By Robert Scucci | Published
I was first introduced to Bo Burnham’s comedy when I happened upon his 2013 Netflix stand-up special. What.and I had mixed feelings after the first viewing. I distinctly remember turning to my wife and saying, “This kid’s got a lot of talent and he’s funny, but he’s not going to come up with anything really profound until life knocks him down a little.” I was pleasantly surprised when The lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suicidal and isolated Bo Burnham to self-produce what I consider to be his best work at the time of this writing: 2021’s Bo Burnham: Inside.
While I had always approached Burnham’s comedy (even his early ones). YouTube Content) With guarded enthusiasm due to the level of immaturity one would expect from a young artist coping with his meteoric rise to fame, I kept an eye on his career from a safe distance, knowing he was destined for greatness. I felt in my gut that Bo Burnham was a raw nerve waiting for the right stimuli (or lack thereof) to push him into the darker territory Inside claustrophobic explored, and it turns out I was right.
I also felt a significant amount of guilt because I was glad that my prophecy was coming true, because it meant that a real human being had to overcome his personal demons to painstakingly create his magnum opus.
The inside setup
Bo Burnham has always had a complicated relationship with the internet, his audience, parasocial relationships, his creative process, and most of all, himself. Bo Burnham: Inside fearlessly tackles all of these insecurities while forcing audiences to feel the same level of discomfort that ultimately led him to step away from the comedy scene altogether in 2016 following the release of his film Make you happy particularly.
Pick it up right there Make you happy stopped, Bo Burnham: Inside takes us back to the guesthouse where he sought refuge at the end of his penultimate special, but this time he’s ready to start performing again. The only problem is that there is nowhere for him to perform because, as the title suggests, he is trapped inside.
Low brow but high concept
Set entirely in a guesthouse full of cameras, laptops, lighting fixtures and an unimaginable amount of existential dread, Bo Burnham: Inside is not a traditional comedy special, but rather a clumsy exploration of the creative process, perfectionism, the downsides of fame, self-inflicted (and government-imposed) isolation, and the sarcastic synth-pop bangers about Jeff Bezos that will make you want to watch it clapping along between sobs.
Directly below are the intimidatingly catchy melodies Bo Burnham: Insidethe inner life of a madman is illustrated through Burnham’s colorful songs about FaceTiming with his mother, sexting with his girlfriend as our communication devices replace physical relationships, giant media corporations profiting from our addiction to the Internet, and the idea that as…the inner life of a Madman Revealed In our society we are more connected than ever, but also the most isolated we have ever been.
Comes in circles
Between every sketch, every song and every existential exploration in InsideBo Burnham pulls back the curtain by showing us his behind-the-scenes process. After achieving what one thinks is a perfect performance setup, there are several jarring transitions that result in Burnham sitting alone in front of his computer, reviewing his own work, before saying “one more thing” and preparing to do so to shoot the entire part again from the beginning. As weeks turn into months, Burnham’s hair and beard grow to uncontrollable lengths, which he addresses by telling the audience that he had booked a haircut but it was cancelled.
Any Bo Burnham fan will tell you that they are familiar with the backstory that led to the creation of Bo Burnham Insidebut that didn’t stop the then 30-year-old comedian from launching into his most confessional composition, “All Eyes On Me.”
Burnham drops his voice several octaves lower to capture the full extent of his melancholy as he sings over a brooding synth dirge, revealing to muffled laughter and applause that he stopped performing because he suffered severe panic attacks during his last tour had on stage. Revealing that he has been working on his mental health during his five-year absence from performing, he looks into the camera and explains that just as he was preparing to head back on stage, “the strangest thing happened…”
It’s all a little bit
To enjoy it to the fullest Bo Burnham: Inside, You must acknowledge that the entire special is scripted and has been carefully planned down to the smallest detail. While there’s no doubt in my mind that Burnham spent more time alone than he probably should have spent putting together this special, which certainly comes from the dark depths of his imagination, he’s still playing a fictional, hyperbolic version of his stage persona .
If you want an intimate look at the creative process through a reclusive perfectionist, Bo Burnham: Inside should be the next comedy special you queue up on Netflix. And if you don’t believe me when I say it’s all an act, The inside Outtakeswhich is also streaming on Netflix, is the perfect companion piece that tells you, “Everything is going to be okay.”