Watch Bo Burnham Begrudge His Way Through ‘FaceTime With My Mom (Tonight)’ From New Special
Bo Burnham’s newest Netflix release isn’t so much a comedy special as it is a tapestry of musical musings about privilege, identity, living through the lockdown and being a newly-30 millennial.
Released on May 30, “Bo Burnham: Inside” was written, directed, shot and edited by Burnham during the COVID-19 pandemic. The special is a continuation of his relationship with Netflix, which streams his previous stand up specials, 2013’s “what.” and 2016’s “Make Happy.”
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In a standalone clip from “Inside,” Burnham — drenched in blue light — chronicles the begrudging journey of FaceTiming with his mom. Anticipating the 40-minute call, he sings over a steady, snapping beat about “telling my boys I need some space, yeah” so that he can have an “essential” motherly catch-up. He goes on to list some classic mom encounters, like her being surprised he knew she just showered (her hair is wet) or telling her to hold the phone further back (“she’ll hold her iPhone 5, no further than six inches from her face, yeah”).
Burnham gets pretty dark throughout “Inside,” such as the moment when he clarifies he wouldn’t actually kill himself, but, if he could die for 12-18 months, he would take the opportunity in a heartbeat. In “FaceTime with My Mom,” Burnham mostly makes light of frustrating, but funny tendencies of mothers, like wanting to chat about “The Blacklist” or often covering the camera with her thumb. In a fleeting moment, Burnham takes a turn and slips into something a bit more heavy.
“She says, ‘oh look who’s here, say hi to dad,'” he sings. “He says, ‘how are you doing?’ I say, ‘Not so bad.’ And that’s the deepest talk we’ve ever had.”
Watch the full clip below.
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