Shelley is a 57 year old burlesque dancer, who has starred in ‘Le Razzle Dazzle’ the now last ‘dancing show’ in Vegas. When she learns from her director and friend Eddie that the show will be closing down in two weeks – she begins to lose her only identity of “who she is”.
Direction
Director Gia Cappola (Grand Daughter of Francis Ford, and Niece of Sophia), gives a vintage/Indy look due to the cameras used. The finished product has blurry sides, almost as if we are looking at the footage through a mirage.
With the background setting being Vegas, some of the views around the city – especially when Shelly is at work on the roof is stunning.
Cast/Characters
Pamela Anderson shines as Shelly, who like her portrayer was 57, at time of filming. It almost feels like she is playing a caricature of what the world thinks she is like, but underneath has the heart and depth of character that Anderson actually has.
Shelly understands the magic behind the show, when it meant something to Vegas, and she herself felt like a celebrity. She has always put the show first above her husband she had early in her life.
The most important character who she neglected in her life was her daughter Hannah (played by Billie Lourd). She also put her ‘dancing’ career over her daughter too, and went as far to lock her in the car at nights while she danced – instead of getting a baby sitter – or even letting her father be a part of her life.
This has caused a fractured relationship – with Hannah not even referring to Shelly as ‘mum’ until later in the film when they have re-connected and had their ‘heart to heart’
Shelly also has two ‘surrogate’ daughters in Brenda Song’s Mary-Anne and Kiernan Shipka’s Jodie. Both see her as their ‘work’ mother – yet Shelly is unable to reciprocate their affection as she is struggling with her own emotional journey.
They both see working in the Le Razzle Dazzle as ‘just a job’ – and both throughout try to find new work – and have their own struggles. Mary Anne finds herself ‘too old’ at 30 something, and 19 year old Jodie’s auditions are tasteless in the eyes of the different generational Shelly.
Dave Bautista as Eddie gives one of the best performances I’ve seen of his. He feels like a broken down man who too is losing his job show. The clear sexism in the workforce is written well too, as he is easily going to bounce back into another show as the director, while the cast themselves are almost out on the street with no where to go.
Jamie Lee Curtis gives another knockout performance as Annette, Shelly’s best friend. Her character is a woman in her 60’s who is resigned with her life. She is going to keep working, in a job she ‘has’, and somewhat enjoys. She is equal parts hilarious, and heartbreaking when she reveals she is broke to Shelly.
Her dance to Total Eclipse of the Heart shows that she is almost without shame in what she shows to others, and has a touch of True Lies feeling about it. It is amazing that Curtis was only on set for 4 days.
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
Despite being a poor mother during her childhood, Shelly shows signs of maturity and nurturing when a discussion of Hannah’s future occurs. Hannah’s apparent step mother/mother figure is pushing her to graphic design, but Hannah wants to pursue photography – to which Shelly strongly suggests she pursues. A later phone call she says that it is a parents duty to make sure our kids are happy, wanting the best for them and to follow their dreams.
Throughout the film Shelly is dealing with the loss of not only her job, but also her entire identity. She devoted so much to the show, losing marriages, relationships with her child – even forgoing a relationship with Eddie – who it is revealed is Hannah’s father. He too lost out on this, however never pushed for it himself.
The times that have changed with as the years go by is something that is noticeable in Shelly too. She almost has ‘boomer’ opinions at times (finding Jodie’s dance routine from an earlier audition tasteless. She is also the only one to know the history of the show, and its French connections (having once traveled there to do the show.
She also lives an almost “tech free” life – opting to go without things like mobile phones, or modern music – using walk-mans etc. Even her home has a 1980’s aesthetic to it.
I loved the walks down the streets of Vegas, and the snippets of scenes when Shelly dances in the street.
Overall
As you can see my my lengthy diatribe, I LOVED this film.
It was such a powerful story, from Shelly’s loss of identity, to the relationships with those around her like her daughter Hannah, etc.
I couldn’t help comparing this film to the films that were nominated for Oscars at the 2025 Awards (this was not), and this was FAR better than the abysmal Emila Perez (Curtis should have been nominated and won over Saldana).
This was a far better directing performance by Coppola and Anderson’s performance was better than the good but not great Anora for Baker and Maddison respectively.
A very strong recommend.
5/5
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