Review of Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) by Secretagentgal — 18 Sep 2010

Gut fear grabs us in the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. At 75, Rivers, one of the most successful and outrageous comediennes of the century, is roiling. Her career of ups and downs once again hovers at zero. Billy Sammeth, her manager of 23 years, doesn't return her calls. Her datebook holds a sea of empty pages.

Candidly the diva of barbs shares her secret: she's very insecure. The film opens with a close up of Rivers' waiting in her makeup chair. Despite numberless nips and tucks, her morning face is ravaged. How does Rivers begin each day? Meditating? Exercising? No, she goes straight to makeup.

Rivers sees herself as actor first and comedienne second. Comedy is just something that came along. Yet she makes us laugh and cringe throughout this year in the life study directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg. "Go f*ck yourself!" is the star's refrain. She vows not to retire. Rivers' favorite place is onstage as audiences applaud wildly. It's that love that she lives for.

The camera follows Rivers as she embarks on a string of C List gigs. Just as Rivers manages to be annoyingly endearing, she says or does something repulsive. That's her style. All the while she plans and finagles. She finishes her book Joan Rivers: Men are Stupi... And They Like Big Boobs. Soon she sets out on book tours across the country.

Slowly, Rivers rides the wave again. The book parties generate buzz. She agrees to star on Celebrity Apprentice, sure that she will be the first to go. Ironically, her daughter Melissa is eliminated first. Melissa notes that there is competition between mother and daughter, although her mom may not see it. Rivers says she never recommended showbiz to her children. Rejection and humiliation are non-stop.

In one of the film's most honest, vulnerable moments, Rivers tells a joke referring to Helen Keller. A heckler sounds off. His son is deaf, and he resents the joke. Rivers defends herself, visceral, swearing. "This is comedy," she screams. An uncomfortable silence from the audience slowly breaks into cheers.

At a celebrity roast, Rivers is skewered for her age and extensive plastic surgery. Yet she's also revered as a groundbreaking star. She confesses she's grateful to be the center of attention, even to be invited at all.

When the comedienne hosts Thanksgiving dinner for family, friends and neighbors, she reveals a grounded and generous side amidst the glitz of her Manhattan apartment.

Rivers' career was always a family business. That ended in tragedy with the suicide of her husband Edgar, who was embezzling her fortune. She never remarried. Later she and Melissa made a movie about the suicide. It helped them heal immeasurably, she says.

Finally a tearful Rivers decides to fire her wayward agent Sammeth. Now the unstoppable star faces another challenge. In June, Sammeth filed suit against Rivers for unpaid commissions - and for skewering him in this film.