Ellen DeGeneres’ Netflix original special titled “Relatable” provides an honest and heartfelt reflection of her rise to fame entwined with hilarious anecdotes and genius jokes. I, personally, maybe to young to remember Ellen as a comedian instead of a TV talk show host and so for me this was a side of Ellen I had not seen before but for the older generation I imagine this was a trip down memory lane which Ellen takes advantage of perfectly with stories of the past but also with new and fresh material.
Ellen is an incredible genius in the respect that she is hyper-aware of where she stands into the public eye. She knows that people view her as a rich, super-celebrity and uses this to pitch her personally-appropriate jokes which makes it not only comical but also fits with her ‘brand.’ She uses the public perspective to give a special overarching theme. The title of the program is “Relatable” which helped set-up many of the jokes. As the general public view her as a ‘super-celebrity’ then “Relatable” seems to contrasts this but this is the whole point of this special. She makes jokes about having a butler, not knowing about public transport and all her materialistic possessions. So why ‘Relatable?’ Ellen uses this titled to smoothly blend in personal stories such as losing loved ones, losing her career and being prejudiced against for being gay which aims to remove the stigma of celebrities. She aims to inform the audience that celebrities are just real people who, unlike the public opinion that their lives are perfect, experience real issues just like a normal person does. She does this through a retrospective view of her own life with the hardships she has experienced throughout her life.
Unlike many comedians Ellen spent the majority of the show stood in one place and doesn’t move around much. This is a different side of comedy where the focus is mostly on the jokes rather than someone being ‘physically funny.’ Which is great as I always feel comedians who run around the stage is distracting for the audience and takes the focus off the jokes which are really what people want to see. This allowed the audience to enjoy Ellen’s jokes more and to appreciate the craftsmanship and genius-ness of her comedy.
Overall, this comedy special ‘relatable’ showed a new and fresh perspective of comedy but also of Ellen herself which was great to see and experience. She managed to create a more mature and serious nature to comedy which was unique and innovative from a creative aspect. I would rate this program 4 out of 5 stars and would like to see more comedy specials involving Ellen. This is a show for anyone who enjoys Ellen’s TV show and wants to see how Ellen who cope with any guest and just on her own.
Rhysreviews 