FREE FOR MEMBERS: The Last Showgirl

In her third feature film, Gia Coppola presents a compelling drama about Shelly Gardner (Pamela Anderson), a showgirl in Las Vegas who is in her late 50s. Despite being surrounded by younger showgirls, Gardner feels secure and is looked up to as a matriarch, until one day when she’s laid off from her job due to declining ticket sales. The film wonderfully marries this professional conflict with Gardner’s problematic personal life and her fraught relationship with her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd). While trying to mend her relationship with her daughter, Gardner feels alienated and out-of-touch, while her best friend, fellow showgirl Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), has her own struggles, now as a cocktail waitress. With a delightfully dramatic storyline and a nuanced women-driven cast, all in a tight ninety minutes, this film is definitely worth a watch.

Naomi Pandey