Bo Burnham: what. (2013) Reviews

• Nothing short of a masterpiece.

  guy-nicholas2013-12-20

  Oh, Bo. If you are here reading this review then I assume you know enough about Bo Burnham that I don't have to give an in-depth background story on the man. But, I'll provide a brief one. Bo Burnham is a very young and very funny comedian who burst onto the scene after posting YouTube videos of him singing quirky and silly (if not, very clever) songs while playing simple piano melodies. Comedy Central got a hold of him and then he became the youngest comedian to have his own Comedy Central special, four days after his 18th birthday. In 2009, he released his first REAL hour of comedy: Words, Words, Words. "Words" was a very clever hour, packed with poetry, stand up, and songs discussing humor, irony, and religion. "Words" was fantastic, in other words, and now three years later, Bo is releasing his newest hour, called "what." So does "what." live up to the expectations? In a few words: Yes, and then some. "What." is so different from "Words" like "Words" was different from Bo's first special, which was just a live collection of his YouTube songs. And Bo stays connected with his internet roots, and posted the whole taped hour for FREE on his YouTube channel. So if you are on the fence about it, you should at least try it. Bo paid for it out of pocket and it's free on YouTube. Whether you like him or not, you have to give him credit, but anyways. "What." is a much more energetic performance from Bo, and it is also goofier, but as well as that, it is very analytical and meaningful if you pay close attention. Those who loved "Art is Dead" will have a field day with some of the bits and songs in this special. That's what is so great about Bo. Meaning delivered through comedy is a very hard thing to accomplish, and doing it well is even harder, but Bo pulls it off with flying colors. So what is "what."? It's a very theatrical special. Calling it stand up feels like an injustice to what it is. It seems more like a one-man play. The opening of the show is WAY more energetic then his opening for "Words", and it gets you hooked right in. Bo then delivers an hour filled with hilarious one-liners, miming, poetry, and his beloved songs. Some of these songs, though goofy on the surface, offer some of the best social commentary and self commentary, if that exists, that I've seen from a comedian. "Left Brain, Right Brain" is a song that is basically a melodic battle between Bo's analytical and smart side and his carefree and emotional side. I felt that I was relating to it a lot more than I should, but then I listened to it again and realized I should be relating to it as much as I did. Another song, "Repeat Stuff", offers us a glance and a satire of modern pop/love songs, getting pretty dark along the way, but the meaning and truth is there. It seems exaggerated, but really, it is pretty close to the truth. Let me tell you, the ending. The closer for this hour is one of the best bits I've ever seen a comedian perform. I find myself getting very emotional when I watch it and when I hear it. It is pure genius, I love it. So, if you are a fan of Bo, you HAVE to watch this special. If you don't know who Bo is, you should watch it. For God's sake (OH! Forgot to mention the song "From God's Perspective", also one of the best songs he's ever done.) he put the whole special up on YouTube, so you might as well try it. I loved it, and I also got to see it live before this special. It is so wonderful. A very strong 9/10.

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• what?!

  scoobz_932016-07-02

  Bo Burnham found accidental fame after posting a couple comedy songs on YouTube. His first special "words, words, words" was a collection of pun heavy comedic songs which would have you laughing instantly and than hours later after the puns finally caught up with you. This special 'what' follows in his trade make style of quick and quirky comedic songs while this time being accompanied by an arrangement of lights and backing tracks. Burnham talks about religion, modern 'pop stars' and ask's questions we never knew we needed answers too. This musical style of comedy is very quickly becoming my favourite genre. 10/10 glittery dick jokes.

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• This

  TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews2013-12-20

  Bo returns to the stage, and delivers on his multiple talents - playing instruments(mostly "air" ones) and comedy - musical(including making it largely out of sampled sounds), verbal and physical. He goes for wordplay, the clever, and the silly, with universal jokes, rather than ones that will date this. As usual, he prioritizes being consistently funny and challenging over having one specific focus - with that said, he does get rather introspective(such as the "two halves of the brain" bit), and one can tell that he has grown since he launched on the internet. Of course, this doesn't mean that he is unrecognizable, far from it. His brand and identity remain intact, and in-between, sometimes even in, the intellectual parts, he gets just as immature as we want him to. Awkwardness is embraced, not shied away from. That of himself, and some of the things that go into shaping a show like this - yes, he does go as meta and self-referential as usual(a child of YouTube, that much is clear). We can follow his line of thinking, and yet he throws curve-balls our way. Plain and simple, we never, for a second, know exactly what he's going to do next, and whenever he jumps tracks in his train of thought, the audience(including the live ones for the video recording of this) loves it. It is simply that carefully crafted. Among his material are social problems(with an indictment of himself and other artists, making this simultaneously the illness and the cure, the reason for needing, and the actual pursuing of, therapy), integrity, religion, sexuality, etc. At the time of writing this, the entire well-paced 60-minute presentation is up on, and thus endorsed by, his own channel, so legally free to watch. There is brutal and disturbing imagery in this. I recommend this to any fan of Burnham. 8/10

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• The most artistic and daring comedy show I've ever seen

  broadwayacr2017-10-18

  I have admired Bo Burnham since he was 16 and I was 22. At the time (and still), I was teaching 16-years-olds how to write music; but for me, Bo was a source for my own study. His wit, his timing, and his absolutely genius writing was simply something I had never seen before in lyrical form. Bo started out as a giant: and still he continued to grow. This show is, simply put, masterful. It is laugh-out-loud funny, it is surprising, it is honest, and simultaneously real and surreal. Bo: my hat is off to you. Please keep doing exactly what you're doing: and please keep surprising us with something different.

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• Bo Burnham Is Back... But Maybe Not Better

  gavin69422013-12-23

  After seeing Bo Burnham's "Words Words Words" I became a bit hooked on his style and musical taste. And then seeing another person call this new special a "masterpiece", I had to see if he could pull it off again. My initial opinion is no. With a voice that sounds more like Weird Al every day, the show featured a large amount of pre-recorded material. While the bits surrounding that material was funny at times, it stretched on a bit long and really took away from the natural spontaneity of stand up comedy. Burnham has also become more obscene. While his misogyny is clearly ironic, he pushes the sexual humor to a new level. Funny? Yes. But also a sad thing, because he is smarter than this and going for a laugh with a sex joke is the easy way out. The "God song" (title unknown) was a high point, and he still has plenty of musical creativity in him. I would gladly see Burnham live and look forward to the next special. This was not perfect, but it shows he has not run the well dry just yet.

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