Bo Burnham: Inside – Film Review

Stuck in COVID-19 lockdown, US comedian and musician Bo Burnham attempts to stay happy by writing, shooting, and performing a one-man comedy special whilst going through struggles within his personal life.

In my humble opinion, Bo Burnham is one of the best actors and comedians working today. It’s genuinely surprising to me that he isn’t on top of the world though because everything I have seen him do is utterly genius. Not only can he pull off a damn good performance such as Ryan Cooper in Promising Young Woman and CJ in The Big Sick, but he is also deeply funny as evidenced by some of his previous comedy specials such as what. and Make Happy.

However, his latest comedy special feature Inside is not only the greatest thing that Burnham has ever had his name on, but it’s also the best film of the year so far. Inside is one of those rare movies that, when the credits roll, you’ll be sitting down staring at the screen in awe for several minutes. Even after the credits are officially done, you’ll still be finding yourself in a state of shock and amazement.

The fact that Burnham literally made this entire movie by himself is absolutely incredible. So many filmmakers out there would dream to make a movie this good by themselves and yet Burnham makes it look so easy.

There are definitely going to be some people who watch Inside and say that it’s not too genius. A lot of the film shows Burnham in various different stylish outfits (and even some scenes of him in his birthday suit or underwear) dancing and singing various comedic songs he wrote. Some will say that it’s boring but I couldn’t disagree more.

Every single song displayed in this film is one that I could see going viral. There truly isn’t a weak link amongst any of Burnham’s hard-hitting, extremely witty tunes that will probably be stuck in your head for a good few days at least. Among my favorites are “White Woman’s Instagram” and “That Funny Feeling”. They’re both extremely clever, while the latter tends to be more introspective in nature.

And really, Inside is one of the most thought-provoking films I have had the pleasure of watching in years. You wouldn’t think that a movie about a comedian singing songs and messing around inside his home would be deep, but boy does this film hit hard. It’s one of those films that seriously creeps up on you in such a brilliant way that it’s genuinely difficult to put into words.

One minute you’ll find yourself in hysterics laughing at the amazingly funny lyrics of one of Burnham’s songs and then the next, you’ll find yourself having to hold back some tears from streaming down your cheeks.

And even though the film runs at only eighty-seven minutes in length, it never feels too short and it never feels too long either. Each and every single minute in Inside feels meaningful and by the time the credits rolled I truly felt as though I just watched a director’s magnum opus.

To get into too much detail about the film would do it a disservice. I don’t want to get into spoilers obviously but what I will say is that this film is not only a hilarious journey into the insanely weird, but it’s powerful and moving in ways that I didn’t expect. If you are not doing anything for about ninety minutes, there is really no better movie to watch right now than Inside.