Greetings again from the darkness. I get that many would quickly toss this one aside without so much as a second thought. After all, Pamela Anderson hasn’t been featured much in the last decade (or two), and most only recall her from “Baywatch” in the 1990’s and, umm, perhaps an infamously intimate video. My advice would be to reconsider. She’s now 57 years old and is absolutely terrific in this film from director Gia Coppola (granddaughter of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola; her big screen debut was as baby Zoe in NEW YORK STORIES, 1989). The screenplay is from TV scribe Kate Gersten (“Mozart in the Jungle”).
The film opens with Shelly (Ms. Anderson) in a close-up during an audition. She’s obviously quite nervous and a bit out of her comfort zone. It turns out most of the movie is a flashback that leads up to the full audition, including her verbal sparring with the show’s casting director (Jason Schwartzman, director Gia Coppola’s cousin). We soon learn that Shelly is a veteran dancer who has been a part of the ‘Razzle Dazzle’ burlesque show in Las Vegas for 38 years. The show’s promotional posters from the late 1980’s feature a young Shelly – and she’s been there ever since.
We experience the frenetic energy and near chaos backstage during the show, as Shelly and her fellow dancers, Mary-Anne (Brenda Song, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, 2010) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka, “Mad Men”) juggle for dressing room space and costume changes between numbers. The two younger dancers look up to Shelly, who even fills the role of mother-figure for Jodie – a youngster dealing with family issues. All of the timing is coordinated by the Stage Manager Eddie (Dave Bautista, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, 2014), a figure of calm who has a history with Shelly.
Shelly’s best friend is Annette (Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis), who plays an aging cocktail waitress trying to hang on despite the generational shifts. What seems quite clear is that all of these folks are caught in a web of day-to-day survival – never able to get ahead (despite a career spanning almost 4 decades). When the new owners decide to shut down Razzle Dazzle in favor of a circus, Shelly experiences double panic mode. Not only is her livelihood at stake, but her estranged daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd, “American Horror Story” and daughter of Carrie Fisher) is showing signs of wanting to reconnect with, or at least make sense of, a mother who chose the stage over her. The two share some emotional scenes.
Many will be surprised at the range Pamela Anderson shows in her performance, and the story itself should not be overlooked. Razzle Dazzle acts as a stand-in for the life so many folks have led, and just how untethered and lost they feel when the rug is pulled from the only life they’ve known. Shelly mentions a couple of times how she’s always having to defend her life, somehow not recognizing the need … even when Hannah is standing face to face with her. There’s a lot here, and I’m hoping movie lovers give this one a shot.
Opens in theaters on January 10, 2025
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. Mike Leigh has long been one of the most interesting filmmakers working. His projects vary greatly and include such gems as HIGH HOPES (1988), VERA DRAKE (2004), HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (2008), ANOTHER YEAR (2010), and MR TURNER (2014). His actors always seem at the top of their game in his films, and this latest is no exception. Marianne Jean-Baptiste tears into her role as Pansy, one of the most chronically agitated women you’ve ever experienced.
Greetings again from the darkness. There may have been a movie that surprised me more than this one during 2024, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of one. My expectations were low for a film based on the true story of a British boy band pop star whose music I wasn’t too familiar with … oh, and he’s played by a human-sized CGI chimp. Robbie Williams is the pop star, and though he has little popularity or recognition in the United States, his story is quite interesting … and certainly presented in a creative and entertaining manner by writer-director Michael Gracey (THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, 2017) and co-writers Simon Gleeson and Oliver Cole.
Greetings again from the darkness. The 1972 Olympics are remembered for a few highlights. Swimmer Mark Spitz set seven world records on his way to seven gold medals. Belarusian gymnast Olga Korbut won three gold medals (although not in the all-around). The United States and Russia played one of the strangest and most controversial games in Olympics history. And most importantly, the 1972 Munich Olympics are remembered for the tragedy surrounding 10 members of Israel’s team being taken hostage by a masked Palestinian militant group.
Greetings again from the darkness. Since I missed this one on its initial run earlier this year, it became part of my end of year movie marathon where I catch up on the films that slipped through during the previous few months. Even though the premise doesn’t much sound like one I’d embrace, I’m so glad I worked this one into the schedule. On the surface, following a group of prisoners as they work to put on a stage presentation hardly sounds like a desirable form of entertainment, but what a pleasant surprise this one turned out to be.
Greetings again from the darkness. With a population of more than 20 million people, Mumbai is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. It would seem impossible to feel alone or isolated in such a place. In this follow-up to her feature film debut, A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING (2021), Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia begins with a documentary style overview of the city with multi-dialect voiceovers recapping personal experiences with life in the city. “In Mumbai, there is work and money.”
Greetings again from the darkness. As a nineteen-year-old college dropout, Robert Zimmerman traveled from his hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota to New York City so that he could play music and visit his folk hero, Woody Guthrie, who was hospitalized with Huntington’s Disease. Of course, Zimmerman became known as Bob Dylan, and his musical genius continues to this day – more than 60 years and counting. Those early formative years are recounted here by writer-director James Mangold (WALK THE LINE, 2005; 3:10 TO YUMA, 2007; FORD V FERRARI, 2019) and co-writer Jay Cocks (GANGS OF NEW YORK, 2002), who used Elijah Wald’s 2015 book, “Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan and the Night that Split the Sixties” as inspiration.
Greetings again from the darkness. Oscar winner Nicole Kidman long ago entrenched herself as one of the best and most daring actors working today. Not one to shy away from risky material, she’s appeared in such films as EYES WIDE SHUT (1999), DOGVILLE (2003), BIRTH (2004), and THE NORTHMAN (2022) to name just a few. It’s her talent and willingness to put herself out there that has earned such respect among peers and fans. However, despite that admiration, this latest is one of my least favorite films of the year, and one that I found almost no positives to discuss. I will readily admit this opinion puts me in the extreme minority.
Greetings again from the darkness. Claressa Shields’ story is inspirational, and yet it’s so much more than that. She’s an extraordinary person with a remarkable story. She doesn’t just inspire young girls to pursue sports, she motivates us all to pursue our dreams with passion and tenacity. It’s only fitting that the first feature film directed by renowned cinematographer Rachel Morrison centers on a barrier-breaking woman. Ms. Morrison was the first woman to receive a Best Cinematography Oscar nomination for her work on MUDBOUND (2017). The screenplay was written by Oscar winner Barry Jenkins (MOONLIGHT, 2016), and he’s also a producer on the film.
Greetings again from the darkness. I’ve said it many times, and it still holds true, Oscar winner Pedro Almodovar is the most accomplished male filmmaker when it comes to creating interesting female characters and spinning female-centric stories. Almodovar’s first English-language feature-length film is one he’s adapted from the 2020 novel, “What Are You Going Through”, by Sigrid Nunez. It features two Oscar winners, Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, both extraordinarily talented.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 