Ellen DeGenerous takes us on a tour of the American Dream, from the home, to the office, to the local bar, to the airport, even to our pets at home. Ellen is witty, funny, easy to empathize with the human condition, with her finger on the pulse. I laughed straight through this HBO special, and didn't want it to end. Cute, sassy, and satirical, Ellen romps through the social hierarchy of woes, trials and tribulations -- sharing the tidbits, embarrassments, we all can relate with in signature Ellen fashion. I've seen this special several times now, and am alway impressed at how fresh, and light, and just how damn funny Ellen is.

I saw her in Finding Nemo, and she was remarkably hysterical, with her signature uncertain innocence, and sharp intuitive spirit.

In sharp contrast to most reviews here, the "Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now" disc that I rented was marginally funny at best. While Ellen's general style is right in the vein of good comedy, her observations in this performance just lack an edge... maybe an absurdity or exaggeration that makes all the difference between you or me talking about, say, airport security shenanigans and a professional comedian addressing the same subject. This was no funnier than discussing the same topics with regular people--a few good laughs, but that's about it. Oftentimes she'd make an observation and I would wait expectantly for the joke that puts it in hilarious perspective, only to find her moving along to the next lukewarm observation. Hopefully her other material is of better caliber.

As a health warning, if you thought this DVD was truly hilarious, you may want to stay away from comics like Bill Hicks, Eddie Izzard, Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Mitch Hedburg or countless others who might be funny enough to actually kill you.

Caught this on HBO the other night and absolutely loved it - DeGeneres has always had an extraordinarily keen sense of how to express what we all feel, and she does it brilliantly in this performance; hilarious insights into the weird stuff that we all do and the insane things in life that drive us all crazy, delivered with her impeccable timing and relaxed charm.