It is a healthy sign that the entertainment industry can finally pay tribute to Joan
Rivers. It only took ten years (and change) after her death. It is obvious why
it took so long. Personally, Rivers was a paragon of tolerance, but for her
comedy was serious, take-no-prisoners business. Shrewdly, Rivers’ admirers
celebrate her “thematic boldness” as well as her genuine stature as a feminist
trailblazer in Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute, executive
produced by her daughter Melissa, which airs tonight on NBC.
Sadly, Rivers passed away in 2014, but she lived to see the release of Rucki Stern & Annie Sundberg’s Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, which helped put her career resiliency into proper perspective. Of course, nobody in this special mentions her victory on Celebrity Apprentice, but the 2010 documentary made it clear her Trump-related triumph helped reinvigorate her career, once again. However, Joel McHale does a funny bit about all the awful news of the last ten years Rivers was fortunate to miss. He also takes several shots at E!, where he met Rivers, which is suitably subversive, considering the network will rebroadcast this very special on June 5th.
In fact, most of the presenter/tributer/roasters are rather funny, because they adopt Rivers’ fearless spirit. Nikki Glaser and Rachel Brosnahan pretty much go straight for the crotch (with ample precedent). In addition, Brosnahan notably gives Rivers credit as the model for Miss Maisel. Fittingly, Tiffany Haddish (who discovered her Jewish roots in adulthood) gives Rivers credit for serving as her Jewish role model. Of course, it also makes you wonder how the forceful Rivers would have responded to the current alarming surge of antisemitism, especially on college campuses.
Arguably,
the funniest sequence focuses on the jokes Rivers “wouldn’t be able to tell
anymore,” presented with perfect deadpan by Aubrey Plaza. Just the act of
re-telling them serves as a not-so-subtle rebuke of cancel culture. If it
offends you, Rivers would consider you an idiot—and she would be right. Conversely,
the only disappointing tribute comes from Chelsea Handler, who only gets polite
titters comparing herself to Rivers and belaboring her political points.
Regardless, it is nice to see Rivers career put into perspective for a national audience. The media landscape has dramatically changed since her late-night talk show heyday. Frankly, the lack of Joan Rivers, Johnny Carson, and the equal-opportunity offender professionalism they brought to comedy makes our current pop culture much the poorer. Recommended for the nostalgia, Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute airs tonight (5/13) on NBC and an extended version starts streaming tomorrow (5/14) on Peacock.
Sadly, Rivers passed away in 2014, but she lived to see the release of Rucki Stern & Annie Sundberg’s Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, which helped put her career resiliency into proper perspective. Of course, nobody in this special mentions her victory on Celebrity Apprentice, but the 2010 documentary made it clear her Trump-related triumph helped reinvigorate her career, once again. However, Joel McHale does a funny bit about all the awful news of the last ten years Rivers was fortunate to miss. He also takes several shots at E!, where he met Rivers, which is suitably subversive, considering the network will rebroadcast this very special on June 5th.
In fact, most of the presenter/tributer/roasters are rather funny, because they adopt Rivers’ fearless spirit. Nikki Glaser and Rachel Brosnahan pretty much go straight for the crotch (with ample precedent). In addition, Brosnahan notably gives Rivers credit as the model for Miss Maisel. Fittingly, Tiffany Haddish (who discovered her Jewish roots in adulthood) gives Rivers credit for serving as her Jewish role model. Of course, it also makes you wonder how the forceful Rivers would have responded to the current alarming surge of antisemitism, especially on college campuses.
Regardless, it is nice to see Rivers career put into perspective for a national audience. The media landscape has dramatically changed since her late-night talk show heyday. Frankly, the lack of Joan Rivers, Johnny Carson, and the equal-opportunity offender professionalism they brought to comedy makes our current pop culture much the poorer. Recommended for the nostalgia, Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute airs tonight (5/13) on NBC and an extended version starts streaming tomorrow (5/14) on Peacock.
