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The problem I usually have with documentaries is that, while I find them enlightening, I rarely connect to them on an emotional level. My intellect is stimulated, but I don't usually feel anything. The last documentary that made me feel anything was "Sicko." "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" succeeds in the same way. Here's a woman who is a bit of a joke and an easy Hollywood punching bag. But she shows herself to be quite a complex individual. She's of course funny and a workaholic. She's also quite vulnerable and doesn't take criticism well at all. At times, she's quite likable and very sympathetic. Other times, she seems twisted and self-absorbed. I suppose the real Rivers is a little of both. She's also a joy to spend 90 minutes in a theater with, should the opportunity present itself to you.

The film opens with a shot that tells you everything you need to know about this film and its intentions. The shot is an extreme close-up of Rivers without any makeup on. For someone so presumably consumed with her looks, this is a surprising image that tells you this film is going to show you the real Rivers. Like her or not (and many won't), this is her.

The rest of the film is loosely broken up into three sections. The first introduces us to the woman and follows Rivers as she develops an autobiographical play and performs it in the UK. The second follows her during her time on "The Celebrity Apprentice." And the final one shows her on the road across America doing comedy shows. Interspersed with these segments are sidebars about Rivers' past—her marriage, her time with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," her relationship with her daughter Melissa, and her annual Thanksgiving charity work.

The two biggest things I took away from the film are that Rivers is obsessive (desperate?) about working and that she is incredibly insecure—perhaps the two complement each other. At one point, she is trying to book a commercial. She tells the ad agency's representative that she'll wear diapers, anything, to land a gig. After seeing this film, I believe she would. She's also incredibly self-doubting. When her play opens in London to good, not great, reviews, she immediately decides it won't see the light of day in New York. She says she wouldn't be able to bear the criticism. And when she agrees to do a Comedy Central roast—well, let's just say, it's not pretty.

One of the most enlightening, and in some ways off-putting, scenes in the film is when she gets heckled at a show in rural Wisconsin. Rivers makes a joke about hating kids but thinking Helen Keller would be tolerable, and a man yells that he thinks she isn't funny, but mean-spirited. Rivers lays into him. She doesn't hold back at all, and while I hold the belief that comedians should be able to defend themselves as they see fit against hecklers, her expletive-laden tirade crossed a few lines. What was so telling about this scene, though, was just how insecure Rivers is. When one man, a nobody in her life, criticizes her, she viciously lashes out.

I really did find this film fascinating for just how complicated it made its star seem. In addition to that, it's also quite funny. Rivers hasn't lost much in 75 years. I'd argue that her best bits are the more recent ones. Most documentaries are intellectual exercises, but not this one. It felt refreshing—not at all like sitting through a lecture. I wasn't a fan of Rivers before. I'm not sure I'm a fan of Rivers now. But a can definitely say I'm a fan of "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," and I would recommend it to just about anyone.

I wouldn't call myself a fan per se, but I've always admired Joan Rivers for just saying what she feels. This documentary chronicles a year in her life, her 75th year, and is not a laugh riot by design. She goes into the relationship with her daughter Melissa, her late husband Edgar and her long time manager whom she has increasingly been unable to trust to be available for her. The poignancy is from the various parts of this film of her life as a working performer. There are times that she is not in demand and more than once states she will "take anything". Also, there is a failed play and a scene at a Wisconsin nightclub where she has a shouting match with a person who objects to one of her jokes. You don't go to a Joan Rivers show to hear sweetness, she has always been pointed and sometimes outrageous. Anyone who doesn't know her well can get some insight into her from this film, but this film is more for people who know about her and like/love her. I like her for being bold and for being a pioneer. I would recommend it to everyone who is even vaguely interested but just know it is not a full concert performance. It held my interest throughout.

Joan Rivers is asked, "Don't we want to be loved for our real self?" To which she tellingly replies, "What's the real self?"

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is not funny even though you'd expect a year in the life of one of the world's funniest ladies to be so. But it is as documentaries go one of the best ever: It is uncompromising in depicting how a 75 year-old icon is working every minute of her day, not to sharpen her craft necessarily, but rather to make money to keep up a lavish lifestyle best exemplified by her Versailles-like apartment in New York.

