Jamie Lee Curtis nailed it in one of her interviews. This is a movie about the degradation of women at the end of their lives. The use of the glamour of Las Vegas showgirls to show the slow decline with an eventual fall off a cliff edge - poverty, homelessness - when they are no longer young and sexy. Eddie gives us a view of how older women *are* sexy, but only when they are not being objectified.
The audience laughed quite often in poignant moments, and I suspect it was to cover their discomfort with the journey of the two older women.
The photography was often very close, and it created an intimacy, also showing the flaws of aging bodies that were at odds with the on-stage showgirls.
Some reviewers said the characters were superficial, but I think perhaps that's a lack of personal experience with the issues these women were facing. I enjoyed this movie. It's not tragic, but it is gently heartbreaking at times.
