Deadline continues its Read the Screenplay series highlighting the year’s buzziest awards-season movies with Roadside Attractions‘ The Last Showgirl, the Gia Coppola-directed drama from Kate Gersten‘s script that has catapulted Pamela Anderson into the kudos conversation for her performance.
The film, which world premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, begins its one-week qualifying run December 13 at AMC Century City before hitting theaters nationwide January 10.
For decades, Shelly (Anderson), a seasoned Las Vegas showgirl, has been a star at the Le Razzle Dazzle, a classic Vegas revue. But her world is shattered when the revue is unceremoniously canceled to make way for a modern act, leaving her and the other dancers with a mere two weeks’ notice to face an uncertain future.
Gersten writes a poignant story that explores the bittersweet reality of aging in the entertainment industry. Her protagonist, Shelly, faces a stark contrast between the glamorous past and the uncertain future. As the spotlight fades and the applause dies down, Gersten delves into the emotional turmoil and financial insecurity that often accompanies a life in the limelight.
Gersten originally wrote the script a decade ago before going into production. “I wrote it as a play while I was studying playwriting at Juilliard. And somehow, ten years later, this film script still stays very true to the original play. The intimacy of the world of these characters is the same. And beyond the dressing room, when it comes to the way America treats women, things haven’t really changed since I wrote the first draft of the play in 2013,” she said.
“When I wrote the play, it was optioned for Broadway, for the West End, but we could never find the right actress to play the role of Shelly. She needed to be vulnerable, open, to have a wonder about her, a bit of Blanche DuBois’ delusion and denial, and Willy Loman’s conviction of ethos,” she added.
“Pamela is the only person who could have ever actually played this role. It fit her like a glove from day one. In our first table read, she said every line exactly how I’d heard them in my head all those years earlier. And she brought her own beautiful artistry to it as well. It was kismet.”
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Gersten’s characterization of Shelly also makes her a mentor, guiding and acting as the mother figure to the younger dancers, Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), as they face the complexities of the showgirl life.
Anderson delivers a powerful performance as a dedicated stage performer whose relentless pursuit of her dreams has taken a toll on her personal life. She effortlessly portrays a woman torn between her passion for the stage and her longing for a deeper connection with her daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd).
While the trope of the aging starlet may seem familiar, Anderson’s uniquely vulnerable portrayal of Shelly elevates the film. Her natural charisma shines through, grounding the film’s message. The Last Showgirl paints a vivid portrait of Las Vegas, a city of dazzling lights and faded dreams, as it follows the lives of multifaceted characters who find solace and significance in the Strip’s intoxicating glow.
Jamie Lee Curtis steals the show as the vivacious Annette, Shelly’s best friend, a revue dancer-turned-casino waitress. Dave Bautista offers a more subdued performance as Eddie, Shelly’s floor manager and ex-lover.
The Last Showgirl is produced by Robert Schwartzman, Natalie Farrey and Coppola.
Here’s Gersten’s script:
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