Ellen DeGeneres - The Beginning (DVD)

...my favorite has to be Ellen Degeneres. Ever since 1996 when I first saw one of her stand ups on America television I have been enthralled by her thought provoking and deeply funny ideas on life and the world and have gone on to read or watch everything that she has produced. This is Ellen Degeneres - The Beginning and signals a drastic change in her career and life as a 'celebrity.' Three years before filming this special gig, she came out as a lesbian, ...
...of the September 11th tragedy, Ellen succeeded in her role and gained huge critical acclaim. That pretty much brings us up to 2000 where she decided to stand doing standup again, The Beginning proves to be her most poignant, moving and hectically funny shows yet.

After a dazzling opening visual gag where Degeneres refuses to talk about her sexuality but instead turns her journey into the form of interpretive dance you know you are ... more

Very, very few stand up comedians make me laugh, I find people like Ricky Gervais and Billy Connelly quite offensive and don't really 'get' their humor. I have always had very strange tastes in comedy and rarely enjoy what the rest of the country seem to (Peter Kay just goes right over my head.) So when I do find someone who can make me truly laugh I generally stick with them throughout their careers, my favorite has to be Ellen Degeneres. Ever since 1996 when I first saw one of her stand ups on America television I have been enthralled by her thought provoking and deeply funny ideas on life and the world and have gone on to read or watch everything that she has produced. This is Ellen Degeneres - The Beginning and signals a drastic change in her career and life as a 'celebrity.' Three years before filming this special gig, she came out as a lesbian, as well as outing her fictional character Ellen on the huge hit show of the same name. Sadly after this bold move the show was cancelled despite high ratings and Degeneres went into near obscurity, until she was roped in to hostess the Emmy awards on November 4th 2001. This award ceremony required a more somber sense in light of the September 11th tragedy, Ellen succeeded in her role and gained huge critical acclaim. That pretty much brings us up to 2000 where she decided to stand doing standup again, The Beginning proves to be her most poignant, moving and hectically funny shows yet.

After a dazzling opening visual gag where Degeneres refuses to talk about her sexuality but instead turns her journey into the form of interpretive dance you know you are in for a hilarious ride. Even this five minutes of her work had me almost rolling around on the floor and demonstrates what makes Ellen so brilliant as a performance: her honesty. I love that besides the opening dance Ellen doesn't use her sexuality as a resource for comedy, her comedy is accessible to everyone and she does brilliantly by not alienating anyone, yet staying true to herself. Degeneres also doesn't feel the need to swear or be nasty about anyone to evoke chuckles; watching one of her stand ups is a pleasant and brilliant experience that everyone really should try. This comedienne has a quirky way of looking at life which magically resonates with her audience because of its deep roots in reality, whether she is talking about meditating, buying blow up dolls or just drifting into hippy dippy new age nonsense you can't help but enjoy being in her company, and that's how it feel as she adds a rarely seen intimacy that elevates this stand up from many of her others. Because Degeneres had just come out of the darkest time in her life, there is a truly moving layer of humanity present and by the end of this set you will almost feel as if you have just been listening to a friend talk for sixty five minutes.

Sadly The Beginning does have a few low points, when Degeneres does a rather lengthy and almost preachy stint about meeting GOD who turns out to be a middle aged black woman it feels as if she is going to lose control, but then thankfully she pulls the reins in and turns the whole joke on its head, also some of the more obvious jokes fail to break through he barer of funny to very funny (even though her audience seem to be hysterical throughout the whole show) Degeneres knows how to work her audience and its usually her reaction to the viewers that prove to be the most hilarious. What makes Ellen such a genius is the fact that she doesn't go out of her way to be funny, her easy personality and good nature just shine through making sixty five minutes feel like ten. Her ideas and observations are very often truly ridiculous, but she backs them up with stories and adds a very rich texture to all her work so you won't be left behind, even when her comedy becomes a little American orientated (which again is less often than you might expect). She always knows how to mine laughs through her hilarious babbling (which was one of her trademarks on Ellen perhaps my favorite sitcom of all time) and kooky actions to the extent that you won't want this DVD to stop. Ever

The Beginning is a more spiritual affair than all Ellen's other attempts at stand up comedy, she tackles lots of varied and serious issues, but refuses to let them swallow her in their seriousness, she confronts any prejudices that the audience might hold against her by freely rambling on about anything that she pleases, it is pleasing to see that she doesn't make anyone uncomfortable with her frank yet brilliantly subtle jibes at peoples stupid ness. That is what her stint as the hostess of the Emmys so invigorating for American audiences) There is a lack of structure to The Beginning that doesn't detract from the experience; actually I think it adds to it, because the set is still very coherent yet frantic and unrelenting. You get the feeling that Degeneres had to do a lot of soul searching to write this show, so comes off as a more competent, confident and well rounded performer than ever before. Adding an almost inhuman fluidity to her essays Ellen really does sparkle with intelligence, charisma and shows herself off to be a genuinely nice person. If you like your comedy to be dirty or rude, then you will not find anything that you like in Ellen's weird mix of new age sensibility and old fashioned visual flare, her comedy is more about the ridiculousness of doing Yoga in today's environment and the effects of our actions than sex and swearing, she's more interested in people the wonders of them and the world around her, than bringing people down. Some may say that she lacks grit or is naïve, but I think it is in this day an age a wonder when a DVD can be this funny with a 12 certificate.

Maybe I am a softie, or have been completely manipulated by Degeneres but I truly felt moved by this DVD, there is so much compassion and warmth for humanity and the world in her execution and writing that I just became engrossed instantly and turned the DVD player off thinking. The Beginning isn't really a high brow affair and it may not be what you would call 'intelligent humor' but it is so steeped in pure brilliance that I find myself watching it regularly and getting something from it each and every time. It is tight and a brilliant journey, I wouldn't want to be lead by any other comedienne.

Observational humor at its best, well worth a watch. You can buy Ellen Degeneres Live at amazon.co.uk for £15.99 ASIN: B00005MP5P.

There are no extra on this disk, apart from chapter selection

Ellen Degeneres: Human beings only use ten percent of their brains. Ten percent! Can you imagine how much we could accomplish if we used the other sixty percent?

Thank you all for reading and rating, it really does mean a lot, as always I wish you all the best. Jay
 

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