Make Happy

Make Happy is a stand-up comedy routine by Bo Burnham which he performed live in 2015 and 2016; a recording of the show was released on Netflix on June 3, 2016. Similar to Burnham's previous special what., the show is a specifically choreographed performance which combines comedy with music, and uses pre-recorded music, stage lighting effects and sound effects. It has received an overwhelmingly positive critical response, with several critics complimenting Burnham's deconstruction of various types of performances, clever jokes based on misdirection, and his stage persona.

Make Happy
Promotional poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Kathy Welch
  • Chris Scanlon
Written byBo Burnham
StarringBo Burnham
Edited byChris Amos
Release date
  • June 3, 2016 (2016-06-03) (Netflix)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Background

Bo Burnham rose to fame after posting videos on YouTube. He signed to Comedy Central Records and released his debut EP, "Bo Fo Sho", in 2008. His most recent work at the time of Make Happy was the stand-up show what., which he toured with in 2013 and released on YouTube and Netflix for free on December 17, 2013.[1] While touring for what., Burnham began to have panic attacks before shows, which may have influenced the writing and performance of Make Happy, his next live show.[2]

While segments for what. were written without production design in mind, and these elements were added later, in Make Happy the lights, backing tracks and other technology were considered from the beginning.[3] Burnham began touring for Make Happy in February 2015, at the age of 24.[4] Make Happy was recorded for Netflix at the Capitol Theatre in New York, and released on June 3, 2016, at a time when Netflix was releasing several original content stand-up comedy specials per month.[5]

Following the release of Make Happy on Netflix, Burnham stated that it may be the last stand-up show he performs in the foreseeable future, as he plans to focus more on writing.[2]

Synopsis

In the introduction, Burnham awakes in a hotel room wearing clown makeup and walks to the theatre as we hear a robotic voice address the audience. The show begins with a song based around call and response, where Burnham requests various groups in the audience (for example, virgins) to shout out "Hell, yeah!" After this song, Burnham immediately segues into a more introspective and meta song.

Following this, Burnham moves to his keyboard and performs an ironic song about the problems of being a straight white male, and then delivers a comedic monologue on the subject of race. As Bo begins to change the subject, a pre-recorded song interrupts him, calling him a "faggot", and continuing to call him a "fucking faggot" until he demands that the track be stopped. Burnham segues into a discussion of hip hop music, and delivers a hip-hop version of "I'm a Little Teapot" to illustrate his point. Following a series of subversive jokes based around misdirection, Burnham claims he will improvise a song about a member of the audience, and asks an audience member for his name—Rob. A pre-recorded track plays about Bo having sex with someone's mother, and he inserts the name "Rob" into the gaps in the track. Burnham then starts talking about country music and criticising the modern-day industry, singing a mock country song about rich country singers pandering to their audiences.

After criticising the lip-syncing segment of The Tonight Show, Burnham performs a mime about seeing a penis in a restroom and then a song about love, where he advocates people lowering their expectations. He makes some quick-fire jokes and then performs further mimes about making sandwiches while high on marijuana, and intoxicated. Following from a fake advert for Flamin' Hot Cheetos, he presents a song where he tells the listener to kill themselves, explaining before, during and after the song that it is about the dangers of listening to pop singers' advice and taking their lyrics too seriously.

He deals with some brief heckling before beginning a song about a breakup, which focuses on the man lashing out as a way of dealing with his emotions. He then begins analysing the show's meaning, the culture of performance promoted by social media and the concept of the Me generation. Burnham then delivers a song inspired by the way Kanye West ended his performances for The Yeezus Tour, by ranting comedically about small annoyances such as the width of Pringle cans and singing about his conflicted relationship with his audience. This ends the stage show, but a closing segment features Burnham talking to the viewer with a song where he addresses the rhetorical question "Are you happy?"

