Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016 TV Special) User Reviews

It "Makes Happy" In A Different Way.

[colorthekid · 9/10 · 31 January 2019]

The last 10 minutes are like unlike anything I've ever seen in a comedy special.

Bo really has his own special away of making "Happy".

Something with value

[LeCronopio · 8/10 · 8 June 2021]

It's not really my type of humor, but the guy is genuinely talented and passionate about delivering something with substance, and that should be valued.

Personal while still being hilarious.

[noahgibbobaker · 8/10 · 2 January 2021]

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?

This dark, mind-bending moving one-hour piece which elevates from being a stand-up piece to being existential monologue makes you wonder.

[sebasibas · 6 June 2016]

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?

On a scale of 1 to 0, it was a 10.

[jhester9614 · 10/10 · 15 April 2017]

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.

Man, that ending though

[gopijahi_551 · 10/10 · 14 April 2017]

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.

Hilarity, sadness, thought provoking, hilarious again.

[anotherloser631 · 10/10 · 15 July 2016]

It's rare that a comedy show makes you think hard about the world, about your relationships, and gives you concern for the happiness of the performer. Make Happy does all this at once, wrapped up like a burrito that's too full.

I watched on Netflix, then a second time that same night with a group of friends. Then a third time with a new group of friends a week later. And honestly, I'd gladly watch it again this week.

There were plenty of burst out laughing moments. There were plenty of clever classic Bo songs that mocked the state of "mainstream" problems and the way the public thinks. There were tons of jokes, then there were some very serious mentions of mental health, depression, and trying to appease the crowd (all of us.) All-in-all it was an incredible performance, unique, hilarious, and deep. A refreshing new dip into your standard stand-up comedy routine.

At only an hour, it's not too long that you'll feel like you wasted your time even if you hated it, and will leave you satisfied, yet begging for more if you love it. If you're reading this, give it a try.

A Comedy Special with a Meaning

[apocris-33929 · 10/10 · 7 July 2016]

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.".

Bo Burnham is a genius. Period.

[TerribleKatherine · 10/10 · 1 September 2018]

I have fell in love with this man's mind. If you think you know what true comedy is and you don't know Burnham, you really don't know what true comedy is.

More than just standup and singing

[curiousgeorgiapeach · 10/10 · 12 June 2021]

I rewatched this after the release of, Inside, and I have to say - The lyrics to the finale was "Mr. Burnham" (what.) (See what I did there?) opening up about his mental struggle with stage anxiety. But, without any previous context its hard to truly understand or appreciate that he was writing about hiding what he was going through and his inability to continue preforming. Hits pretty hard. Bo Burnham remains on a level that he created and, to me, sits above the rest.

More than just a comedy special/10.

Good, but not great

[janzdunkiewicz · 7/10 · 10 June 2021]

Review for those, who liked it but not too much. There are a lot of simple jokes on this special and sometimes you may consider it not really funny, but needless to say, the show is amazing on the technical side. Everything is perfect. And the ending is great, still funny and clever, but with something more. If you decide to watch it, you will have a nice time.

On a scale from one to zero

[stephentibbles-71735 · 10/10 · 17 November 2019]

Burnham's most well crafted and honest stand-up to date. A performance that is both a slap in the face and a warm embrace to Sartre cliche "hell is other people". Sartre suggests we can not escape the judgment of each other, and Burnham laments a life lived in that judgmental spotlight. Burnham then flips the idea and adds a fear of the darkness outside the public gaze.

This leaves the audience wondering if the spotlight is truly a product of the external world, or is it a brightness radiating from within. Is our happiness self-determined, does it come from others, or is there a codependency to happiness? Maybe Burnham was right before, maybe life on earth could be heaven and we could all make happiness. Maybe we just need to try....

Yep, this didn't age well...

[alejandroalcantara_ · 6/10 · 31 October 2021]

"Come and watch the skinny kid with a steadily declining mental health and laugh as he attempts to give you what he cannot give himself."

