“Can we talk?” We get to see Joan Rivers open up for the cameras both behind the scenes and on stage for her new documentary, “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work” with the first official trailer hitting the web. The 76-year-old working comedian, who helped pave the way for the likes of Kathy Griffin, Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler, openly discusses the highs and lows in both her career and her personal life in the film produced by IFC and Break Thru.
Abrasive, witty and intriguing, Rivers has made a career for more than forty years out of poking fun at herself, her looks and at others. In the 1980s, she was quite vocal about her various plastic surgery operations which made her an easy target for jokes and backlash. Since then she has guest-hosted “The Tonight Show,” had her own TV program, toured the world, created a brand in her likeness and made millions of people laugh. Directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg wanted to go beyond the hype on Rivers’ public persona and get into what it takes for a 76-year-old comedian to thrive. They followed her for a year in her life, right at the perfect time as her career had just received a massive jolt from her participation in “Celebrity Apprentice,” and she was faced with a great deal of backlash after “protecting” her daughter Melissa on the program and speaking her mind, most of the time at the expense of her fellow contestants.
The film, which has been getting rave reviews at festival appearances, seems to delve far beyond Rivers’ stage persona. We watch as Rivers stares at an empty calendar discussing how the ladies she helped create have taken away her club dates, and what she needs to do to get back on top. We also get to see a day in the life of a successful comedian who, no matter what she says about herself, has built a career on making others laugh at her own insecurities. As a fan of her comedy, it’s impressive to see such a deep portrait of the woman and the comedian, who at one point was a living embodiment of her own caricature. Rivers prides herself on having a successful career and being a mother, and paving the way for women to succeed more easily in a one-time male-only industry.
Never one to shy away or back down from a fight, Rivers is constantly called out on her “goes there” behavior and says, “there is always an adjective in front of my name and it’s never a nice one”. Check out the trailer for “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” which hits theaters on June 11th. Break Thru Films has a full list of the screenings for the film that will take place throughout the summer on their site.
