Rating: 
Summary: A classic stand up routine.
Review: "And I'm back to the loving place". If you have not seen this album, and are a fan of Ellen's sarcasm, with and ability to lead you down a path only to throw a u-turn at the end...well...you should get this DVD. Humorous, yet clean (Ellen rarely swears) and a well-placed Q&A with the audience at the end. Wish it had more special features, though.
Rating:
Summary: A classic stand up routine.
Review: "And I'm back to the loving place". If you have not seen this album, and are a fan of Ellen's sarcasm, with and ability to lead you down a path only to throw a u-turn at the end...well...you should get this DVD. Humorous, yet clean (Ellen rarely swears) and a well-placed Q&A with the audience at the end. Wish it had more special features, though.
Rating:
Summary: A classic stand up routine.
Review: "And I'm back to the loving place". If you have not seen this album, and are a fan of Ellen's sarcasm, with and ability to lead you down a path only to throw a u-turn at the end...well...you should get this DVD. Humorous, yet clean (Ellen rarely swears) and a well-placed Q&A with the audience at the end. Wish it had more special features, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Too funny!
Review: ... Ellen is hilarious! She has this unique style. Her facial expressions are half of the joke. She looks like she's uncomfortable on stage but that's all an act. When she's on stage she owns it. The part at the end when she mistakes a woman for a man is the funniest part! ... When the audience got to ask her questions that's all they wanted to talk about. Get over it already! Other gay celebrities aren't treated that way. Just let the woman be funny. She's excellent at it!
Rating:
Summary: Starts off slow
Review: This is a very different Ellen Degeneres from her first HBO special. The interpretive dance sequence at the very beginning made me hope the show would get better. And it did. From driving with a blow up doll to same sex marriages to God, nothing is sacred here. Ellen does quite a bit of physical comedy, her facial expressions are priceless and the 'fabulous ass' bit...hilarious!
Even after watching this special several times, there are still some laugh out loud funny parts. Don't buy it for the bonus features though - there aren't any
Rating:
Summary: It's like riding a bike...
Review: After 7 years of not doing any stand-up comedy, Ellen shows absolutely no signs of being rusty in her triumphant return to the stage. I loved this video and I loved the new material that Ellen has written for her Americana Tour. I was fortunate enough to be in the audience at Ellen's very first performance at the State Theater in Easton, PA after her 7-year hiatus from doing live stand-up, and the only difference between the performance I saw and the DVD is that Ellen no longer needed to use her notes for the DVD performance. (And after 7 years off, who wouldn't need notes?) I have always been a huge fan of Ellen's, and her new material is just as funny and fresh as ever. Of course, everyone expects her to address the issue of her national coming out, and she does, first thing, with, what else but...humor. She begins her act with an "interpretive dance" that could easily be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. And from that moment on, things only get better. The material here rivals the old Ellen and the "Phone Call to God," and "Taste This" routines. She certainly hasn't lost her touch, and it is so great to see her, FINALLY back on the stage where she belongs doing stand-up comedy. Being in the audience for her return to the stage is a memory that I will always treasure, and now, I am able to watch her perform the material from that tour over and over again. To the casual viewer, this is an entertaining and funny video that you could watch with your kids. Ellen prides herself on remaining a clean and non-malicious comic. To the die-hard Ellen fan, well..fantastic. A must-own item. So, do I like this video? In a sentence... Yep, it's great.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointing Return to Stand-up
Review: As a fan of Ellen DeGeneres, I had high hopes for her return to the stage in her first stand-up comedy routine after a lengthy absence. Unfortunately, this first outing is a big disappointment.
I first became familiar with DeGeneres in her early days as a stand-up comic and was immediately charmed by her self-deprecating style and wry humor. She has a talent for zeroing in on and lambasting life's absurdities with caustic, irreverent humor. Her "phone call to God" routine is a classic gem. Alas, her time away from the microphone is woefully apparent in this 60 minute (give or take) routine which never really manages to rise above mildly amusing. Like her television series, this routine tries hard but falls far short of it's mark.
Degeneres opens her show with an inane interpretive dance routine (in reference to her coming out) which, to put it bluntly, is just plain dumb. From there, she touches on topics such as directions on a shampoo bottle, naked people, health food stores, losing your inner child, fashion, random thoughts and meeting God. At times you can see small sparks of the old DeGeneres in these bits (such as when she questions why are there directions on a shampoo bottle or the couple critiquing their lovemaking technique) but unfortunately, they are few and far between. Her trademark ramblings (and a large part of what makes her so funny) here just seem like.........well, rambling. The material presented here just doesn't have the intelligence that I've seen in past routines. Hopefully, like a muscle that needs to be continually trained to stay strong, DeGeneres will continue to work on her material, strengthening, sharpening and honing it so that her next show will be worthy of her undeniable talent.
The DVD itself is somewhat of a disappointment as well. It offers no extras aside from a biography on DeGeneres. No behind the scenes documentary or "making of" featurette. No voice over commentary. Like the material contained within, it's pretty slim pickens.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed.....
Review: Bought this DVD on blind faith--I've seen enough of Ellen talk shows,etc. to realize that her dry, witty sense of humor is something that I wanted to see more of. However, I felt that "The Beginning" was full of bits that I just wanted to end. Knowing that Ellen is funny, I kept on waiting and waiting to laugh riotously--but only to be disappointed. There are two bits worth mentioning--a)why do we need directions on the back of a shampoo bottle + an 800 number (b)trying on clothes while shopping.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed.....
Review: Bought this DVD on blind faith--I've seen enough of Ellen talk shows,etc. to realize that her dry, witty sense of humor is something that I wanted to see more of. However, I felt that "The Beginning" was full of bits that I just wanted to end. Knowing that Ellen is funny, I kept on waiting and waiting to laugh riotously--but only to be disappointed. There are two bits worth mentioning--a)why do we need directions on the back of a shampoo bottle + an 800 number (b)trying on clothes while shopping.
Rating:
Summary: Back To Form
Review: DeGeneres' first stand up comedy routine since 'coming out' in 1997 is an event in itself. Even moreso is that she was kind enough to have it taped for mere fans who could not see such an event in the flesh. DeGeneres' whirlwind tour reminded Americans that she is more than a typecast lesbian, but a comedienne. What she made herself known for before any tags were attached. The title The Beginning reminds just that. She is a comedienne before anything else. Since I'm not a lesbian I can say I am a fan for Ellen's comedy & mothing more. Yet I appreciate the humour she injects into being gay - see her interpretative dance relaying her coming out. Very original & painfully true. The audience laps up her incisive wit & DeGeneres enjoys herself, although at times appears to feel quite awkward. If you have not discovered the brilliance of Ellen DeGeneres beyond Ellen (the TV Show) or the media frenzy behind her coming out, this DVD is a worthy acquisition. Makes for a great night in. A true comic genius in every sense of the word.
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