JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK

I have always found Joan Rivers to be particularly annoying. There is something so crude and ear piercing about her comedy that it has always been hard for me to give her a chance. But, when I first found out that there was a documentary about her at the IFC, I became uncharacteristically curious. It's one thing to see her stand-up, or to watch her on Celebrity Apprentice (which I didn't), but to see a documentary about her meant that we were going to get some sort of glimpse into who this woman really was and I have to admit, I was intrigued.

Let me first start off by saying that this is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen in my life. My first thought was that I was so disappointed that my brother, a brilliant documentarian, didn't think of this first. This. Movie. Was. Incredible. Roger Ebert's review which said, "It's one of the most truthful documentaries about show business I've ever seen" was spot on. For the first time ever, you finally get to see Joan for who she really is. Under the plastic surgery and the shrill voice is a relentless fighter, a ground breaker and (most surprisingly) a feminist. She's a loving grandmother. She's a good friend and reliable colleague. She's insecure and unsure of herself, but she never lets it get in the way. She's smart and she's undeniably funny. Sure she's over the top, like when she compares the line at Barnes and Noble to the Jews being lined up for execution, but you can't help but laugh. And of course, people do get offended, but Joan points out that if we don't have the ability to laugh at ourselves and at the sadness of the post 911 world that we live in, then what do we have?

I left the theater with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face and my first thought was that I needed to share this with the world. Ignore and dispose of any perception that you may have of this woman and go see this movie. You won't regret it.

JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK IS IN SELECT THEATRES NOW