PLIMOTH CINEMA: ‘Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work’

There are few reviews that I’ve read or written that could contain as many single-word adjectives as could be said about Joan Rivers – brazen,persistent, polarizing, acidic, obscene, bitter, hilarious, unbroken, unforgettable, pioneer, smart and crass.

For Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, which runs July 16 through 22 at Plimoth Cinema, directors Ricki Stern and Anne Sundbergfollowed the 75-year-old comedian through the good and bad of her day-to-day routine for over a year.

This film is one of the best of the genre of show business documentaries. Showing what the business is really like, it provides insight into the competitiveness, stress and demeaning nature of the business and the price one pays to succeed. You come to see a great documentary not to fall at the feet of celebrity. Stern and Sundberg did an artful job of pulling it together.

I liked this film but do I like Joan Rivers?

Difficult question. I like her jokes…most of them. I like her cleverness and quick wit, but not her “interrogations” on the red carpet, or her other way-over-the-top acid comments. I don’t think I’d like to sit with her for a cup of coffee, but maybe I’d just be afraid to. The bottom line is I join the 92 percent of the national critics who liked the film.

Rivers was born Joan Alexandra Molinsky, to Russian immigrant professional parents, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College. She wouldn’t be as good if she wasn’t so smart.

She works exceedingly hard to keep her 50-year career going. Not being able to work would be a kind of death sentence. Her need to perform has been described as a need for continual blood transfusion.

Things had slowed before she appeared on Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. It was a chance to get back on network TV, and it certainly worked for her.

The film is an unusual project for Stern and Sundberg, who are known for their social justice films. Stern’s parents are friends of Rivers and access probably required some compromise. That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of River’s darker side. It’s amazing that she allowed such a candid view of her life; you’ll hear her doubts and worries and see her in her less than flattering moments, including the first clip in the film, a close up of her face without makeup.

Film critic Roger Ebert describes her as “aA brave and stubborn woman, smart as a whip, superbly skilled.” He gives the film a high 3 1/2 star rating.

Rivers’ compulsion to stay relevant in a world that seemed to be passing her by meant, lately, taking any job that came along, including the strings of late night flights needed to get from shows in one Podunk to another Podunk.

Rivers suffered a number of blows in her life – from the suicide of her husband, Edgar, who mishandled her money to having been fired from her late night TV show.

One of her biggest injuries was the self-inflicted falling out she had with Johnny Carson. Rivers appeared regularly on Carson’s show and had become a very regular fill-in host for him. When she chose to sign on to a competing late-night slot, Carson never forgave her. Rivers laments that to this day.

There’s a clip of a put-down that Rivers delivered to a heckler in Minnesota that shows Rivers at her “Queen of Mean” quickest.

Rivers let her hair down and, most importantly, put down her “put-down” shtick in this film. She is as natural as Rivers can be, and actually seems sympathetic.

Do not forget that Rivers is Rivers and this film contains some raw and raunchy humor. In spite of that, some of the worst language comes from the comedians at the Comedy Central Roast of Rivers last year. It was interesting to see her get as good as she gives.

Coming soon:

Running July 23-29, it’s I Am Love, followed by The Girl Who Played With Fire, playing for two weeks, from July 30 through Aug. 12.

Screenings are offered every day at 4:30 and 7 p.m. Check film times by calling 508-746-1622, ext. 8877, check Plimoth Cinema’s film listings at www.plimoth.org or sign up for e-mail notices of upcoming films

All films are screened in the Linn Theater in Plimoth Plantation’s Visitor Center. Beer and wine are offered each Saturday. General admission is $9.50, $7.50 for Plantation members and seniors. Plimoth Cinema Club Cards, valid for the 2009 season, cost $10 and entitle one person to $1.50 off admission to any film shown at the Cinema.