This Is the Hulu Movie You Can’t Miss in May 2025

Pamela Anderson is forever tied to her iconic role as C.J. Parker, the red-swimsuited lifeguard from Baywatch in the ’90s—a role that catapulted her into global fame but also boxed her into a persona. That exact duality makes her the perfect choice to lead Gia Coppola’s film, The Last Showgirl. Like Anderson, the character she plays—Shelly Gardner—is a woman watching the final curtain fall on the performance that defined her identity.

While The Last Showgirl may have slipped under the awards radar, its arrival on Hulu in May 2025 is a second chance for viewers to witness what may be the most unexpected career highlight of Anderson’s life.

Pamela Anderson delivers a performance that redefines her career.

Early in Hollywood, Anderson was often cast for her looks, with little attention paid to her deeper talent. But in The Last Showgirl, she turns that narrative on its head. As Shelly, a Las Vegas revue performer at “Le Razzle Dazzle” for 30 years, she faces her show’s sudden closure—and with it, an identity crisis. She has no fallback plan, no roadmap.

Anderson channels Shelly’s raw fear, despair, and fury, showing us a woman desperate not to fade. The role demands vulnerability, and Anderson delivers it in waves—unguarded, nuanced, and unafraid of appearing flawed.

An ensemble of seasoned actors adds emotional weight.

Anderson might be the heart, but the film’s soul is amplified by a brilliant cast. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Annette, a once-famous revue star now grappling with addiction and irrelevance—a haunting reflection of what Shelly might become. Dave Bautista shines as Eddie, a man with a murky past who secures a job in the new show while Shelly is left behind. Their chemistry is tense, bittersweet, and layered.

Kiernan Shipka, Billie Lourd, and Brenda Song round out the cast as younger women in Shelly’s orbit. Shipka and Song portray showgirls looking up to Shelly, while Lourd plays Shelly’s estranged daughter, Hannah. Their dynamic is strained—Hannah resents the career that pulled her mother away, and Shelly struggles to repair what’s broken.

Shelly is no saint—and that’s what makes her compelling.

Shelly is not a perfect mother, nor a flawless mentor. She stumbles, fails, and disappoints. But it’s exactly those imperfections that make her real. Under Coppola’s sensitive direction, Anderson doesn’t play Shelly as a victim or a diva—she plays her as a woman in transition, still figuring herself out long after the applause has faded.

Whether you’re a longtime Anderson fan or just curious to see what The Last Showgirl is about, this film is worth your time. Now streaming on Hulu, it’s a moving, deeply human story about aging, identity, and the messy beauty of second chances.