Review of Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) by Brad G — 20 Jan 2011

I've never really given much thought to Joan Rivers. She's that plastic surgery nutjob or that red carpet hustler. Never waited for a punchline. Click, change channel. But A Piece of Work is a thoroughly entertaining documentary about the twilight years of celebrity.

Rivers exposes herself as an extremely insecure woman who is desperately straining to remain relevant to pop culture. The doc manages to feel both sad and sweet. And I finally listened to the punchlines--and they're pretty darn funny.

VF.