Michael's Movie Grade: B+
An excellent character study boosted by a wonderful lead performance.
This movie gives Pamela Anderson the greatest role of her career. She plays an aging Vegas showgirl, who has pushed aside so much in her life (including her own daughter) for her career. However now the show is ending its 30-year run and she is forced to come to terms the consequences of what she threw away as well as the realization that she is not the great artist she thought she was. Pamela is truly wonderful in this role. This is a rare dramatic role for this actress, and she puts her heart and soul into every moment. Her performance allows us to feel every heartbreak she is going through. However not only is her performance that makes this character work so well. Kate Gersten's (this is amazingly the first feature film she has written (though she has written for such TV shows as Mozart in the Jungle and The Good Place)) script paints a very complex portrait of this woman. This character can be very sympathetic in many scenes, yet she has a very selfish side that can show itself at other times. Yet there is not a scene when we don't relate to her, even if we don't want to. This film is also helped by its visual style. Director Gia Coppola (granddaughter of the legendary Francis Ford Coppola) imbues this film with a look reminiscent of old Hollywood movies, giving this an almost nostalgic feel that works perfectly with our main character.
My one complaint about this film is that the supporting characters are all quite bland and often feel more like plot points than real people.
A truly excellent movie.
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