Fast Film Reviews

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Documentary chronicles a year in the life of Joan Rivers, iconic comedian.  Watch as she recounts the milestones in her life, deal with an irate heckler, fire a dear friend and struggles to remain relevant.  Behind-the-scenes showbiz account is entertaining, to be sure, but a biography such as this, is most interesting when it’s an exposé.  Unfortunately, the revelations aren‘t very surprising.  The fact that she’s a workaholic and she unceasingly desires approval to a fault, isn’t surprising.  A person who treats plastic surgery like a visit to the hair salon or her nasty public falling-out with Johnny Carson are fascinating subjects only superficially addressed.  The documentary is more about scheduling her next gig.  Her drive to keep working is her all consuming passion, not dwelling on the past.  In the end, the documentary won’t make you like her any more and it won’t make you like her any less.  It just is, a decent testimonial to a woman who has been in show business for over 50 years.

3 Responses

  1. I like Joan Rivers. She is such a cartoon character. True, I didn’t really learn much more about “her”, in this doc, but respect her devoted work ethic. She’s a trooper!

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