Review of Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010) by Kurt F — 18 Jun 2010

A pretty amazing look at the current career of Joan Rivers, a woman who knows exactly who she is and what she wants. At 75, and having accomplished so much in her life and career, she is still so driven and so hungry. She refuses to become irrelevant.

This is a great documentary for people who are curious about the makings of show business and performing, with the ups and downs and the relentless hard work and successes and failures it involves.

For me the best scene in this movie is when Joan gets heckled after making a Helen Keller joke during a performance. A man yells out that it's not funny because he has a deaf son. Joan emphatically explains to him why something like that IS funny, but then we see how the man's comment lingers with her. Still, the first reaction was, I think, how she really feels.

It's also fun to see how much Joan enjoys herself. She'll pull out an old joke from an old fashion index she has and will still find it funny.