Truth is, however, that she likes what she does better than anything else, a workaholic who makes people laugh. In the process she is ribald, abrasive, bitchy, and irreverent, attributes she displayed almost 50 years ago, when highly educated ladies just didn't do that kind of thing. But from the Tonight show with Johnny Carson through Celebrity Apprentice, she has done it all in comedy while taking gigs from Wisconsin to Juno, all to stay alive in a profession that eats its young and discards its seniors every day.

When she says, "Let me show you what fear is" and explicates by revealing a blank appointment page, she is speaking for every worker in show business—most of whom face periods of inactivity regularly and bravely. Her fear of bombing with her act is almost as palpable and never more apparent than when she painfully puts down a heckler but suffers remorse for what it did to him, her audience, and of course her self confidence.

Yet the two most devastating events of her life, the suicide of husband Edgar and the ultimate rejection by Johnny Carson may have affected her most in 75 years. This doc is much more about suffering than laughter.

Rivers holds her acting talent above her comedic, a telling admission about the calculating, opportunistic foundation of her career, with comedy a mere avocation. Directors Riki Stern and Anne Sundberg skillfully keep the tension of uncertainty on Joan, as if the camera should be as close as possible to Joan's face to capture that actress's honesty.

"Actress" and "honesty" don't always go together, and they are in question here. How honest is any portrayal by a comic who keeps thousands of jokes on file and surgically alters her face as many times as she may change jewelry? On this topic, I remain skeptical; on the matter of this doc being successful deconstruction of show business's vagaries, it's a powerful work in progress.

After seeing the trailer, my expectations were moderately high. The movie far exceeds them. It is screamingly funny (Joan Rivers is screamingly funny) and poignant as well. I am partial to people who have a passion and work their hearts out; Joan Rivers exemplifies this. As a writer who's seen ups and downs, I found her up-and-down trajectory inspirational. The humor is often raunchy and always hilarious. Because she cannot do her best jokes on television, I found the movie broadened my perspective on what she is able to do (a lot!). If you've ever liked her jokes, definitely go see this movie. While it's true that the film maker could have dug a bit deeper into some of the darker subjects, I think that would have drastically changed the amazing balance between comedy and seriousness for the worse. A lot is conveyed without belaboring the difficult issues. Although Joan Rivers was virtually in every frame (a few exceptions where some people spoke about her), I never tired of seeing and, especially, hearing her. She has a store of funny and the ability to tap into it, whatever else is happening.

There are two laughs in this documentary about funny-girl Joan Rivers. The Michelle Obama joke and I can't remember the other. Somewhere between self absorbed pity fuel-ling a license to insult and a need to please is this quite wonderful witty woman who can't spell vagina but makes jokes about them. At 75 an looking like Barbie's grandma, Rivers verbal avalanche of scattergun jokes makes you yearn for the days of Harpo Marx and maybe then Groucho if you need to hear a joke later. She is like the unofficial rat pack gal sidekick of the 50s and 60s who hasn't yet realized the rat pack days and the Las Vegas laminex table comedy they thought was luxury showbiz is all sooooo last Century. She lives well as displayed in a hilarious tacky Manhattan apartment that looks like an explosion on the set of the 1936 ROMEO AND JULIET set at MGM, she signs a dozen checks with which she buys an image of generosity, she does meals on wheels and in the film's one truly moving moment pays tribute to Florence Fox, an innovative NY photographer now almost destitute. Maybe Joan could also slip her a few checks. I'd like to have seen Joan meet Mimi Weddell the NY fashionista who died in 2009 aged 94 and still going to auditions. Rivers really is not funny. She knows too that yelling obscenities is as passé as Don Rickles doing stand up at 88. Somehow she is interesting no matter how hard she tries to prove how awful-funny she can be. A PIECE OF WORK is getting a good National release in Australia and the audience at a session I went to laughed occasionally. As we filed out most muttered how glad it wasn't one of her shows we are at since she really would have been in front of us. It was better she was just an image on a screen. I feel mean for writing some unpleasant reactions about her.. but it could be worse, I could make fun of her. Or is that what she prefers since it is what she does to everyone else including herself.....Basically it makes you yearn for Carol Channing or Lily Tomlin who really are funny and probably can spell vagina but do not need to.

