One of the best documentaries I have seen in a while, certainly since "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" about Tammy Faye Baker.
Altho over long here and there, this documentary is said to have taken place over a year in the life of Joan Rivers. I started out thinking that she looked like a muppet reject, making Yoda look like Burt Reynolds or Clark Gable or even (insert your current favorite here). I have come away from this movie with respect for Joan, much like the feeling I had toward Ms Baker, truly because these two women in their years in the business have come away with not only being icons but also being the brunt of many jokes including my lame Yoda joke. Yes it's true that Joan has had a lot of plastic surgery and at times looks as if she is wearing a mask but then again the woman is 75 which I did not know and is competing with comedians and comediennes that are literally half her age.
The documentary starts out before her "Celebrity Apprentice" appearance and just before her 75th birthday celebration and she is in a lull wondering where or when she will be working, mentioning that (while showing an empty calendar) "this is my nightmare". There are mentions as well as clips of her play "A Life in Progress" (which she folded voluntarily after it's England debut, already having done well in Scotland) as well as historical clips from The Tonight Show and her failed Fox show Late Night. It was interesting to note that she married her husband Edgar after four days of knowing him and she does go into some detail about his suicide.
Being in the business since 1968 she has truly become an icon; she does not feel she has opened doors with the subjects she talks about and because she is a woman comedian; she feels she is still opening those doors. She jokes about Kathy Griffen being more popular than she is (at least at the time of filming) and Ms Griffen has nothing but glowing comments toward Joan including the opening of doors for other women, et al.
One of my favorite albums of the 1980s was "What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most", which a friend of mine can still quote to this day; she has truly gained the respect she deserves, at least from me. Altho during the filming of this documentary one of her employees was said to be no longer associated with her because he couldn't be counted on ("and it's a shame because he was my last link to..." this and that), her come uppance of no longer being black-balled (as she puts it since the Carson era) by NBC and a renewed resurgance in her carreer was a great ending to a great film. A little over-long in some parts I still write that it's worth the rental (I got this at my local library).
Take care and be well.
