Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

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

Directors:

Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg (co-director) (as Annie Sundberg)

Writer:

Ricki Stern

Stars:

Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, Kathy Griffin

5 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Rivers	...	Self
Jocelyn Pickett	...	Self
Bill Sammeth	...	Self (as Billy Sammeth)
Larry A. Thompson	...	Self
Graham Reed	...	Self
Kevin Brennan	...	Self - Joan Rivers' housekeeper
Debbie Brennan	...	Self
Analie Berthel	...	Self
Sean Foley	...	Self
Emily Kosloski	...	Self
Mark Anderson Phillips	...	Self (as Mark Phillips)
Denis Markell	...	Self
Gilda Frost	...	Self
David Dangle	...	Self
Kathy Griffin	...	Self

Storyline

This documentary follows one year in the life of Joan Rivers, who sees herself first and foremost as an actress, with her life as a comedienne/writer just an extension of being an actress. Now at age 75, Rivers has faced her ups and downs in her forty plus year career, the year leading up to filming being a down compared to what she would have wanted, which is a calendar full of engagements with several engagements each day. That want is in part to support her opulent personal lifestyle, but is more a need to bolster her own sense of self-worth as a basically insecure person who is probably best known now for her overuse of cosmetic surgery rather than her professional work. She feels that Kathy Griffin, who she admires, is now getting all the engagements she would have gotten in her prime. During this year, Rivers is seen going from engagement to engagement, some big - such as a Kennedy Center Honors for George Carlin, a double bill with Don Rickles in New York, and her own celebrity...

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Plot Keywords:

heckler | comedienne | f rated | female protagonist | reference to joan rivers | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexual humor

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Pauw: Episode #1.4 (2014)

User Reviews

75 and still funny.

I just saw this film about an hour ago, and liked what I saw. I'm not a big Joan River's fan. In fact, I'm not one of her fans at all, but this film gave me a slice of her life at what for some is considered elderly.

Not for Joan. For her 75 is the new 40. Tell any active person of years and they'll tell you just that.

I don't have a whole lot to say about this movie. It was interesting, funny, and just kind of a pleasant watch. Joan works hard, has her causes, and does her best to remind the world that she's still alive and spewing some pretty risqué humor.

It's not a film I'd see again, but it's a film I'm glad I saw. It reminded me of a clique of show businesses that I think a lot of former production types would just assume avoid or watch from a distance as we setup lights and cameras. There's some infighting, some exposition of personal problems, all the usual "life of a star" kind of stuff that gets covered in these kinds of films.

Is her life inspirational? Sure. But it's also got a bit of the dramatic, and by that I don't mean in either her act or in this film. What I mean is that we have a huge variety of media outlets. The super-stardom of yesteryear where major outlets were fawned over and coveted are gone. Your local TV station and network affiliates are still there as well as the local movie houses, but the kind of controlled stardom that used to be governed by studio heads is no longer the simple exposure process that it once was.

But Joan hangs in there like a champ. In some ways she's still fighting for attention using classic tried and true practices. It seems to work for her, and her battle continues. But, in my opinion, it may be for naught as social media continues to diversify and allow more individuals to come in and create their own "stardom", so to speak.

Still, Joan plays the game by hitting the show circuit, including play houses, clubs, cruise liners, and even guest television appearances. She's alive and still entertaining, and will more than likely do so for many years to come.

Check it out.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 July 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$164,351, 13 June 2010

Gross USA:

$2,930,687

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,930,687

Company Credits

Production Co:

Break Thru Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1