Can We Talk?
Amos Lassen | Little Rock, Arkansas | 09/30/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work"
Can We Talk?
Amos Lassen
Like the name of the film, Joan Rivers is a piece of work. We see her as that in this film that she gave filmmakers permission to film her for a year--the year that she turned 75. She comes across as a very honest and truthful person and this documentary is as honest as she is. The film looks at Rivers as a stand up comedienne who constantly works and keeps herself at the top of the game. At three-fourths of a century old, Rivers does not miss a beat--her jokes have no mercy and she delivers them as only she can. The woman is energy personified.
Yes she talks about her cosmetic surgery and her husband Edgar who committed suicide. She speaks about Melissa her daughter and the rift between her and Johnny Carson and being blackballed by NBC.
She can make you laugh and make you cringe and she is amazing. Today Rivers is 77 and she had begun to be last popular after her husband's death but she has kept at it. She has few boundaries and she is one of a kind.
For 14 months filmmaker Stern and Sundberg stayed with Rivers so they can give us this film. They don't try to make her look good and they do not ask us to love her. We know she can be offensive but she can also be good. Even with the face she puts on, Joan Rivers comes across as a clever woman and we see that when she is performing, she is magic.
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