Bo Burnham: Inside is anything but a conventional funny comedy special. With pretty much all comedy shows on hold due to the pandemic, Burnham was forced to turn the camera on himself and craft something original to keep himself sane. The resulting Netflix special is equally funny and weird, with many hilarious moments, as well as a few dramatic ones.
Bo Burnham is a master of comedy, and Inside is a great piece of art. Through funny songs and honest rants, Burnham gives viewers a sense of how his mind works. Here's a glimpse of what to expect from Bo Burnham: Inside.
Healing The World With Comedy
Early on in the special, Burnham jokingly laments how the world is messed up and that he doesn't feel like he can do anything about it. He notes some of the main problems as "Systematic oppression. Income equality. The other stuff," and feels it needs direction "from a white guy like me."
This comedic song sets the tone for the show right away. It's obvious that Burnham is very self-aware and knows that his comedy is, of course, not the most important thing in the world during the pandemic. Still, he wants to heal the world with comedy "while still being paid and being the center of attention."
FaceTime With My Mom Tonight
Shot entirely in his home, Burnham lights his room in blue and sings a funny tune about how he's going to clear his schedule and FaceTime with his Mom. The joke is very familiar to fans by now, as most viewers have had experiences doing video calls with loved ones during the pandemic. In Burnham's song, his Mom answers with wet hair from coming out of the shower and holds her iPhone too close to her face.
Things get weird when Burnham's Dad cuts in to ask how he's doing, resulting in the comedian admitting it's the deepest talk they've ever had. Finally, Burnham gets pissed off at the end of the song because his Mom is covering the camera with her thumb. It's all very funny, but it'ss also a bit too real to laugh at.
Socko
This clever bit starts with Burnham singing a cheery song about how the world works "from A to Zebra to the worms in the dirt." Sitting at his piano, he belts out a charming children's jingle that turns soon turns dark when a sock puppet named Socko, of course operated by Burnham, shows up.
Socko immediately debunks every happy thing Burnham just sang about, riffing on how the world was "built with blood, and genocide, and exploitation." Socko continues to perpetrate the worst parts of human history until Burnham threatens to rip him off his hand. It's simultaneously disturbing and hilarious.
Inside
In this sit-down, intimate talk show style bit, Burnham imagines himself as a former comedian and current fictional brand consultant. The skit is a takedown of current brand "woke" culture, examining how modern brands feel the need to stand up for political issues due to social media pressure rather than true empathy.
Going deeper, Burnham says brands need to ask themselves "what do you stand for?" and "who are you, Bagel Bites?" Again, it's a piece that hits the nail on the head when it comes to how self-indulgent brands are when it comes to shamelessly promoting themselves. He ends the bit with the funny line "You've got a choice as a brand. You can hide, and bury your head in the sand, hope it fixes itself, or you can roll up your sleeves and get to work... and sell Butterfingers."
A White Woman's Instagram
In probably the funniest song in Bo Burnham: Inside, Burnham comically mentions all of the things that remind us of "heaven:" an avocado, a couple holding hands, a poem written in the sand, etc. He then reveals that it's all just part of a "white woman's Instagram."
As with many of the songs in Inside, Burnham continues to push the point and mocks things like goat cheese salads, backlit hammocks, and cozy, fuzzy socks as part of people's Instagram accounts. It's humorous, but it's also a bit ironic considering many people use social media to express themselves, just as Burnham is doing with his special.
Reaction Video (To A Reaction Video)
This funny and incredibly relevant bit starts with Burnham on the piano in a dimly lit setting. It's meant to mimic a jazz club as he scoots and scats his way through a song about how being an unpaid intern is basically the same as illegal slave labor. Hilariously, Burnham then jumps to a reaction video of the video he just did—but it doesn't end there.
His reaction video then suddenly starts playing, and Burnham is forced to do a reaction video to his own reaction video. The loop continues and continues with Burnham's irreverent take on social media culture blowing up out of control, just like in real life.
Jeffrey Bezos
A shadow of Bo Burnham appears in a dimly lit room. With '80s electronic music playing in the background, Burnham sings a quick ditty about Amazon CEO Jeffrey Bezos, calling him "CEO, entrepreneur, born in 1964" and encouraging him to "go get it."
There's not much else to this one except Burnham writing off Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and investment mogul Warren Buffet as "amateurs." He sings that Bezos should "drink their blood," and that's when this tune goes off the rails. Fortunately, this one is over before things get too much weirder.
Twitch Stream
In this parody scene, Burnham pretends to be doing a Twitch gameplay live stream for a game called "Inside" featuring himself as a character. He makes the character cry, stand up, and walk around all while commentating on the fake game with some hilarious banter.
There are some funny lines in this one, like "so is the dude big, or is the room small?" and "I'm holding the flashlight like a cop. Why is he doing that?" The game randomly ends, and it's another bit that makes viewers shake their heads because it's too real.
Turning 30
The scene opens with Bo Burnham sitting on a stool next to a digital clock that reads 11:58. Burnham points out that he's been working on the special for six months but hoped to have it finished by the time he turned 30. He openly admits that he wanted to avoid turning 30 while still working on the special alone in his room.
Burnham appears in the underwear for the next funny song and sings about how meaningless it feels to turn 30. He recalls that his granddad fought in Vietnam when he was 27, while Burnham only builds a birdhouse when he was the same age.
Welcome To The Internet
Once again, Burnham is seated as the piano in his sunglasses and jazz club set-up. "Welcome To The Internet" is a bouncy song about how you can literally find anything on the internet from tips on boiling pasta to women's feet to fantasy sports.
His song dives deeper into the dark parts of the internet with some truly offensive stuff. Burnham sums up the internet with the line "apathy's a tragedy and boredom is a crime. Can I interest you in everything, all of the time?" Dark indeed.