Who would have thought back in her head-shaving, SUV-attacking, paparazzi-dating days that in 2010 Britney Spears would be the most put-together of the tabloid princess trio — Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.
But while Paris is pretending her cocaine is gum and Lindsay shuffles between jail and rehab, Spears has quietly resurrected her career and her image in the two and a half years since her father became conservator of her estate in February 2008.
Since then she's released two albums, successfully completed a world tour, regained unofficial joint custody of her sons and been celebrated in an episode of Glee — the show's highest-rated episode ever.
She's even got a quiet, steady relationship with Jason Trawick, her former manager. They severed their professional ties in May as their personal relationship became more serious. How healthy and mature.
So it's no surprise that RadarOnline is reporting that Britney's conservatorship may soon be lifted. She met with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz in chambers last Wednesday.
"Britney has made tremendous progress in the past three to four months. She seems to be firmly in control again," Radar's source said.
Spears even managed to send flowers to her Glee counterpart, Heather Morris. Sure, an assistant likely did the legwork, but Southern manners are always a good sign.
With all this plus an album coming out in 2011, it looks like Britney is a pop princess once again.
A variety of actors have had the good fortune of having career resurgences thanks to someone giving them a chance after they passed their prime, including John Travolta after Pulp Fiction, Keanu Reeves after John Wick, and Brendan Fraser after The Whale. Pamela Anderson is the latest actor hoping to be reclaimed thanks to her starring role in The Last Showgirl.
In the meta-story, the 57-year-old Anderson plays Shelly, an aging showgirl at a third tier Las Vegas casino. The show itself, called Le Razzle Dazzle, is on its last legs, and Shelly finds herself at a crossroads, with no other skills or financial means on which to fall back.
While younger showgirls like Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) are willing to move on to more sexually-suggestive shows, Shelly is only comfortable with the tried-and-true showgirl way. Three other people in her life — estranged daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), best friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), and stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) — seem to help and hurt her in equal measure.
The effectiveness of the film, directed by Gia Coppola and written by Kate Gersten, depends heavily on whether the viewer is willing to accept Anderson, who’s still best known for her role on Baywatch, as a serious actor. If Coppola and Gersten are trying to show a different side of Anderson, they fail; having her play a character with little-to-no makeup and a dramatic arc does not make up for her poor acting skills and a high voice that borders on shrill.
And because the story is so dependent on Anderson — she appears in literally every scene — it never has a chance of becoming interesting or involving. Her character has personal issues that are objectively sad, but any weight that might have resulted from those storylines are lost along the way. She’s not helped by an over-the-top performance by Curtis, who seems to be milking her Oscar from Everything Everywhere All at Oncefor all it’s worth.
Coppola seems to be going for an old-school feel for the film to match the storyline. The film has a weird, unfocused look to it at times, giving the audience visuals that are definitely not high-definition. Whether she’s actually using an old film stock or manipulating the image to make it look like an old film, the effect is the same, with imperfections appearing on the screen often.
Anderson — who earned a nomination for a Golden Globe for Best Female Actor for her role — and Curtis seem to take up most of the oxygen of the film, leaving little to remember from anyone else. Shipka had a breakout movie year thanks to appearances in Twisters and Longlegs, but her role here gives her little to do. The same goes for Bautista, although at least he gets to put on a grey wig and act in a way that doesn’t emphasize his bulky physique.
While actors should never be shunted aside simply because they’ve aged out of an accepted age range, you also have to have the ability to prove you still belong. Anderson can’t get out of her own way in The Last Showgirl, and consequently the film itself never has any dramatic depth, either.
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The Last Showgirl opens in theaters on January 10.
