
| I must admit I have never seen a full episode of "Baywatch", the TV series that made Pamela Anderson's reputation. It is clear from the Q&A short shown after the main film that now at the age of 57 she regards this film as a once in a lifetime chance to make a break with that past. Anderson plays Shelly a Las Vegas lead dance showgirl who learns the old-style glitzy casino revue show she has appeared as lead in for over 30 years is finishing. The film proceeds to show the resulting trauma as she tries unsuccessfully to reinvent herself; reconnect with her long neglected teenage daughter; deal with her producer (who turns out to have been the father of her daughter) and the younger troupe dancers who treat her as a mother figure; and, a best friend who was once in the revue but now struggles as an aging cocktail hostess (an unrecognisable Jamie Lee Curtis under many layers of fake sun tan). As I watched the film I kept thinking of Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler", which followed a similar story approach of a person whose chosen career is coming to an early and unhappy end. Instead of the physicality of that film what is portrayed very well here is the unglamorous working-class underbelly of Las Vegas and another sad story of how people at the bottom get treated under the US economy. |
| Topic | Date Posted | Posted By |
| Film Reviews 2025 | 04/01/25 15:25:00 | Susan Kelly |
| We Live in Time | 04/01/25 15:26:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Re:We Live in Time | 05/01/25 21:28:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Flow | 05/01/25 21:47:00 | Sara Nathan |
| The Substance | 06/01/25 21:45:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Seed of the sacred fig (Farsi and subtitles) | 08/01/25 00:03:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Re:Seed of the sacred fig (Farsi and subtitles) | 26/02/25 21:47:00 | Joe Conneely |
| Re:Re:Seed of the sacred fig (Farsi and subtitles) | 03/03/25 17:19:00 | Chris Hurley |
| A Real Pain | 11/01/25 15:51:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Re:A Real Pain | 11/01/25 23:06:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Nickel Boys | 12/01/25 16:46:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Re:Nickel Boys | 16/01/25 21:53:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Heretic | 16/01/25 21:47:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Love Lies Bleeding | 18/01/25 22:19:00 | Sara Nathan |
| A Complete Unknown | 19/01/25 14:36:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Re:A Complete Unknown | 19/01/25 21:56:00 | Joe Conneely |
| Re:Re:A Complete Unknown | 25/01/25 06:49:00 | Alastair Banton |
| Re:Re:Re:A Complete Unknown | 25/01/25 07:12:00 | Alastair Banton |
| Babygirl | 26/01/25 12:24:00 | Joe Conneely |
| Re:A Complete Unknown (saw last year) | 01/02/25 16:27:00 | Sara Nathan |
| The Brutalist | 26/01/25 17:50:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Re:The Brutalist | 02/02/25 09:25:00 | Norman Redfern |
| Inside Out 2 | 01/02/25 16:26:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Re:Film Reviews 2025 | 01/02/25 16:32:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Emilia Perez (again!) forgot to change the header | 04/02/25 21:21:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Hard Truths | 02/02/25 14:23:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Vermiglio | 04/02/25 20:06:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Wild Robot | 04/02/25 21:27:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Becoming Led Zeppelin | 07/02/25 22:34:00 | Joe Conneely |
| September 5th | 08/02/25 15:02:00 | Susan Kelly |
| The Last Showgirl | 11/02/25 21:48:00 | Joe Conneely |
| Bridget Jones: mad about the boy | 15/02/25 23:38:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Re:Bridget Jones: mad about the boy | 16/02/25 16:28:00 | Susan Kelly |
| BAFTAS | 16/02/25 23:09:00 | Sara Nathan |
| Re:BAFTAS | 18/02/25 14:25:00 | Alastair Banton |
| I'm Still Here | 04/03/25 17:09:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Cottontail | 08/03/25 14:23:00 | Susan Kelly |
| Mickey 17 | 08/03/25 16:46:00 | Joe Conneely |
| Re:Mickey 17 | 09/03/25 16:50:00 | Susan Kelly |