20 March 2011

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)

Overall message of this documentary: Joan Rivers is egotistical and mean, and yet sadly fragile inside.

To which I hereby officially respond--meh.

This lackluster doc leaves out what I could consider to be any truly interesting or surprising information, instead mostly just showing us the Joan Rivers we already knew.

The result is a not very bold or unexpected, not very thought provoking, and largely pointless hour and a half about a funny lady and her dirty laundry.

3 comments:

  1. Interesting, I actually really loved this documentary. I thought the combination of self-love and self-loathing, narcissism and insecurity, was balanced in a great way and really revealed something about the dynamics of being a comedian -- especially a female comedian.
    I thought a lot of the footage revealed a funnier and stronger part of Joan Rivers than I (personally) knew before. The scene with the heckler alone was fascinating to watch.

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  2. Oh, thought it would have been a good one to watch.

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  3. @Alla: Yeah, I can see your perspective. I think what my opinion really boiled down to in the end was that I already assumed Rivers was kind of insecure, and I also don't really enjoy her as a comedian. I don't deny that she pushes the envelope, and I don't think she's a bad comedian at all. I enjoyed the way she handled the heckler in the Wisconsin crowd. It was a very respectable way to deal with the situation. I just didn't enjoy the film too much, and still don't enjoy Rivers herself.

    @Lanna: Go ahead and watch it! If you like Joan Rivers or wanted to see a documentary on her in the first place, go for it. I'm just a complainey grump. These days it seems like the only movies I truly enjoy are children's media.

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