Best movie of this year hands down!

A Brilliant Conflict

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Definitely worth watching if you like Joan Rivers. I think that Joan Rivers is a great comedienne for today. Joan has always pushed the envelope throughout her life. Her humor is as risqué as ever today – as you have probably seen on Fashion Police. The thing about Joan is that she has courage. She is at the edge of what is acceptable in the same way as Chris Rock used to push the edge of comedy. But Joan doesn't hold back for anyone. But Joan has a soft side. This movie takes you behind the stage performance to the real Joan. She looks after her staff who are loyal to her. She once said "I just want to be loved". She is astute and acerbic. She has no barriers, especially on herself. She knows that she sends herself up worse than anyone else. And ladies and gentlemen, that is Joan. She is sensitive. She is a lovely person. She works hard. And she will dish is out even worse to herself than she will to anyone else.

"A Piece of Work" begins with Joan Rivers looking like a refugee from "Night of the Living Dead" before tons of make-up transform her into something resembling a human being. This peek behind the pose may seem brave to some. To me, it confirmed that Rivers has turned herself into Leona Helmsley! A few more gos under the knife, she'll turn herself into Michael Jackson!"A Piece of Work" actually has a lot to say about the nature of celebrity. Rivers has money and fame, but what she really wants is status, which is why she attends a Kennedy Center tribute to George Carlin, although, as she points out, the tribute represents everything Carlin was against, namely rich Republicans (yuk, yuk). That Carlin made millions off of his feigned disdain for the establishment is lost on Rivers. That you have to earn respect in order to get respect is lost on her, too.Kathy Griffin prattles about how Rivers paved the way for her, but that's the extent of the props, which is telling yet not surprising. Like Helmsley, Rivers is an utterly unlikeable creature who makes Snooki look dignified. The tirade during one of her routines about her daughter nixing an offer to pose for Playboy made me want to wash my ears out with soap! Little wonder her manager bails on her every chance he gets, her staffers put up with her only because she pays them, and her daughter (a wanna-be A-lister herself) can't stand being in the same room with her for longer than five minutes. Only once, when she and her grandson (whom she seems to adore) visit an ailing photographer does Rivers seem to get that the world does not revolve around her. But maybe, that was just part of her act.

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.

There are definitely some hilarious moments in here. Joan still packs a wallop at 75. Her humour at times is vulgar – but I don't have an issue with that (it's just a warning that the humour is adult oriented). She performs in a broad spectrum of places - from dumps to respectable. Her home in Manhattan is unbelievable – think of Marie Antoinette!! Certainly not a place to sprawl onto the couch!After about an hour I did get tired of her self-obsessive focus. Why would an audience (except her adoring fans) be interested in a play in which she gives a self-history of her rise to fame? There is always a danger when an actor becomes overly self-centered on her legacy. I believe she has fallen into the trap of not looking outward.Nevertheless Joan is hysterical, can laugh at herself and makes us laugh. .