66/100

Hitting on Burnham out of the blue with Inside gave me this strange sight of contentment, his classification for his humor feels like an aspect a ton of people may be able to identify with, yet nothing quite like it has still come fully upon...

The most substantial problem I have with this special in particular weren't just the micro aggressive jokes that might've been a good idea to swerve even back in 2016, but the fact that, even though the obvious intent for making the special feel like "too much" or to ask for permission to get away with that sense of intolerability have only that intent, which as a result makes them funny, the show lacks depth, only at the end we got to see that particular self-deprecating style Burnham has grown to become proficient in.

Luckily, that unpolished potential has fully reached its peak now and, at least Bo is self-aware of the problematic jokes.... I even liked some of his jokes in this, so who am I to judge?

Technically outstanding but predictable and flat

[desrocchi · 2/10 · 4 September 2018]

I really don't know what is special about this special. From the get going the jokes are pretty much flat, predictable or childish. At the 20 minutes mark I gave up on this.

Technically amazing with the interaction of prerecorded pieces and live stage, not to mention the music, but these alone cannot save a show that is not funny.

I went back and watched till the end because of many times "dat ending" is mentioned in the comments and I have to say: not worth it at all.

Already my favourite Comedian

[oridjion · 8 October 2017]

Watched "what." some time before and really liked it, so I jumped right into Make Happy, when it was uploaded on Netflix and i loved it. I have to admit, he already has gotten my favourite Comedian now and I hope for a few more shows that can make you think and laugh in a different manner than other Comedians do. Highest Recommendation on my part, obviously. And even if you didn't like it, it's just an hour long, so don't worry about "spending too much time on something you didn't like".

Best Special from Bo

[genegarcia-11299 · 10/10 · 18 June 2020]

Dude. This Netflix special is so good, I recommend it. Heads up, if a relative is watching this and has depression, there's a song in the special called Kill Yourself, just don't get them to do it, 11/10 if I could rate up to 11

Loved all of it.

[tmccrory01 · 10/10 · 25 August 2018]

This Netflix original comedy special is one of the best out there. One of my top 3 along with Relative disaster and both Dave Chapelle sketches. This is one of the comedy specials that you should show your friend if he asks which comedy specials are good. But just as a warning, viewer discretion is advised when showing to kids and certain people due to some subjects being talked about like suicide and other offensive subjects.

A hilarious routine with a great mix of silly comedy and a strong underlying message

[jreills · 10/10 · 4 December 2019]

Bo Burnham's second hour-long special, "Make Happy", is a true culmination of his comedic experience, and his swan song in the stand-up field. It is the epitome of a comedy show with meaning. Burnham weaves, even the seemingly meaningless and lighthearted, bits of this show, into an interconnected and meaningful tapestry of comedy and messaging. Burnham explores what it means to be an entertainer in the internet age, and always has full control of his audience, both live and streaming, as he subtly dips his toes into the deeper topics throughout the show, referencing the deeper meaning in much of his material. This comes to a head in his final act in the show, set up as a Kanye West-type rant about problems that are surface-level and meaningless. It starts with complaints about Pringle can diameters, then an overstuffed burrito at chipotle, the latter of which he later reveals to be a metaphor for his own life and experiences as an entertainer. The special wraps up with one question, which connects to the meaning of the entire show: "Are you happy?" Bo Burnham's excellent pacing and edge towards the deeper meaning of his show throughout are the perfect example of modern comedy with true, deeper meaning. All in all, a work of genius that I loved watching from start to finish.

comedy :D

[Morejambo54 · 8/10 · 27 May 2021]

The way Bo uses music in his performance really proves his originality. His shows are so unlike any other comedian I have ever seen, he is able to change mood and tone instantly allowing for some sharp and witty moments. He is able to turn any subject into a fully fledged masterclass of a joke so effortlessly. Bos facial expressions and hand gestures only improve upon hi comedic effect. Overall this performance is really strong and quite enjoyable to watch even when alone :/ noice.

