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Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

GENRESDocumentary,Biography,Comedy,Drama
LANGEnglish
ACTOR
Joan RiversMelissa RiversKathy GriffinJocelyn Pickett
DIRECTOR
Ricki Stern,Anne Sundberg

SYNOPSICS

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) is a English movie. Ricki Stern,Anne Sundberg has directed this movie. Joan Rivers,Melissa Rivers,Kathy Griffin,Jocelyn Pickett are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2010. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) is considered one of the best Documentary,Biography,Comedy,Drama movie in India and around the world.

This documentary follows one year in the life of Joan Rivers, who sees herself first and foremost as an actress, with her life as a comedienne/writer just an extension of being an actress. Now at age 75, Rivers has faced her ups and downs in her forty plus year career, the year leading up to filming being a down compared to what she would have wanted, which is a calendar full of engagements with several engagements each day. That want is in part to support her opulent personal lifestyle, but is more a need to bolster her own sense of self-worth as a basically insecure person who is probably best known now for her overuse of cosmetic surgery rather than her professional work. She feels that Kathy Griffin, who she admires, is now getting all the engagements she would have gotten in her prime. During this year, Rivers is seen going from engagement to engagement, some big - such as a Kennedy Center Honors for George Carlin, a double bill with Don Rickles in New York, and her own celebrity...

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Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) Reviews

  • A very complex individual

    jlg3102010-10-03

    The problem I usually have with documentaries is that, while I find them enlightening, I rarely connect to them on an emotional level. My intellect is stimulated, but I don't usually feel anything. The last documentary that made me feel anything was "Sicko." "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" succeeds in the same way. Here's a woman who is a bit of a joke and an easy Hollywood punching bag. But she shows herself to be quite a complex individual. She's of course funny and a workaholic. She's also quite vulnerable and doesn't take criticism well at all. At times, she's quite likable and very sympathetic. Other times, she seems twisted and self-absorbed. I suppose the real Rivers is a little of both. She's also a joy to spend 90 minutes in a theater with, should the opportunity present itself to you. The film opens with a shot that tells you everything you need to know about this film and its intentions. The shot is an extreme close-up of Rivers without any makeup on. For someone so presumably consumed with her looks, this is a surprising image that tells you this film is going to show you the real Rivers. Like her or not (and many won't), this is her. The rest of the film is loosely broken up into three sections. The first introduces us to the woman and follows Rivers as she develops an autobiographical play and performs it in the UK. The second follows her during her time on "The Celebrity Apprentice." And the final one shows her on the road across America doing comedy shows. Interspersed with these segments are sidebars about Rivers' past—her marriage, her time with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," her relationship with her daughter Melissa, and her annual Thanksgiving charity work. The two biggest things I took away from the film are that Rivers is obsessive (desperate?) about working and that she is incredibly insecure—perhaps the two complement each other. At one point, she is trying to book a commercial. She tells the ad agency's representative that she'll wear diapers, anything, to land a gig. After seeing this film, I believe she would. She's also incredibly self-doubting. When her play opens in London to good, not great, reviews, she immediately decides it won't see the light of day in New York. She says she wouldn't be able to bear the criticism. And when she agrees to do a Comedy Central roast—well, let's just say, it's not pretty. One of the most enlightening, and in some ways off-putting, scenes in the film is when she gets heckled at a show in rural Wisconsin. Rivers makes a joke about hating kids but thinking Helen Keller would be tolerable, and a man yells that he thinks she isn't funny, but mean-spirited. Rivers lays into him. She doesn't hold back at all, and while I hold the belief that comedians should be able to defend themselves as they see fit against hecklers, her expletive-laden tirade crossed a few lines. What was so telling about this scene, though, was just how insecure Rivers is. When one man, a nobody in her life, criticizes her, she viciously lashes out. I really did find this film fascinating for just how complicated it made its star seem. In addition to that, it's also quite funny. Rivers hasn't lost much in 75 years. I'd argue that her best bits are the more recent ones. Most documentaries are intellectual exercises, but not this one. It felt refreshing—not at all like sitting through a lecture. I wasn't a fan of Rivers before. I'm not sure I'm a fan of Rivers now. But a can definitely say I'm a fan of "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," and I would recommend it to just about anyone.

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  • Brilliant and Outrageous

    clg2382010-06-19

    After seeing the trailer, my expectations were moderately high. The movie far exceeds them. It is screamingly funny (Joan Rivers is screamingly funny) and poignant as well. I am partial to people who have a passion and work their hearts out; Joan Rivers exemplifies this. As a writer who's seen ups and downs, I found her up-and-down trajectory inspirational. The humor is often raunchy and always hilarious. Because she cannot do her best jokes on television, I found the movie broadened my perspective on what she is able to do (a lot!). If you've ever liked her jokes, definitely go see this movie. While it's true that the film maker could have dug a bit deeper into some of the darker subjects, I think that would have drastically changed the amazing balance between comedy and seriousness for the worse. A lot is conveyed without belaboring the difficult issues. Although Joan Rivers was virtually in every frame (a few exceptions where some people spoke about her), I never tired of seeing and, especially, hearing her. She has a store of funny and the ability to tap into it, whatever else is happening.

