Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work: A Quick Review

"Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work"is a documentary that was released last year.  Filming took place all through 2008, celebrating the 75th birthday of Joan Rivers, one of the most iconic stand-up comedienne's in the history of America.  The documentary was extraordinarily well made and just a lot of fun to watch.  The film was edited well, featuring footage of Rivers' daily life trying to plan appearances in order to still make money despite her age and this youth obsessed culture we all have the pleasure of being a part of.  This is mixed with interviews from people from her life such as her daughter, Melissa, Kathy Griffin, Don Rickles, and some of Rivers' personal assistants and such.  There are also several classic clips featuring a much younger Joan Rivers on such shows as "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," which was just the beginning of her lengthy career.  The documentary gives viewers a rare, intimate look at one of the most recognizable people in the entertainment industry.  Rivers comes off as much more vulnerable and insecure than most people would think she is.  One of the ways this was done was with an emotional section of the film discussing her late husband, Edgar Rosenberg, who committed suicide in 1987.  Also, her constant fear of people not wanting her anymore is the source of some more emotional layers to this women.  This led to a section dealing with her many plastic surgery procedures as a way of trying to stay current, since this is, for good reason one of her claims to fame over the years.  However, that doesn't stop her from not believing in censorship and being just as profane, offensive, and hilarious as she always has been.  Finally, parts of the film was devoted to her appearance on "Celebrity Apprentice," where she dominated a professional poker player and her being asked to be on a Comedy Central Roast, which she did purely for the money because those things are absolutely horrible and 99% of the so called comedians have absolutely no talent and don't deserve to be in the same room as Joan Rivers.  Yeah, that covers the movie pretty well.  I loved it.  I find her to be hilarious, although often times she goes too far.  This was a great way to see more of the women herself, beyond what people know her for.  The only thing is that I wish this had been longer.  A year of filming condensed into 84 minutes just isn't enough.  Luckily, it was a wonderfully put together, funny, and a little revealing 84 minutes...she really is a piece of work.

-Joseph Sbrilli