Joan Rivers, the brash, witty and hysterical comedian is the focus of a behind-the-scenes documentary that has been receiving rave reviews on the festival circuit. “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work“, which was directed Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, delves into a year in the life of Rivers, where we get to see the comedian [...]]]>

Joan Rivers, the brash, witty and hysterical comedian is the focus of a behind-the-scenes documentary that has been receiving rave reviews on the festival circuit. “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work“, which was directed Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, delves into a year in the life of Rivers, where we get to see the comedian open up for the camera both behind the scenes and on stage. 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.

Rivers has made a career for more than forty years out of poking fun at herself, her looks and at others, specifically celebrities. 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 had the honor of being the first and only female to guest-host “The Tonight Show“ until she “broke up” with her comedy mentor Johnny Carson when she got her own late night TV program on Fox. The show quickly failed, her relationship with Carson was through, and she was stuck picking up the pieces once again when her and her husband were fired by Fox. Apparently, this was too much for her husband, as he committed suicide a few months later. Throughout this adversity, Rivers continued to work and work and make herself a household name. Stern and Sundberg when first approaching this project wanted to go beyond the hype on Rivers’ public persona and get into what it takes for a 76-year-old comedian to thrive for “A Piece of Work“.

The directors and producers followed her for a year in her life, right after her appearance on “Celebrity Apprentice,” which she eventually won, 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 and show that she is in fact an actual person. 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”. As a child, I remember explicitly falling in love with Rivers when I first saw her in “The Muppets Take Manhattan” in which she played an over the top makeup counter clerk, along with Miss Piggy. After following her career for years, I have always appreciated her dedication to the joke, her ability to make lemonade out of lemons and still be the overbearing mom we all know she is. Whether it be antagonizing celebrities on the red carpets or protecting her daughter to Howard Stern, Rivers knows what it takes to make us laugh. And at this point, she is very much in on the joke. I can not wait to check out “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” which I sadly missed at Tribeca last month, when it hits theaters on June 11th. In the meantime, check out the new trailer for the doc and a clip, provided by Break Thru Films. And don’t miss your opportunity to see a screening of the film when it comes around. You can check out the full list of dates here.

What do you think of Joan Rivers and her brand of comedy? Will you be checking out the film this Summer?

My original review can be found on The Playlist Nation.

Ahhh….the ladies are back. The new Sex and the City 2 trailer has landed online and its full of crisis, puns and an overall obliviousness to the economic downfall that has taken place over the past few years in the U.S. But no worries folks, there are shiny dresses, beautiful sets and most importantly, a performance [...]]]>

Ahhh….the ladies are back. The new Sex and the City 2 trailer has landed online and its full of crisis, puns and an overall obliviousness to the economic downfall that has taken place over the past few years in the U.S. But no worries folks, there are shiny dresses, beautiful sets and most importantly, a performance by the pants-less wonder Liza Minelli. For Carrie and Samantha, it seems that maturity and aging is still a bit of an issue, while motherhood has seemed to transform Miranda into a superstar and Charlotte into a neurotic mess — quelle surprise. We are teased with celebrity cameos like Miley Cyrus and Penelope Cruz, but it seems the real story is all about Carrie’s relationship with Mr. Big.

The trailer asks, “What happens after you say ‘I do’?” and assuming you are in your 40s and rich, you head to Abu Dhabi (actual shooting location? Morocco) with your gal pals. Carrie will once again have to choose between Mr. Big and Aidan, her ex-fiancé, as she runs into him during her ladies trip and believes there has to be reason to run into an ex halfway across the world. Really? Anyone who has lived in New York City knows you will forever be running into people from your past you would prefer to never see again.

Overall, the films seem to do no justice to the characters many of us fell in love with over the six seasons the show had on HBO. As a self-proclaimed fan of ‘SATC’, it saddens me to see the characters broken down to archetypes of stereotypes for the big screen. While judgment should be reserved until May 27th, when the films hits theaters nationwide, we fear another fractured story focusing on possessions and status, rather then the repeatedly mentioned “soul mates” and friends.

Yes, after seeing the trailer we can all yammer on and on about how similar this “out of my league” territory is and how we might be over it, but……. it has Jay Baruchel. In a starring role no less? How can you hate anything having to do with this adorable man? She’s [...]]]>

Yes, after seeing the trailer we can all yammer on and on about how similar this “out of my league” territory is and how we might be over it, but……. it has Jay Baruchel. In a starring role no less? How can you hate anything having to do with this adorable man? She’s Out of My League stars Baruchel as a TSA agent, who is beyond down on his luck with ladies and is destined to settle with his evil ex girlfriend. That is until luck intervenes and sends a beautiful and way out of his league airline passenger his way when he happens to find her lost iPhone (nice product placement) at a security check point. What follows is your typical boy pining for girl, girl pining for the safe choice romantic comedy, with the obligatory silly friends for him, sassy friends for her and the agro ex boyfriend who wants to get her back. The trailer makes this appear more American Pie than Knocked Up, but Im just so stoked Baruchel, whom I have loved since “Undeclared“, is getting closer and closer to leading man territory. And no this film was not written, directed or produced by Judd Apatow. It hits theaters in March of this year.