Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

It has become tradition that when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences releases its “shortlist” of films to be considered for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, something worthy will be left off. This is not even the official list of five nominees, mind you – this is just the list from which those films will be chosen. This year, the film most widely recognized as having been slighted of that opportunity is JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg.

So does A PIECE OF WORK belong on that shortlist? Probably. But it’s also most likely that what makes the film good is its subject, the surprisingly-complex Joan Rivers. As a piece of filmmaking, I’m not sure that this one rises much above an E! True Hollywood Story.

As just mentioned, the groundbreaking comedienne Joan Rivers makes for a compelling documentary subject. Here, she is seen hawking for performance dates, appearance opportunities and money-making ventures. She lives lavishly, acknowledging on a tour of her apartment that “this is how Marie Antoinette would have lived if she’d have had money.” But it’s hard to dislike Rivers for her lavish lifestyle when she is clearly so willing to put in the work needed to financially support it.

Rivers’ ridiculous work ethic and professional drive are the central focus of A PIECE OF WORK, but the film also reveals many private aspects of Rivers’ life as well. We get into the plastic surgery stuff a little bit here and find out that the first thing Rivers does in the morning is put on her makeup. Even with all of that work, she is terrified of her “natural face,” not that her face is in any way natural anymore. We also get a look deep enough into her psyche to see that she is, in many ways, the female comedy version of Little Richard. By that, I mean that she is constantly looking for people to acknowledge her contributions to the world of comedy as Richard does with rock music. She tenses up around the mention of Kathy Griffin, the heir apparent to a throne she has not finished sitting on herself. Surprisingly, Rivers can, on occasion, come off as somewhat pathetic here. I found that aspect to be brave and refreshing. This is a warts-and-all look at a celebrity legend.

JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK covers many of Rivers’ former and recent professional highs and lows, from her discovery by Johnny Carson to her failed talk show to her play about her life to her appearance on Celebrity Apprentice and the Comedy Central roast of her. And while it helps to like Rivers herself to enjoy the film, it’s not a prerequisite. In fact, it’s a fascinating portrait of just how very hard someone works behind the scenes for a career. Yes, Rivers is a bitch. But she’s also fiercely loyal and insanely driven.

I like documentary films that allow me to form my own opinions and provide me with enough richness of detail to do so, and JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK fits that bill. It’s not an astonishing documentary (that title, for me, goes to “Exit Through the Gift Shop” this year), but it’s also not a surface film manipulated and controlled by its subject. Nor is it a manipulative, political platform device, as is this year’s likely Oscar frontrunner, “Waiting For Superman.” By truly revealing some of the dirty details of Joan Rivers as this film does, one can form his or her own opinion about her, and that is worthy of much admiration.

3.0 out of 4