Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval

Almost impossible to watch. So out of touch with reality or simply narcissistic. Hopefully this will be the last we see of her as she retreats back into her privileged hole of denial. I have first hand accounts of her horrendous character and how she treats people whom she truly believes are beneath her and it is shocking. I wanted to watch this with hopes of some humility and/or self discovery. What I watched was exactly the opposite. Truly stunning. I'm so glad that most viewers have seen through her despicable mask. Did she honestly think this would work. Does she really believe that us peasants would buy into this? Maybe she did.

There are far too many applause breaks for moments that aren't particularly funny or noteworthy. The narrative about being 'kicked out of' show business doesn't land when she's literally here on Netflix with a multi-million dollar deal. Clearly, despite the controversy, companies still willing to pay for her work, it's ultimately within her power to remain in or step away from show business.

I was hoping to hear her side of the controversy, or at least how she would weave it into her routine, but instead, she skims over the issue without offering much insight or depth. The constant jumping from topic to topic with no clear link makes the special feel disjointed and unfocused. It lacks the depth or insight that I expected, leaving the entire show feeling more like a ramble than a cohesive stand-up performance.

For comedic content that lands, I'd actually give it a 7 or 8. But two things detract from that. The first is the super-annoying audience. It's obvious that the vast majority of them are her sychophant TV followers, who squeal like pigs at her every utterance and thinks she is god personified. It's unbearable the way they fill the theater with shrieks at her every utterance. They are the polar opposite of hecklers, but just as disturbing. But that's not on her, she can't help who her fans are. What she can help is how she responds to them, which is the second flaw in this special. The last 20 minutes is just sheer pandering to them, with feel-good cliches about how she has learned to love and accept herself, how she will survive. It's an icky, cringy thing to witness the way she and her cult followers get each other off (figuratively). So unless you want to feel like you're at an "Ellen" (TV talk show) reunion, watch the first 40 minutes...and then try to remember her as just one of the better comedians.

Yes, the show was entertaining but it was not much of a stand up comedy show. It was more like a humorous TED Talk. I actually stopped it and checked to see if it WAS a TED Talk.

I did find that the audience responded more with cheers and clapping than they did with laughter. It almost seemed like they were wanting to encourage her and make her feel better. Thankfully you are able to skip past the long winded standing ovations because, as others have commented, it did get to be pretty annoying.

That being said...I didn't mind her stories and I was able to do other things while I was listening to her talk.

Instead of finalizing her career as a comic with something irreverent or groundbreaking, she chose a stale recounting of the last 2 year's headlines. Nothing special & no way to end your groundbreaking career. Ellen has always leaned into her dry approach to comedy but I don't think it suited her here. Yes, we know people called you mean, and if that's not true, that's terrible. One retelling would have sufficed. Ellen carved her own path & she doesn't technically need comedy like most standups, but I sure wish she had gone out with a bang since this is her last special.

It seems she needed this adoration more than she needed the laughs.