Pamela Anderson (British Columbia, Canada, 1967) says she has no regrets. "Perhaps, about the moments when, due to professional decisions, I put aside my children or my family," she corrects herself. Pamela Anderson says she feels, despite everything, privileged. "I come from a small town and it is true that I navigated through Hollywood with a lot of naivety. It hurts me when old stories resurface and people talk about me using the same clichés as always. I have grown far beyond all that and have learned difficult lessons," she affirms. Pamela Anderson says everything changed when she stopped trying to show her worth and simply let herself go. "It is never too late to be reborn. My impression is that my career is just beginning now," she proclaims.
Pamela Anderson is back and presents as evidence The Last Showgirl, by Gia Coppola, in which that 90s myth says and corrects herself, says and reaffirms, says and proclaims. All at once because the film is much more than just the story of a veteran cabaret dancer forced to reinvent herself in a crumbling world. The Last Showgirl is, whether one likes it or not, flesh of Pamela's own flesh. The film resurrects the guilty ghost, for being outdated and sexist, of the Baywatch lifeguard, of Barbwire, of the protagonist of the intimate video with her former partner Tommy Lee... But it does so from that rare and fragile place that has more to do with fracture than commemoration. The idea is to build a metaphor in the form of a mirror that reflects both the life of the mentioned person and that of the viewer.
"What attracted me to the character is that she is not a victim," Anderson reasoned during the film's presentation in San Sebastian last September alongside the director. "Despite being knocked down time and time again, she maintains joy, hope, and remains impassive." Pause. "Expressing myself through art as in this film is much easier than verbalizing my experiences to a journalist. Doing substantial work is important; it is a relief. I always thought I was capable of more. I have no regrets. I only appreciate where I am now," she insists as a motto and even a shield.
The film tells the story of the last representative of a declining form of entertainment. We are in Las Vegas and Pamela Anderson plays a feathered showgirl from the old days. Suddenly, 30 years on stage mean nothing. The Last Showgirl shines in the construction of the atmosphere, in the delicate and tender way of portraying a disappearing world. The camera moves between crowded dressing rooms and interiors of messy and somewhat dirty houses without any intention of exhibitionism. Pamela Anderson herself playfully imitates herself. In truth, it is not so much an imitation of anything as a reflection of the image that the viewer may mistakenly hold of her. Let's say that the virtue and grace lie in the contrast between what we imagine and what we see.
Pamela says and corrects herself, reaffirms and proclaims.