I was surprised of the movie not being recognized by the Academy of Documentary. I guess they don't want anything to do with Joan Rivers, and that's the whole point of the documentary. The doc started out with Joan Rivers' lowpoint of her career (when she's already 70 years old), and it progresses with Rivers working her way up again. The film demonstrates how the once comedic icon and well known star turned into "a piece of work". With her comedic talents blending with her sad emotions, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a snub that the Academy missed out on. OscarBuzz: NONE, that's the point! The Academy is missing out a a great film that shows the love for Joan Rivers and her career. She may be the one 70 year-old that still loves and wants to do her job.

Well-produced, though not particularly incisive documentary on the career of groundbreaking stand-up comic Joan Rivers, one where the (rehearsed) humor and (probably rehearsed) pathos do not especially work their way into your heart, but which is a must-see for historians of comedy--especially now that the star's raspy voice and self-deprecating jokes have been forever silenced. Writing and rehearsing a comedy play (with much stand-up in it), Rivers is seen opening the show in Scotland and England, but is apprehensive about taking the production to New York City (where the star assumes her critics are laying in wait, their poison pens at the ready). This seems odd for a popular, much-loved talent who had some of her greatest triumphs in the Big Apple. Brief introductions and interviews with Joan's staff and circle of friends achieve absolutely nothing (except padding the film's running-time); although, when Rivers is seen on-stage, playing Performer, all the excess drama and neuroses are neatly filtered out. The woman was positively in her element while in the spotlight. **1/2 from ****

A documentary that followed Joan Rivers for an entire year when she turned 75. She talks directly to the camera and opens up about her life, her job, her family and what makes her tick. I should admit that I love Rivers! Her jokes are mean but hysterical. Seeing her here she comes across as insecure and a workaholic...but you don't pity her and she doesn't ask you too. She just wants us to see her as she really is. What was really surprising was seeing her with her daughter Melissa. Melissa comes off as cold and unfeeling--NOT the image she ever gave before. Also there is footage of Rivers on stage. Her act is incredibly profane--but hysterical! My audience would gasp and then break up at her lines. An excellent documentary of a very complex woman. A 10 all the way!

I made a mistake watching this documentary, but my bad, I thought it was going to be a stand-up comedy. I just wanted to laugh a bit, certainly not watch a documentary about her life. I know Joan Rivers from seeing her somewhere on television, never really watched anything with her so I had no clue if the comedy would be good or not, and now I still don't know since it was a documentary. There is the odd joke every now and then but nothing where I could judge her comedy level, although she clearly has a funny bone. So about the documentary, it's well done, I'd give them that. I know everything I didn't want to know about Joan Rivers. I know she's really into knowing what people think of her, a bit of an attention seeker if you ask me, so not really a person I would want to meet in real. I know she loved plastic surgery, that's pretty obvious when you see how she looks now, all deformed and alien like. I will never get why women do that to themselves, it's an absolute myth that any men like women that look like that. It makes them look very insecure, fear of aging, and again attention seeking. Again not a woman I want to meet in real life. The absolute irony is her dying from a plastic surgery going wrong, at 81, do you really need more plastic surgery at 81? This documentary is made when she was 75, looking for more jobs, appearances, commercials etcetera, another human being that just doesn't know when to quit the rat race. Again a woman I don't want to know in real life. So I basically watched a documentary about a woman that isn't interesting to me. The only thing I liked of her was that she says anything she wants whenever she wants, politically incorrect or not, for that I appreciate her, but that's about it. Too bad they didn't show more of her jokes and stand-up comedies. Instead I had to endure her mini me, her daughter Melissa, that looks like she will become another woman that I absolutely don't want to meet. The fakeness and drama drips of her, even worse than her mother. I still give this documentary a six because it's well made, I know everything about Joan Rivers now, so you can say it's an accurate documentary. It's just too bad it's useless information. Information I will try to clear from my memory as soon as possible.

In Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg's documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, we get an up close and personal behind one of the hardest working woman in show-business. From her youthful aspirations to become an actress, we find out that comedy wasn't always priority number one on Joan's list. Comedy was a way to support her acting career. She later notes that you can make fun of her comedy career all you want, but leave her acting abilities alone. She even suggests that she is an actress playing a comedienne.

Following a successful appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, her career was and her "industry" was set in stone. There was no turning back. From performing her act in Vegas and her hosting of The Tonight Show for Johnny on numerous occasions. Her comedy was (and is) in your face. If a joke is thought to be too edgy, she knows she hit her mark.

I'll let you fill in the rest when you see the movie, but this isn't about where Joan has gone or the accomplishments she has achieved. It's about who Joan is today, how she is constantly looking to reinvent herself and stay fresh. Her unbridled enthusiasm for performing and staying busy. Her commitment to family and helping others.

In the film, we see Joan talking on the phone, looking for an endorsement deal. She says she'll speak for anything, including adult diapers and male enhancement drugs. She's not a sell out, but is willing to thrust herself upon the masses in order to get noticed. Through much of the film we see her working on a stage play, a sort of autobiographical play where she delves into what it's like to be Joan. Her concern isn't about whether or not people will like her, but whether or not they will accept her back into the mainstream. She is well aware that people view her as the poster child for plastic surgery. She is well aware that her age (75) is something that can hurt her to land a job. Does that stop her? It only strengthens her desire to succeed.

While some people will view this movie as a cry for attention, and I can see how they would feel this way. Joan lives a life of luxury, in a posh, elegant, and expensive apartment in New York City. Her need to live luxuriously and with all of the plastic surgery stems from her past where she never felt nor was never told she was beautiful. She needs this things in order to feel pretty, to feel like there is a reason to wake up.

That is not what this film is about. We are not meant to feel bad for someone who doesn't feel pretty. We are meant to see a woman who gives her all for her fans, whom she adores, and her family, that she cares for tremendously, especially her daughter and grandson. There is a brief moment where she sits down to write out a stack of checks, both for herself and also to others, like family members who attend private school and whatnot. She doesn't bat an eye at this stack, but breezes through them because she knows they must be paid for.

Her comedy might not be your cup of tea, but I think we can all learn something from this relentless woman. A life devoted to work and to family. What a piece of work. It's a shame that this film was left off the short list for Best Documentary for the Oscars. I hope you will all see it nonetheless.

Joan has always been my favorite female comic. I met her in the 60's,and again in the early 70's. She was performing in L.A., and my good friend, and now retired VP of Sasson, "at one time did her hair", had got us tickets at the "Little Club", where we were able to see her hone her craft. She is tired of being called a ground breaking female comic, as she mentioned, but she is that and more. I think she is more afraid of life, than death. She really shouldn't have to work as hard as she does, even though she loves it. She took a bad shot with her ex, who stepped in sxxx, when he met her. Bernie Madoff could have managed her money better. But she is a class act, a pro of the highest degree, born to do what she does. We are blessed to still have her around, and for my 2 cents, I hope she stays healthy and is around forever. She is like the Sinatra of what she does. Watch the film.

I just saw this film about an hour ago, and liked what I saw. I'm not a big Joan River's fan. In fact, I'm not one of her fans at all, but this film gave me a slice of her life at what for some is considered elderly.

Not for Joan. For her 75 is the new 40. Tell any active person of years and they'll tell you just that.

I don't have a whole lot to say about this movie. It was interesting, funny, and just kind of a pleasant watch. Joan works hard, has her causes, and does her best to remind the world that she's still alive and spewing some pretty risqué humor.

It's not a film I'd see again, but it's a film I'm glad I saw. It reminded me of a clique of show businesses that I think a lot of former production types would just assume avoid or watch from a distance as we setup lights and cameras. There's some infighting, some exposition of personal problems, all the usual "life of a star" kind of stuff that gets covered in these kinds of films.

Is her life inspirational? Sure. But it's also got a bit of the dramatic, and by that I don't mean in either her act or in this film. What I mean is that we have a huge variety of media outlets. The super-stardom of yesteryear where major outlets were fawned over and coveted are gone. Your local TV station and network affiliates are still there as well as the local movie houses, but the kind of controlled stardom that used to be governed by studio heads is no longer the simple exposure process that it once was.

