Ellen DeGeneres’ new comedy special, For Your Approval, begins with a nostalgic look back at her extensive career.
The show opens with DeGeneres in her dressing room, gazing reflectively into a mirror where a projected memory of her first appearance on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show overlays her image.
She smiles faintly at the recollection before heading down the hallway towards the stage.
As she walks, she passes monitors displaying clips from her 1990s sitcom, including the groundbreaking moment when her character and she personally came out as a lesbian.
Ascending a staircase with each step marked by headlines about her sitcom’s 1998 cancellation, DeGeneres hears voices like Barbara Walters’ and Diane Sawyer’s discussing the ensuing controversy.
Upon reaching the top, she takes a deep breath and, smiling bravely, receives encouragement from a projected image of Dory, her character from Finding Nemo, who tells her to “Just keep swimming.”
The special, marketed as DeGeneres’ final comedy performance, presents a dramatic Eras Tour-style opening that highlights her impact and iconography.
After this grand introduction, DeGeneres thanks the audience for allowing her “to say goodbye on my terms.”
Throughout the special, it becomes evident that DeGeneres has much on her mind. Even in moments not directly addressing her talk show’s conclusion, such as a routine about parallel parking, there is an underlying tension.
Her mention of the “deep shame you feel when you give up and drive away” seems to touch on broader issues beyond just parking.
She later shifts to lighter topics, like the annoyance of windshield wipers and the personalities of pigeons and butterflies.
This approach harks back to the understated style for which DeGeneres has been known since the early days of her career.
Ironically, despite this modest approach, DeGeneres has become a cultural lightning rod twice: first for her openness about her sexuality and later for her reputation as a demanding boss.
Following the initial controversy, she managed to embrace the easygoing aspect of her comedy, even though she claimed onstage to have been “kicked out of show business.”
In the five years after her talk show’s cancellation, DeGeneres secured a new sitcom with CBS, hosted the Emmys, starred in a Pixar film, and landed a new talk-show deal, each move leveraging her cheerful, approachable persona and contributing positively to queer representation.
However, it seems more challenging for DeGeneres to reestablish herself now. A significant portion of the special deals with aging, and as she closes this chapter of her career, she appears less inclined to defend herself on specific terms.
Although she remains unsettled by criticism, she feels it unfair to expect her, as a comedian, to also manage the role of a workplace boss.
She describes the set culture as fun and happy, making a joke about her love of scaring people that, due to its complexity and the reported events, fails to land effectively.
Comparing DeGeneres’ two major controversies is difficult. In the first, she was clearly the victim of prejudice during a brief period between gigs. In the second, the situation is more ambiguous.
DeGeneres points out the contradiction between her reported behavior and her public message of “be kind” at the end of her episodes.
Reflecting on the idea that ending her show with a more neutral farewell, like “Good-bye” or “See you tomorrow,” might have been more appropriate, she acknowledges that her “Be Kind” mantra may have been a self-imposed constraint.
DeGeneres shines in the special when she addresses universally relatable topics. Her humor about windshield wipers feels like filler, but her discussion of her mother’s dementia, which she deals with in a care facility, is conveyed with genuine emotion and dry wit.
DeGeneres appears frustrated that her persona—the talk-show games, friendly banter, generous giveaways, and “Be Kind” mantra—grew beyond her control. Yet, as much as she may feel constrained by it, the way she chose to end each episode was within her control.
The Ellen DeGeneres who shaped celebrity culture and set a relentlessly optimistic tone during the Obama era often overshadowed the more perceptive Ellen DeGeneres.
The challenge of self-reflection is evident. For Your Approval is executive produced by DeGeneres and Ben Winston, known for his high-gloss productions like James Corden’s Late Late Show, The Kardashians, and the *Friends* reunion.
Winston’s work is typically polished, leaving little room for negative impressions. In DeGeneres, Winston has found a subject with enough lingering affection to maintain her influence over her audience.
Late in the special, DeGeneres lists her personal traits, including being “tough, impatient, demanding, and direct,” receiving a standing ovation that goes on for an extended period.
DeGeneres’ strength and resilience are clear, but details about the workplace culture she managed are available for scrutiny.
Her choice to focus on general reflections rather than a detailed examination of the controversies might have been a safe approach, but delving deeper could have been more intriguing.
The decision to address her experiences without fully confronting the specifics of what happened on her set requires both agility and a degree of boldness.
For Your Approval ultimately presents a frustrating and somewhat dissonant finale. Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval premieres on Netflix on September 24.
