Review of Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) by Anna S — 17 Aug 2010

Comedian Joan Rivers has had so much plastic surgery that she looks like a cross between Michael Jackson and the Joker. Her life is driven by desperation. Not quiet desperation either, but loud, raspy-voiced desperation -- a desperate desire to be loved, to be wanted, to make enough money to finance the extravagant lifestyle to which she?s become accustomed. When this documentary was filmed two years ago, the then 75-year old Rivers wasn?t even thinking about retiring. Her focus was entirely on finding work and filling in as many of the blank spaces on her calendar as possible.

Rivers apparently considers no job too small or too demeaning so long as the price is right. She was once a Hollywood A-lister, acting as the regular guest host for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show before hosting her own late night talk show. Now she shills jewelry on QVC, performs in small clubs in Wisconsin, hawks penile enlargement pills, and even appeared along with her scary-looking daughter Melissa on ?Celebrity Apprentice?.

For someone who?s been performing for over 50 years, Rivers has an amazing lack of confidence. She?s shown taking her new one-woman play to London and Edinburgh to test the critical waters, which turn out to be lukewarm, prompting her to abruptly cancel the entire project. After an appearance on a celebrity roast, she sits in her dressing room nervously assessing her performance as compared to the other comedians. She knows that she?s no longer among the funniest; her fear is that she may be among the worst. It?s hard to believe that a veritable show business legend can still be so insecure.

Before this movie, I knew who Rivers was, of course, but I wasn?t really familiar with her comedy, which I discovered is shockingly raunchy, especially considering her age. Occasionally she tells a funny joke, but for the most part, I just couldn?t get into this film. The longer I watched it, the more I found myself losing focus, comparing Rivers? single-minded drive and sense of purpose with my own just sort of drifting along. I don?t want to get old and have accomplished nothing, but I don?t want to still be seeking validation at age 75 either. Though part of me admires Rivers? moxie, her unquenchable need for approbation strikes me as kind of pathetic.

As documentaries go, this one is pretty superficial. There?s a little bit of background and a whole lot of Rivers running around, desperately doing her thing. If the portrait painted here is accurate, the only two thoughts which ever occupy Rivers? brain are ?I need to find work? and ?Do they still love me?? It?s hard to believe that this is really all there is to her.