The Last Showgirl

 

Long-time showgirl Shelly has performed at the Razzle Dazzle for 30 years, when the casino announces that the show will close, she is devastated. While her younger co-stars decide to audition for other shows, she is left in limbo. As the world she’s know for so long starts disappear around her, Shelly tries to reconnect with her estranged daughter and decide what she should do next.

The tone of director Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl is a continued feeling of sadness. Beginning with the crushing news and the fallout from that. What’s interesting is that a story such as this is not focusing on the show that, within the world of the film, was seen as the last show of its kind and maybe once would have been described as iconic. The focus is nearly solely on Shelly as we watch her world fall apart. Having given up literally everything for her career and the show, she has little to show for such loyalty. She seems careful money unlike her best friend and ex-showgirl Annette who gambles away what she earns as a cocktail waitress. Shelly’s life appears empty outside of the show, her daughter doesn’t even feature in her life until she reaches out to see her. Shelly’s behaviour throughout the whole film is that of someone going through grief. The show was her life and she cannot fathom being without it. She lives in the past, still talking about the 80s when showgirls were seen as ambassadors and how the show emulated that of something similar seen in Paris. Shelly longs for the ‘old days’ of elegance, or at least what she views as elegance.

As we watch her breakdown slowly to her new reality, there is no better person to portray Shelly than Pamela Anderson. She is truly putting everything into this role and she nails Shelly’s vulnerability and delusional behaviour perfectly. Anderson emulates the frustration and sadness of Shelly, she makes us feel compassion for her. The supporting case also do an excellent job with the roles given, but Jamie Lee Curtis steals every scene she is in as Annette.

Writer Kate Gersten based the script off her own play, Body of Work which was in turn based on her visits to the now closed ‘iconic’ show Jubilee! which was one of the longest running show on the Las Vegas Strip. Though this film belongs to Shelly (and Anderson), it also serves as a bittersweet tribute to the old shows and the days of the typical Las Vegas showgirl while ushering in the new entertainers taking their place.

Fantastic performances from Anderson and Curtis are the key to The Last Showgirl but Gia Coppola does bring that feeling of loss throughout as well as a tiny glimmer of hope for the future.

Crossing Delancey

 

Isabelle enjoys working in a New York City bookstore and the carefree lifestyle she maintains outside of work. But on her weekly visits to her beloved grandmother on the Lower East Side, she met with desperate pleas for her to settle down with a nice Jewish man. Despite Isabelle’s instance on wanting to be single, she is forced to meet with a marriage broker and even an awkward date with local pickle seller, Sam. While Isabelle believes she can do better than the well-meaning Sam, she starts to entertain a crush on celebrated Dutch-American author Anton who frequents her bookstore. Through mishaps and misunderstandings Isabelle finds herself in a romantic bind of what to do.

Full review over at Filmhounds.

The Last Stop in Yuma County

 

The film easily sets up the parameters, creating a near impossible situation, where we are all just waiting to see who cracks first. Mostly strangers make up those ‘trapped’ in the diner, with one or two narrow windows of opportunity, this tension filled thriller has you hooked at what will happen. Reminiscent of films that take place in one location and slowly builds tension, The Last Stop in Yuma County is similar to a low-key Free Fire, except instead of a constant shoot out, it’s the calm before the storm.

At a remote desert rest stop, a knife salesman and waitress become entangled with two bank robbers plans to escape. As the group anxiously waits for the gas truck to arrive to fill up the pumps, a few more strangers with their own plans, arrive, adding to the tension. With few options and everyone in possession of a gun, the knife salesman is woefully ill-equipped for what’s to come.

Full review over at Filmhounds. 

Clone Cops

 

In a world where domineering conglomerate, Nefaricorp has taken control of society, supplying replicant robots to do all blue-collar jobs, a gang of outlaws defend their hideout from said corporation. But when the truth about who they really all are is revealed, the gang must spring into action and plan their escape.

If you’re wondering why everyone on screen feels like they’re in a different film, that’s because Clone Cops is a patchwork of various other sci-fi plots melded into one. With some interesting ideas played out on screen, the film does its best with what’s assumed, a limited budget. But it isn’t the production design where the film falters.

Clone Cops does have some amusing moments and the gameshow, evil corporation aspects are weirdly enjoyable, even including the exaggerated actions and behaviour from certain characters. Its also easy to appreciate the comments being make on society and where we could all be heading as technology progresses while humanity regresses. Unfortunately, the positives of the film don’t outweigh the negative.

Every character featured in the film is either a back-to-basics stereotype, even if the cast do their best to escape these predictable character beats, or they feel as if they’re wondered into a completely different film. To an extent, this disjointed feeling between characters is meant to be there considering the set up, but the feeling that no one is on the same page becomes more jarring. The one note characters and standard dialogue, makes for film a that could have been something quite unique but unfortunately Clone Cops suffers from a clunky plot and possibly too many ideas.

Despite the negatives, Clone Cops has its moments of fun and for those enjoy a schlocky sci-fi will find more merit. But anyone looking for an exciting new tech driven comedic science fiction story will end up disappointed.