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PizzaQuixote
Reviews
Chelsea Does (2016)
Crossing the Line from Funny to Mean-Spirited
We watched the first episode of Chelsea Handler's new series on Netflix. It's kind of a personal documentary series, and the first one is "Chelsea Does Marriage."
The cinematography is great. Some superb camera-work. Good pacing, and it was interesting for the full 80+ minutes.
But it's not fun to watch, and a cruel heart is exposed. She covers her disregard for others with a sheen of comedy as she interviews a lot of sincere pro-marriage people during this episode about her own resistance to marriage. She mugs for the camera and rolls her eyes to show her disdain for these sincere people. Why is that cute or funny? It's not. Yes, cruelty is the heart of comedy, but this is just grown-up mean girls schtick.
I've always thought she was cute and edgy and funny; but now I see she's mostly a mean girl getting nasty as her beauty fades. Even the most badly skewed comedians bring us back with some sliver of kindness or thoughtfulness - think Ricky Gervais. But the hints of humanity are too few here.