Sunday, August 8, 2010

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Reviewed at The Cinematheque

I remember as a child, one of my favourite things to do was to watch The Tonight Show with my grandmother - when I should have been fast asleep instead. I remember these late nights as my first real exposure to Joan Rivers and I remember  and laughing at her jokes.  I am pretty sure my young, naive mind did not get a lot of her jokes (at least not until her regular guest hosting stint in 1983, when I was at least a little less naive as a high schooler), but I certainly do remember laughing.

After a while, Rivers became somewhat of a joke in the media's eyes, but this (now much less naive and definitely getting her crude jokes!) guy kept laughing - with her and NOT at her.  This quite touching (and not in any sappy, cliche'd kinda way) doc was made for those who have kept laughing with her and NOT at her.  A labour of (sorta) tragic love, one actually sees a humanized Joan Rivers - and a tragic Joan Rivers - but still a quite raunchy and funny Joan Rivers as well.  A Joan Rivers not afraid to laugh at herself for us.

I have never been the biggest fan of documentaries (many are informative but very few are creatively or artistically done) but this one is definitely a keeper.


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