But Joan hangs in there like a champ. In some ways she's still fighting for attention using classic tried and true practices. It seems to work for her, and her battle continues. But, in my opinion, it may be for naught as social media continues to diversify and allow more individuals to come in and create their own "stardom", so to speak.

Still, Joan plays the game by hitting the show circuit, including play houses, clubs, cruise liners, and even guest television appearances. She's alive and still entertaining, and will more than likely do so for many years to come.

Check it out.

Joan Rivers love her or hate her one thing is for certain this biography docudrama titled "A Piece of Work" is highly enjoyable as it shows a personal side of Joan, really it tells the history of her show business days. As you the viewer see old clips, and you get treated to interviews from other comics like Kathy Griffin and interviews with agents and managers are telling. Also hearing the mouth of Joan is a juicy treat as Rivers is always outspoken.

This is a woman of many sides revealing is how her humble start on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" helped launch her comedy stand up life. Only to later become Carson's fill in host only to have it end nasty with John when Joan left for FOX to start her own show(which would later fail)actually the two never spoke again. And heartbreaking is when you hear Joan talk about the suicide of husband Edgar, and how it strained the relationship with her only child a daughter Melissa(who's sexy and beautiful).

Aside from those setbacks this woman has stood out in the cruel rains of the comedy and television world since the late 60's. And this doc does a good job of following her around aside from the clips, and interviews you see what it's like backstage and the grueling travels that exhaust Joan as she goes city to city. And many think she's cruel and cold, but not as it's revealing and nice seeing her give some food to homeless people in New York City on Thanksgiving. And my personal favorite was her speech to honor my favorite comedian the late great George Carlin as Joan gave a speech on his behalf. And rewarding was her winning of Donald Trump's "Apprentice" this past season.

Really this doc shows the high and lows of Joan it proves with her interviews she's emotional, conflicted and brash, yet caring and outrageously funny. This film is an all access stage pass to her life and one year journey of all in between. It's clear that Joan at 75 proves she's still one of the best, love her or hate her Rivers is a stand up figure who's iconic and tough as nails strong with brash sassy wit and intelligence. This title rings so true Joan Rivers is clearly "A Piece of Work".

Joan Rivers has never been shy and this is no exception. We see her warts and all. Normally, a documentary with a co-operating subject can be too one-sided. Joan is too happy to give both sides ... on most subjects.

Joan is still doing the clubs and working hard. It's getting tougher and tougher. Kathy Griffin is taking the bigger gigs. Her biggest fear is an empty day planner. She's a workaholic with brass balls.

For the inappropriate comedian, the most controversial part is probably her time with Johnny Carson. She has a specific take on the events. I just wish we get the other side. That's the only thing obviously missing. In general, we get a real insightful look into her life.

"A Piece of Work" is a very apt subtitle for this film, since it sums up rather succinctly the driving force behind Joan Rivers' career—she is a woman constantly on the lookout for her next piece of work. Perpetually aware of just how difficult it is to hit a moving target, Rivers never seems to slow down. At the age of 75, she keep herself busier than many working actors/comedians 1/3 her age. Ricki Stern's film chronicles Rivers' career, from her beginnings on "The Tonight Show" through her stint as permanent guest host, her devastating decision to leave that show for her own talk show (a decision that created a rift between Rivers and Johnny Carson that never healed), her husband's suicide, and her struggle to recover from it both personally and professionally. Rivers' daughter Melissa is of course a big part of this film, and her presence creates perhaps an unintentional stark contrast to Rivers herself. Joan is the consummate hard-working, smart, talented, honest professional entertainer, while her daughter, who claims to have chosen a career in show business, actually possesses little or no talent and has forged a "career" in entertainment simply by virtue of her status as Joan's daughter. If Melissa Rivers were not Joan's daughter, I doubt she would be able to find any work at all in the entertainment industry. Be that as it may, "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" is a penetrating and entertaining documentary about the life and career of one of the funniest—if not THE funniest—women in the business.