Are you happy? If not watch this.

[jacobcichy · 9/10 · 28 December 2020]

Never would I think such a unfiltered "offensive" comedy show could make me so emotional and reminiscent, but not sure what of. Bo is a genius in his satire, comedy, story-telling, wordplay, performance, energy and all of the above. You can see how creative he is but in this show he relates his over-the-top skits to something more real. This show comes close to being perfect not just for laughs but to feel something, you come for the gut-wrenching humor but leave with tears.

Oh you did make happy

[TheCorniestLemur · 9/10 · 18 July 2021]

I mean, of course I had to watch this after what Inside did to me.

Is it as good though? Well...no. But only two complaints arose for me. One is that I don't think Bo should be saying a gay slur on stage, although the salt and vinegar joke was hilarious, and I think is only made even better when you remember he was specifically talking to all the white people in the crowd.

And the other is that the opening of this special seemed to be implying that there would be a consistent theme to this, much like Inside, but there wasn't really any such thing. It goes from straight white privilege, to nursery rhyme rap, to country music slander, to Pringles cans, and I might not have minded this if the opening part wasn't there, because I was kind of expecting something more consistently going for anti-humour, and for the most part it wasn't.

But that aside, this is amazing stand up. Every song is memorable, has really funny messages and lyrics, Bo is an absolutely perfect performer throughout the whole thing, he's captivating, has a great personality, and an on point sense of timing, and the lighting happening on this stage is honestly amazing.

I can even say there's a few shots that impressed me from the directing, which isn't all that common for a stand up special, where all the director is really required to do is just keep the focus on the guy doing the funnies.

So I wasn't let down after Inside, which is a pretty amazing feat all by itself, and I can't wait to see his other special too.

Something else, but not amazing

[jochemunlimited · 6/10 · 17 January 2022]

So this is the first show I see of him. I see the potential, I see the talent, it is something different then all the people who are just standing there and talk and talk and... So I give him one extra point for that.

While it is different then most of the comedians, I have seen it much better, more clever and much more suprising then this. The jokes are mostly about making fun of something or about something sexual. And there is always something with music or effects, it is too much for me. It are just small pieces that have to be together because it must be one hour and that should not be a problem if the jokes were more in depth, more clever.

I have the feeling he can be much more then this. He makes fun of how a song is being made, but it annoys me that many comedians on Netflix have an intro and outro. Why?! It makes no sense for me. But this intro was a nice one I must say. Maybe it is the high light of the evening ;).

Wow. Bo does it again

[joshdavidheath · 9/10 · 8 June 2016]

Yet again Bo delivers an extraordinary blend of existentialism, social commentary, witty humour, catchy songs and, above all, a handful of masturbation jokes. I have personally been a fan since early on as he was making YouTube videos and loved his first Netflix collaboration 'what.' and 'Make Happy' in my opinion is further development for Bo as his show starts to take on more of his unique onstage personality and the best vocals I have seen from him. Overall it is a unique experience with some genuine laughs and also questions of the human experience.

8.5/10

JH

Just no

[ds-85138 · 1/10 · 3 June 2021]

Is this supposed to be comedy? Why does he need to sing? Absolutely awful.

You'll laugh, tear up and maybe even pee yourself a little.

[scoobz_93 · 15 June 2016]

Bo Burnham is a master of his craft. He isn't just a comedian he is an artist. Burnham tackles serious subjects in a way that makes you giggle like a little girl and than almost instantly cry on the inside. Make happy is Burnham's third live hour after Words, words, words and What. I honestly believe it to be his best work to date and although he has stated that he may be finished with touring he also said he will still involve himself in other comedic projects; which ever takes his fancy is my guess because whatever this kid touches turns into pure laughable, cry-able, enjoyable, memorable gold. Seriously, watching make happy will make you, well happy. 10/10