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  • a piece of (hard!) work

    brian-wiz2010-06-30

    Also located at my blog (with many more!), Awards Wiz! (briwiz.blogspot.com) A piece of work--an obvious double meaning, right? Referring to the plastic surgery, but also to her brashness. I would go a step further and say the title refers to her incredible career and work ethic. "In order to get struck by lightning, you have to stand in the rain." While this movie affected me on so many levels, it is this quote near the end of the film spoken by Rivers's agent that sticks with me most. It reminded me of every crossroad I have ever reached when times were difficult and decisions had to be made. There are so many chances to give up because it not easy to stay on the path. Rivers shows us what it really takes to not only "make it" but stay in this biz called show. What does it really take? In one scene Rivers tells her daughter that being an actor/performer is about rejection. So many people would give up and come in out of the rain. But there are the handful of people who stay out long enough to get hit by lightning...once. Then there are people like Joan Rivers. She gets hit, but then she goes inside when the rain stops only to venture back out the moment the first drop falls to do it all over again. This film has been floating around since the Sundance Film Festival, and I have heard and read a few interviews with Rivers discussing the film. So, I knew the movie was going to strip away the public persona of Rivers as the joke of a poster woman for plastic surgery. But I was still unprepared to see her in this manner. And not just the vulnerability factor. I had no idea how hard she works, how persistent she is, and how much acting REALLY means to her. This lack of knowledge is partly because my generation knows her mostly from her red carpet appearances. Needless to say that part of her career is a torrential downpour, if you know what I mean. Honestly though, how many times have we seen her lacking her JOAN RIVERS persona-- whether on E!, TV Guide or even The Tonight Show? Almost never. And why should we, Joan might ask. What we see is Joan at work. There is really no reason for us to see anything else. Thank goodness that this doc actually gave us one. And the best parts are when she is on the road! When Rivers goes to small town America to do her act, she is obviously slumming compared to what she is used to at home in NYC. But she never really complains, outside of a joke. At least not until a patron at the act heckles her. And it's less complaining and more defending what she loves--her art and what she feels should be clear to everyone. If you can't laugh at the bad you are in a hell of a lot of trouble. And in that moment she keeps going, strong as ever. She is one professional who simply can't quit, partly because she isn't ready to give up her fabulous lifestyle, and partly due to the fact that she hasn't run out of things to say. But mostly (I think) because she absolutely loves it. We obviously have a great subject, but in lesser hands this film wouldn't be what it is. Never once did I even wonder where the film was headed and I never once wandered in any way off the path the Stern and Sundberg set for me. I simply watched a bit of perfect organic storytelling. Even the jokes are so impeccably placed it wasn't until I burst into laughter, then hearing my fellow audience members also laugh (yes, just like her shows there were a few groans of uncomfortable-ness) that I was taken out of that blissful life-forgetting trance that I strive for in the cinema. The brilliant storytelling doesn't stop with her work ethic. We also get to see much deeper into her relationship with her daughter, told in such a simple way in just a few scenes thanks to their stint on Celebrity Apprentice (one in a car on the way to the first day on set and another in a hallway after Joan apparently (we don't see the actual event) shuts down at a cast meet and greet.) I almost cringed at the mention of Celebrity Apprentice, but I stuck with it...for Joan...because I know she had to stick with it. It was a job she needed to take for so many reasons, which you will discover watching the film yourself. The biggest reason was one she didn't seem to even grasp...winning! (lightning!) The big question is (at least for me...and this site!) how long the lightning storm will last. She talks about how the critics never really embrace her. But they certainly have with this film. Now...will the Academy embrace her? In the documentary category, celebrity docs (The September Issue, Tyson, Valentino: The Last Emperor) don't do so well. Heck. They don't even get nominated. But the Academy loves a comeback. And although Joan might say, "what comeback? I never went anywhere," in terms of acceptance, it is one. I am personally tired of every documentary nominated being a stroll down misery lane. This film deserves (at least at the year's halfway point) a nomination. But...if she gets the nomination, won't that diminish the subject of the film? Who gives a f#$*. Nominate the c&^#!

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  • Incredible documentary

    preppy-32010-06-21

    A documentary that followed Joan Rivers for an entire year when she turned 75. She talks directly to the camera and opens up about her life, her job, her family and what makes her tick. I should admit that I love Rivers! Her jokes are mean but hysterical. Seeing her here she comes across as insecure and a workaholic...but you don't pity her and she doesn't ask you too. She just wants us to see her as she really is. What was really surprising was seeing her with her daughter Melissa. Melissa comes off as cold and unfeeling--NOT the image she ever gave before. Also there is footage of Rivers on stage. Her act is incredibly profane--but hysterical! My audience would gasp and then break up at her lines. An excellent documentary of a very complex woman. A 10 all the way!

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  • Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work - 9/10

    jnguyen461172010-12-16

    I was surprised of the movie not being recognized by the Academy of Documentary. I guess they don't want anything to do with Joan Rivers, and that's the whole point of the documentary. The doc started out with Joan Rivers' lowpoint of her career (when she's already 70 years old), and it progresses with Rivers working her way up again. The film demonstrates how the once comedic icon and well known star turned into "a piece of work". With her comedic talents blending with her sad emotions, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a snub that the Academy missed out on. OscarBuzz: NONE, that's the point! The Academy is missing out a a great film that shows the love for Joan Rivers and her career. She may be the one 70 year-old that still loves and wants to do her job.

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