Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

Directors:

Ricki Stern
Anne Sundberg (co-director)

Writer:

Ricki Stern (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Comedy

Plot:

A documentary on the life and career of Joan Rivers, made as the comedienne turns 75 years old.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Comedienne | Nbc | Rehearsal | Critic

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Joan Rivers	...	Herself (also archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Alparone	...	Himself
George Carlin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Johnny Carson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Edgar Cooper Endicott	...	Himself
Phyllis Diller	...	Herself (archive footage)
Annie Duke	...	Herself (archive footage)
Flo Fox	...	Herself
Kathy Griffin	...	Herself
Florian Klein	...	Himself
Emily Kosloski	...	Herself
Mark Anderson Phillips	...	Himself (as Mark Phillips)
Jocelyn Pickett	...	Herself
Don Rickles	...	Himself
Melissa Rivers	...	Herself
Edgar Rosenberg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Sammeth	...	Himself (as Billy Sammeth)
Larry A. Thompson	...	Himself
Donald Trump	...	Himself (archive footage)
Denis Leary	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jack Paar	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Carrie Paff	...	Herself (uncredited)
Jon Stewart	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ricki Stern
Anne Sundberg		(co-director) (as Annie Sundberg)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ricki Stern		writer

Produced by
Seth Keal	....	field producer
Seth Keal	....	producer
Charles Miller	....	field producer
Ricki Stern	....	executive producer
Ricki Stern	....	line producer
Ricki Stern	....	producer
Anne Sundberg	....	producer (as Annie Sundberg)

Original Music by
Paul Brill

Cinematography by
Charles Miller

Film Editing by
Penelope Falk

Sound Department
Brad Bergbom	....	additional sound
Brad Bergbom	....	sound designer
Brad Bergbom	....	sound editor
Tom Efinger	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom Efinger	....	sound supervisor
Seth Keal	....	sound
Jeff Seelye	....	assistant sound editor

Visual Effects by
Yorgo Alexopoulos	....	animator
Yorgo Alexopoulos	....	visual effects designer
Amber Kusmenko	....	motion graphics assistant

Camera and Electrical Department
Seth Keal	....	camera operator
Guy Mossman	....	camera operator
William Rexer	....	additional cinematography

Editorial Department
Anderson Boyd	....	assistant on-line editor
Gilbert Carreras	....	color timer
Stewart Griffin	....	colorist
Caitlin Tartaro	....	digital intermediate producer

Other crew
Yorgo Alexopoulos	....	title designer
Abe Halpert	....	production assistant
Hannah Robins	....	production assistant
Karen Shatzkin	....	legal services

Thanks
Matthew Bauman	....	thanks
Dallas Brennan	....	thank you (as Dallas Rexer)
Debbie Brennan	....	special thanks
Emerson Bruns	....	thank you
Edgar Cooper Endicott	....	special thanks (as Cooper)
Frank DeCaro	....	thanks
Rachel Dratch	....	thank you
Mark Efman	....	thanks: Z Rock
Mark Farrell	....	thanks: Z Rock
Amy Foote	....	thank you
Flo Fox	....	thanks
Kathy Griffin	....	special thanks
Paul Kloss	....	thank you
William Ivey Long	....	thanks
Tony Oppedisano	....	special thanks
Bari Pearlman	....	special thanks
Jocelyn Pickett	....	special thanks
Joan Rivers	....	special thanks (as Ms. Joan Rivers)
Melissa Rivers	....	special thanks (as Mellisa Rivers)
Bill Sammeth	....	special thanks (as Billy Sammeth)
Toby Shimin	....	thank you
Howard Stern	....	thanks
Donald Trump	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Break Thru Films

Distributors

• IFC Films (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• HBO (2011) (Brazil) (TV)
• IFC Films (2010) (Canada) (all media)
• IFC Films (2010) (USA) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2010) (Australia) (DVD)
• Roco Films (2010) (Non-USA) (all media)
• Sony Music Entertainment (2011) (Japan) (TV)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual humor

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #46077) | Australia:MA (2010) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia)

Company:

Break Thru Films

Movie Connections:

Features Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers (2009) (TV)

A very complex individual

The problem I usually have with documentaries is that, while I find them enlightening, I rarely connect to them on an emotional level. My intellect is stimulated, but I don't usually feel anything. The last documentary that made me feel anything was "Sicko." "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" succeeds in the same way. Here's a woman who is a bit of a joke and an easy Hollywood punching bag. But she shows herself to be quite a complex individual. She's of course funny and a workaholic. She's also quite vulnerable and doesn't take criticism well at all. At times, she's quite likable and very sympathetic. Other times, she seems twisted and self-absorbed. I suppose the real Rivers is a little of both. She's also a joy to spend 90 minutes in a theater with, should the opportunity present itself to you.

The film opens with a shot that tells you everything you need to know about this film and its intentions. The shot is an extreme close-up of Rivers without any makeup on. For someone so presumably consumed with her looks, this is a surprising image that tells you this film is going to show you the real Rivers. Like her or not (and many won't), this is her.

The rest of the film is loosely broken up into three sections. The first introduces us to the woman and follows Rivers as she develops an autobiographical play and performs it in the UK. The second follows her during her time on "The Celebrity Apprentice." And the final one shows her on the road across America doing comedy shows. Interspersed with these segments are sidebars about Rivers' past—her marriage, her time with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," her relationship with her daughter Melissa, and her annual Thanksgiving charity work.

The two biggest things I took away from the film are that Rivers is obsessive (desperate?) about working and that she is incredibly insecure—perhaps the two complement each other. At one point, she is trying to book a commercial. She tells the ad agency's representative that she'll wear diapers, anything, to land a gig. After seeing this film, I believe she would. She's also incredibly self-doubting. When her play opens in London to good, not great, reviews, she immediately decides it won't see the light of day in New York. She says she wouldn't be able to bear the criticism. And when she agrees to do a Comedy Central roast—well, let's just say, it's not pretty.

One of the most enlightening, and in some ways off-putting, scenes in the film is when she gets heckled at a show in rural Wisconsin. Rivers makes a joke about hating kids but thinking Helen Keller would be tolerable, and a man yells that he thinks she isn't funny, but mean-spirited. Rivers lays into him. She doesn't hold back at all, and while I hold the belief that comedians should be able to defend themselves as they see fit against hecklers, her expletive-laden tirade crossed a few lines. What was so telling about this scene, though, was just how insecure Rivers is. When one man, a nobody in her life, criticizes her, she viciously lashes out.

I really did find this film fascinating for just how complicated it made its star seem. In addition to that, it's also quite funny. Rivers hasn't lost much in 75 years. I'd argue that her best bits are the more recent ones. Most documentaries are intellectual exercises, but not this one. It felt refreshing—not at all like sitting through a lecture. I wasn't a fan of Rivers before. I'm not sure I'm a fan of Rivers now. But a can definitely say I'm a fan of "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," and I would recommend it to just about anyone.