Netflix Comedy Special Faces Loneliness Unlike Anything Else You’ve Seen

By Robert Scucci
| Published 1 second ago

I was first exposed to Bo Burnham’s comedy when I came across his Netflix stand-up special in 2013, whatand I had mixed feelings about it after my 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 put out something really profound until life knocks him down a bit. ” I was pleasantly surprised when the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic forced an exhausted and world-weary Bo Burnham to self-produce what I consider to be his best work as of this writing: 2021’s Bo Burnham: Inside.

Whereas I had always gravitated to Burnham’s comedy (even his early comedy YouTube content) with guardian enthusiasm due to the level of immaturity you’d expect from a young artist struggling to cope with his meteoric rise to fame, I watched his career from a safe distance knowing he was on the verge of greatness . I felt in my gut that Bo Burnham was a raw nerve waiting for the right triggers (or lack of triggers) to push him into darker territory. Inside claustrophobically explored, and it turns out I was right.

I also felt quite guilty for being happy that my prophecy had been fulfilled because it meant that a real person had to wrestle his personal demons to the ground in order to carefully create his magnum opus.

The Interior Installation

Bo Burnham has always had a complicated relationship with the internet, his audience, parasocial relationships, his creative process, and, most importantly, himself. Bo Burnham: Inside fearlessly tackling all these insecurities while also forcing the audience to feel the same level of discomfort that eventually led him to step away from performing comedy altogether in 2016 after releasing his Make it Happy special.

Rise to the right where Make it Happy left off, Bo Burnham: Inside brings 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 to perform, as it is trapped, as the title suggests, inside.

Low-Brow But High Concept

Set entirely in a small hotel full of cameras, laptops, light fixtures, and a lot of unthinkable existential dread, Bo Burnham: Inside it is not traditional comedy specialbut rather a seamless exploration of the creative process, perfectionism, the dark side of fame, self-inflicted (and government-enforced) isolation, and wry synth-pop bangers about Jeff Bezos that make you want to clap between fits scratch

Just below the scary catchy tunes Bo Burnham: Insidethe inner workings of a madman are revealed through Burnham’s colorful songs about FaceTiming with his mother, sexting with his girlfriend because our communication devices are replacing physical relationships, huge media conglomerates profiting from our internet addiction, and the idea as a society we are more connected than ever, but also the most isolated we have ever been.

Coming Full Circle

Between every skit, song, and existential exploration found in InsideBo Burnham pulls back the curtain by showing us his behind the scenes process. After nailing what you would think is a perfect performance, there are several surprising transitions that cut to Burnham sitting alone in front of his computer and scrutinizing his own work before saying ” one more” and prepared to redraw the whole piece from scratch. . As weeks turn into months, Burnham’s hair and beard grow out to unmanageable lengths, which he addresses by telling the audience that he had booked a haircut which was cancelled.

Any Bo Burnham fan will tell you they are familiar with the back story that led to his creation Insidebut that doesn’t stop the then 30-year-old comedian from breaking into his most confessional composition, “All Eyes On Me.”

Lowering his voice several octaves to capture the breadth of his melancholy as he sings over a haunting synth strum, Burnham reveals to thunderous laughter and applause that he stopped performing because he was having severe panic attacks on stage during his last trip. Revealing that he worked on his mental health during his five-year absence from performing, he looks at the camera and says, just as he was preparing to put himself out there again “the funniest thing happened…”

It’s all a bit

To enjoy fully Bo Burnham: Inside, you need to recognize that the entire special is scripted, and meticulously planned down to its smallest detail. While there’s no doubt in my mind that Burnham spent more time alone than he probably should have had to put this special together which surely came from the dark recesses of his imagination, still playing a fictional, hyperbolic version of his persona on stage.

If you want an up-close look at the creative process of 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, Inside Exitstoo streaming on Netflix, is the perfect companion piece that tells you “everything is going to be okay.”