“What are you, bored? This is breasts, and rhinestones, and joy!”
One of the last great films to depict the infamous Las Vegas strip’s seediness and its toll on its inhabitants was “Leaving Las Vegas.” Nicholas Cage won an Academy Award for portraying an alcoholic determined to drink his life away in a filthy and nuanced performance. The film’s success revolved around Cage and screen partner Elisabeth Shue’s willingness to throw everything they had into an indie drama full of deceit and darkness.
Pamela Anderson would now like Cage and Shue to hold her beer … or more realistically, her wings.
Director Gia Coppola takes a modern audience into the dazzling world of Las Vegas revues and showgirls in the aptly titled “The Last Showgirl.” Anderson stars as Shelley, an aging performer who reveres The Razzle Dazzle, a seemingly ancient remnant of Las Vegas’s golden past. Equipped with dance skills and a love of live performances, Shelley is heartbroken when it’s announced that the show she’s dedicated her life to will close for good in two weeks’ time.