Bo Burnham: Make Happy

It is scary or even frightening to see a ground-breaking, innovating performer like Burnham be this unhappy. Fighting his fans who see in him the role model he doesn't want to be. Terrified of today's commercial based entertainment industry which he ridicules over and over again to convince his audience stop looking for answers in the words of performers. Seeing the irony of his own fans blindly following the young comic this one hour special consist of a constant fight between Burnham and his audience with a goal to make them really listen. Where his previous shows 'What' and 'Words,words words' showed a generally happy kid making fun of everything about performing, 'Make happy' shows an angry, depressed soul begging for answers. This dark, mind-bending moving one-hour piece which elevates from being a stand-up piece to being existential monologue makes you wonder. What does it take to be satisfied?

Bo Burnham does it again... I've only been following Bo for about a year so I was excited to see that he was going to make another comedy special! I really enjoyed "what." and I couldn't wait to see his new innovative material. What I got was very unexpected.

This special is not comedy, it is art. From the deep lyricism in the last act to the cinematic camera-work throughout, this show took my breath away. I never thought that a comedy special could be so... well... special! It's truly not you everyday stand-up comedian.

When compared to "what.", the jokes are realistically not as strong. I was going to give this a 9 at first, but then I realized that I was comparing apples to oranges. I think "what." is a 10/10, but I wouldn't lower the score because it's as not deep as "Make Happy"!

In conclusion, don't watch "Make Happy" expecting a full on comedy show. The comedy is pretty good for about 3/4's of the special, but the last quarter is not a happy fun time. If you want some really good comedy, go watch Bo Burnham's other special, "what.".

I know I said I wasn't posting another review for a while, but I have a couple days free so here you are.

I've been following Bo Burnham since "words words words" and ever since 2010 his work has only improved (I'll have to rewatch "what"). It's clear to me that he is an extremely intelligent person who understands humanity.

He injects personal more "serious" elements into his act which actually resonate with me a lot. He touches on mental health/illness which is something that has affected me for a long time, he touches upon this among other things.

All the songs are great, I especially enjoyed the country song, it's perfect satire and commentary on modern music as a whole, not just country music.

I could talk about Bo Burnham for ages but I'm not going to. He's one of the most intelligent celebrities working today, I feel this way about a few comedians funnily enough.

Before you go, if you don't mind answering I have a genuine question... Are you happy?

I'm a long time fan of Bo Burnham (started seeing his stuff on YouTube back when he was in his bedroom) and every special he's put out has left me feeling different.

Words Words Words made me see art differently, especially performance art.

What made me question how I think and perceived my identity.

But Make Happy made me realize how shitty being a creative can be and how ageist the society at large can be surrounding ideas of love and acceptance.

This show explores the system surrounding commercialism of the music industry, how the rich shape the minds of the poor, how being down to earth can be an act, and how looking okay is a mask.

I loved the show. I felt awkward and uncomfortable when facing the realness of depression and working through it because life must go on. I laughed at the impressions, at the face value jokes, at the wordplay, and the interesting lyrics. I teared up at the end because it's hard to put into words how fleeting happiness is...

And Bo captured it.

I have watched it already a couple of times but never saw the ending of the special after the standup. That 5 minutes end after the standup. Man, I don't even remember the last time I cried watching something. Standup is good, but it doesn't even hold a candle to the emotional ending. If you have netflix account, watch it from start to finish. By the end, you will be crying with laughter and at the end, you will have real tears of emotion. Do watch it.