Robert “Bo” Burnham is no ordinary guy. In fact, he’s probably one of the most talented people this world has seen. An actor, stand-up comedian, musician, director, and so much more, Burnham is one of the most prolific Bohemians of the modern era. His story is an interesting one too, with his comedic journey having started over 16 years ago, when he posted short, comedic songs about various topics and often made fun of how ridiculous some aspects of life were. In early YouTube, he was a massive success, with his channel quickly becoming one of the most popular on the platform and his videos receiving hundreds of thousands of views, numbers that were unheard of on the site at the time. He was so successful that he eventually started to go on tour, performing stand up comedy in front of a live audience and creating various songs in his unique style.
His meteoric rise to fame was suddenly cut short in 2015 when he quit the performing lifestyle, admitting that he had started to have panic attacks on stage. In an unprecedented spell, he disappeared from worldview as quickly as he had risen, but he wasn’t done just yet. He spent the years from 2015 to 2020 working on himself and, in January of 2020, he planned to make his grand return to the world of live comedy…until COVID-19 hit, and Burnham was quarantined in a one-room apartment. It was then that the idea of Bo Burnham: Inside was born: a comedy special directed by, acted in, and shot by Burnham. It follows Bo’s experience through COVID, as he makes observations about things that are happening in the world at the time.
The majority of the movie is music, all performed by Bo on his piano, one of the few things that populated the 15’ by 15’ space where he spent a year trapped. The movie itself is weird, constantly switching between different lighting and moods. Some shots are silent and serve to really drive in the isolation and heavy depression that he was feeling at the time. Others are bright and colorful, but they all carry a twinge of uneasiness. It's almost imperceptible, but throughout the film, you notice things like his beard looking a little too messy or an argument with a sock puppet becoming a bit too heated. These details make you realize the struggles that this creative mind is going through while creating silly songs. Other than the small room that it’s shot in and the fact that the only person ever onscreen is Burnham himself, one of the small details that add to the movie is the laugh track that he uses throughout the film. It breaks the immersion of the film in an intentional way. It makes the viewer realize that he is, in that moment, talking to himself.
Throughout the film, you, the audience, see so many different sides of Bo, the crazy and comedic side, the serious side, the depressed and isolated side, and even the angry side, and it’s fascinating to see some of the ways in which he decides to be creative in a time of isolation. The songs are spaced out between short, comedic sketches and commentary from Burnham as he makes them. These segments provide the viewer a break from the witty parody of the music and give them a glimpse into Bo’s head and living space as he navigates the creation of the special. Whether you find his comedic style entertaining or not, you cannot deny Bo Burnham's objective genius. It is captivating to see what a creative person trapped in a room for a year is able to come up with, almost as if the audience is looking at Burnham like viewers at the zoo.
All in all, Bo Burnham: Inside is a wacky, funny, confusing, depressing, and, most of all, fascinating view into the tortured mind of a genius as he struggles with isolation, a feeling that the viewer, having lived through COVID as well, can relate to. I would highly recommend watching this special—which you can find on Netflix—and listening to some of its music.