Inside Information

Earlier this year, the internet was abuzz about Bo Burnham's unusual Netflix comedy special, Inside. Filmed over the course of a year -- and of course, we're talking about that year -- Burnham created and filmed the entire thing by himself, in one room. In doing so, he captured the mood of a world suddenly feeling trapped inside with only themselves -- and not always liking what this forced them to see.

We may have vaccines now (seriously, people: we have vaccines now!), but Inside is still a very current watch. Even in the future, this special is going to be insightful viewing as a time capsule of this particular period of pandemic life. (Assuming we ever get to stop living pandemic life. That's a feeling this special also captures well.)

Inside is very inventive. Burnham is incredibly clever about making his single space seem varied and different over the course of 90 minutes. It's also very funny, especially over the first half, when it delves into what it's like to live life even more on the internet than we all did in 2019: hilarious songs touch on Instagram, FaceTime, and sexting.

As the special continues, it starts to transition into more serious emotional strain. I imagine different viewers will see different things: is Burnham just leaning into a "bit" with Andy Kaufman level intensity? I myself get the distinct feeling that this is not all a performance, that Bo Burnham really does start to come unraveled, and made the decision to include that in the special. No, it's not always funny (so if that's all you're there for: beware), but it is honest, even courageous. And again, a real time capsule of 2020.

Remarkably, no one seemed to consider the possibility that someone would want to listen to the many songs of Inside apart from the special itself. But when the special was released, public demand quickly led to a soundtrack being made available. Over on Amazon, this soundtrack has pulled off the impossible (at the time of this writing): with over 150 ratings, there's not a SINGLE 2- or 1-star review (and 94% 5-star reviews). These songs are funny and resonate... well... deep inside.

Is this "I can't breathe, I want to watch it again and again" level humor? Probably not, though that would be an unreasonable standard for anything made in 2020. Still, I think just about everyone would enjoy watching Inside at least once. I give it a B+.