But, of course, the hardest thing to see is oneself. “For Your Approval” is executive produced by DeGeneres as well as by Ben Winston, the current chieftain of celebrity-worship television. From James Corden’s “Late Late Show” to Hulu’s “The Kardashians” to the 2021 “Friends” reunion, Winston product tends to come so highly burnished that no negative impression can stick for long. In DeGeneres, Winston has found a subject for whom there is still — whatever she’d say about how she’s been thrown out of the business — enough extant affection to give her power over her audience. Late in the special, DeGeneres lists her complications, culminating in the declaration “I’m tough and I’m impatient and I’m demanding. I’m direct. I’m a strong woman.” The standing ovation that follows is allowed to go on, and on — and on.
DeGeneres is, clearly, strong, and someone who’s been through a lot; with that said, articles about the work culture at an office she ran are available for anyone who’d like to dig into them. To come back and just kind of talk about whatever was on her mind without addressing the substance was a choice available to her, and would probably have been fine; to dig all the way in would certainly be intriguing. But to allude to having been maltreated and “thrown out of show business” while dancing around what exactly happened on her set requires both nimbleness and a bit of nerve. “For Your Approval” is, in the end, a frustrating watch, and a bum note to go out on.
Posted by BobaSodas