There are two images which come to mind when one hears the name Pamela Anderson.....One has most guy's hearts pounding hard as this 20 year old blonde bombshell runs in slow motion in her iconic red lifeguard swimsuit to save a poor soul on the beaches of California with "I'll be there" playing in the background and the other has most guy's panting hard in her infamous video with her ex husband. To the kids and guys who lived through that era, the image of a 57 year old Pamela Anderson without make up in The Last Showgirl feels almost Alien.
The Last Showgirl has been doing rounds at the film festivals and is now seeing its leading lady land a whole bunch of nominations for what seems to be an almost semi-autobiographical movie about "The Last Showgirl" from a long forgotten era. Pamela deserves applause for taking on such a role which is so uncharacteristic and extremely touching at times. She gives it everything and ends up giving the best performance of her career, but.....
.....unfortunately her career has mostly been glam doll roles in Home Improvement, Baywatch, VIP, Barb Wire, Scary movie 3 etc. So the best performance of her career doesn't rise to the level of the other actresses that are also receiving a whole bunch of nominations and awards. Pamela Anderson is good but not great. I feel for her character, I want to love her character but there is some inconsistency in her character's behavior (which may be because of Pamela's acting style) which makes it difficult to like or understand her character. It may be possible that her character has been written in that manner to showcase her anxiety (In one scene) and self belief (In another). Maybe just like her character is misunderstood by others in the movie, it is difficult to understand some of her actions, decisions and mood swings as an audience.
To me her performance is good but doesn't have the gravitas one would hope from an actress playing a character at this stage of life and career after being surrounded by glamour and bathed in the limelight for decades. The Last Showgirl should have been for Pamela Anderson what "The Wrestler" was for Mickey Rourke....a great movie that showcased how this great wrestler, now a mere shadow of his glorious past, was still trying to cling to his heydays as he struggled to live through the present with no idea about what the future held for him. Mickey Rourke excelled in that role and that is where Pamela Anderson in comparison feels a bit stiff, especially when one sees the heartbreaking supporting performance from Jamie Lee Curtis in the same movie.
Jamie Lee Curtis is just fantastic and her character just tore a hole in my soul when she talked about working, working and working till the day she dies because she has nothing else in life (And she cant afford to stop working). Dave Bautista is very believable and fragile in his role. Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song are very good as lost young showgirls. Gia Coppola (Francis Ford's Grand daughter) does a good job of bringing these melancholic tales to the screen and putting the limelight back on to Pamela Anderson like one could never imagine. Pamela truly gives it her best and deserves the attention. She still looks great without all the make up and glamour. A screening of one of her Baywatch episode would have filled up more theaters in the 90s than the Last Showgirl which just had one fan at its early screening in the local theater today. She does deserve more attention for this performance. Its not Baywatch, Its not the wrestler but it is still a character study of note. 7/10.
