Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work plot
Joan Rivers began her career as a stand-up comedian in the early 1960s, at a time when female comedians were rare. After several years of working in nightclubs for distant audiences, she was asked to join Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in 1965, after which she became one of the country's most successful comedians. Since then, she has appeared on several talk shows, written several successful books, directed a film, started a jewelry line and kept a busy schedule of personal appearance, determined to stay in the picture in the fickle world of show business. Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg follow Rivers through a typically eventful year of her life. They offer a glimpse behind a woman's smile as she struggles to stay in the picture, works on new material, launches a one-woman show in the UK, participates in a reality TV show and reflects on her career in show business at the age of 75 years.