Chelsea Does

While the show itself could be a bit scatterbrained in attempting to tackle so many ideas and issues all at once, her ultimate, hilariously ordinary epiphany from all of it is the best end-cap her journey could have asked for.

A series of thoughtful, funny personal investigations into such topics as marriage, racism, Silicon Valley, and drugs. [22 Jan 2016, p.67]

The show's curiosity and smarts buoy it during times of less credibility, and there's almost a sense of determination radiating out of the episodes. We're doing this. Luckily, they're doing it pretty well.

Over all, Ms. Handler’s attempt to reinvent the form doesn’t quite succeed, but the best moments of these films at least are more fun than most documentaries.

Ultimately, Handler’s documentary functions more as a way to justify her brand of humor than to offer a fresh take on how we talk about race.

I found the series irritating because I find Handler funny very rarely. If you’re a fan, you’ll have a great time, because what this series should be called is Chelsea Does Chelsea.

Confessional art is one (often wonderful) thing, and confessional art made by women is too often torn apart unthinkingly. But a lengthy meditation by a famous person on their own public image is only interesting if that public figure is doing real reflection. Handler, by contrast, is openly dismissive of anyone who challenges her point-of-view. The race episode is the most pernicious example of that: Handler convenes a panel of activists seemingly only to berate them about how they are wrong and she is right about political correctness.