Movie Monday: Greatest Solo Cinematic Achievement Belongs to Bo Burnham

As I write this, I’m listening to an hour-long extended version of “All Eyes on Me” from Bo Burnham’s Inside because I can’t stop listening to it, and I’m tired of telling YouTube to play it back over and over again. But it’s not just the score that makes Inside the greatest cinematic achievement by a single person ever.

During “All Eyes On Me,” Bo Burnham shares that he quit comedy for five years because he was experiencing panic attacks on stage. In January of 2020 he had planned to start doing live shows again, and then Coronavirus forced us all inside.

Bo Burnham used his time inside better than all of us, offering an intimate and often uncomfortable look at his most vulnerable self. He locked himself in one room until he completed this comedy special, and because I went to film school and understand all the mundane and exhausting work necessary to make even a short film with minimal crew, I have a special appreciation for what Bo Burnham did.

Burnham wrote, produced, directed, and edited Inside. He wrote and performed the musical score. He designed and lit the sets. He recorded and edited the audio. He did every job on a film set from catering to key grip. The only things he didn’t do were advanced and ultra-detailed aspects of editing, like color correction, which no one wants to do, not even those paid to do it.

The immensity of all that work, all the rehearsing, all the takes, all the editing, and the seemingly endless critique of yourself as you watch and listen to no one else for over a year takes a toll that’s ever-apparent and makes you wonder if Burnham has ceased performing and is actually unwell. I assure you, he is not performing in those moments, but bearing your soul to an audience in that vulnerable a state is more impressive than Oscar-worthy acting. That’s why when Burnham laughs while performing the end of “All Eyes On Me,” I cried tears of joy for him, because I know those joyous moments were so few and far between that I was glad he could still find pleasure in what he was doing near the end. It was indicative of his success not in finishing the film, but in sustaining his improved mental health that he put at risk for our entertainment.

With Inside, Bo Burnham has not only created the best comedy special but best comedy film I’ve seen in I don’t know how long. I think it’ll win both a Grammy and an Oscar, and I think it deserves to win more than one of either or both of those awards. The score is so good I want to buy it on vinyl. The CD, Inside (the songs), is sold out, which will be the case for any tour Burnham eventually schedules. You can watch many of Burnham’s performances of songs from Inside on YouTube, but you really should watch this one from beginning to end on Netflix as soon as possible. You won’t regret it.