Recommends

Lifting its voice in joyful tribute to the sparkle of a long-gone Las Vegas, here, adorned in feathers and rhinestones, comes Gia Coppola's The Last Showgirl.

There are vibrant, authentic women behind all the opulence, Coppola posits – and one, in particular, shines brightest.

The titular showgirl is none other than Pamela Anderson, whose performance here is a comeback set to make her every bit as iconic as she was in her '90s heyday (albeit with more nuance). Gone are all thoughts of Baywatch: here is the bonafide performer brought to the fore in her recent, emotional memoir and documentary Pamela, A Love Story.

Anderson embodies Shelley, the dwindling star of Vegas revue Le Razzle Dazzle. Bubbly but flighty, Shelley loves her work, always fixing up her costumes, learning dances from belle époque Paris, and mothering her tight-knit younger colleagues.

Le Razzle Dazzle once played to packed houses, but numbers are plummeting (blame the inescapable lure of Cirque du Soleil) and soon, gruff stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) tells her they're being cut in favour of fresh programming.

The girls respond variously. Brenda Song's wonderfully cynical Marianne is straight onto the job hunt; Kiernan Shipka's wide-eyed Jodie is heartbroken. Shelley may be smiling through it – aided by Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), no-nonsense cocktail waitress and confidante – but she soon begins to reconsider everything about her life on stage and off. In particular, her relationship with estranged daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), who she cherishes but barely raised and barely sees, comes back into the spotlight.

Anderson's star turn here is the kind of lightning-in-a-bottle performance that only comes from truly fortuitous timing, and you sense that her director knows just how lucky she got.

Gia Coppola has visual panache and honest insight into the showbiz life: everything from the click-clack of the showgirls' bejewelled costumes to the intimate moments shared backstage all feels utterly real.

A heartfelt, moving story of reconnection, reinvention, and families both real and chosen, step into the heels of The Last Showgirl. Because if all the world's a stage, it could use more glitter.   Lara Peters

You'll like this

If you enjoyed these films