Analysis

Thematically, as Burnham himself mentions in the special, Make Happy can be said to be "about performing".[6][7] Throughout the show, Burnham maintains a "prickly persona" with the audience, "alternating between making them laugh and baiting them, even insulting them".[2] The show is "meticulously choreographed"[8] and makes extensive use of pre-recorded music, theatre lighting, sound effects and his audience;[5][6][9] It has been described as a tonal continuation of what.,[10] which featured acts that have been compared to Make Happy's sandwich-making mime, breakup song, West parody,[8][10] and intersperses comedy, music, theatrics and poetry.[9] The show has "discrete bits" which are "seemingly disjointed" and contain many "small details", but there are connections between them.[9]

Make Happy jokes about common tropes in comedy and music.[3] The show's "quiet moments of honesty" serve to highlight a perceived lack of substance in the entertainment industry.[11] Songs performed satirise hip-hop, bro-country and "inspirational" pop music.[12] Other topics which the show comments on are the deification of celebrities and the omnipresent nature of social media. Burnham comments in an interview that the segment mocking Kanye West is "done with love", praising that West "makes amazing things and he pours himself into his work".[11]

Critical reception

Make Happy was very well received by critics. Hugar of The A.V. Club gave the show an A– rating, calling it "one of the best stand up specials of the year". Hugar noted that the show "gets more avant-garde and considerably darker" than Burnham's previous material and summarised, "Burnham is a skilled comic and his combination of rapid-fire songwriting and meaty observations about modern life are captivating".[12] Newman of Forbes gave Make Happy an overwhelmingly positive review, describing it as "easily the best comedy special [Netflix] has ever produced", praising Burnham's "whipsaw swaps between fun and thoughtfulness" and "honed and self-deprecating" stage presence.[5]

Caballero of Impact gives the Netflix special a very positive review, saying that Burnham "showcases the satirical, arrogant yet self-deprecating humor that characterizes him", creating a work which is "deeply personal", and ends the show with "a question ["Are you happy?"] so heartfelt it is hard to imagine any other comedian being so sincere". Caballero praises this tonal shift as an improvement over the "child-like demeanour" displayed in what.[9]

Williams in TheVine gives a positive review of the special, writing that Burnham "deconstructs himself in a hysterical, brilliantly self-conscious, sometimes unsettling routine".[8] Czajkowski gave the show a mostly positive review in The Guardian, opining that Burnham is "exceptionally good at misdirection" and used a "mix of music, wit and experimental comedy" which created "a freshness rarely seen on stage", but critiquing some of his "raunchier material" and describing the show as "a little stuck".[10]

Bennett of Chortle calls Burnham "intensively creative", with an ability to "surprise with a crafty turn of phrase", and believes the show to be an "hour of happiness".[6] McCarthy of Decider says that Burnham displays a "shrewd knowledge of those funnymen and women who have hit the stages before him, as well as a propensity for deconstructing the very nature of entertainment, and the relationship between performer and audience, between star and fans".[7]

References
  1. Kroeger, Jake (December 17, 2013). "BO BURNHAM'S WHAT. RELEASED TODAY ON NETFLIX AND YOUTUBE". Nerdist. Nerdist Industries. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  2. Zinman, Jason (June 3, 2016). "Bo Burnham, Discovered on the Internet, Now Challenges It". Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  3. Kozell, Isaac (June 3, 2016). "Talking 'Make Happy' and Biting the Hand That Feeds You with Bo Burnham". Splitsider. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  4. Wright, Megh (December 8, 2014). "Bo Burnham Announces Dates for His 'Make Happy Tour'". Splitsider. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  5. Newman, Heather (June 10, 2016). "The Incredible Bo Burnham, Or Why You Should Watch Your Comedy on Netflix". Forbes. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  6. Bennett, Steve (June 6, 2016). "Bo Burnham Make Happy". Chortle. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  7. McCarthy, Sean (June 3, 2016). "Don't Worry, 'Make Happy' With Bo Burnham on Netflix". Decider. New York Post. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  8. Williams, Simone (June 6, 2016). "Bo Burnham's 'Make Happy' Netflix Special Goes From Zero To One Hundred Real Quick". TheVine. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017.
  9. Caballero, Nicolas (June 16, 2016). "Review – Bo Burnham: Make Happy". Impact. University of Nottingham Students' Union. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  10. Czajkowski, Elise (October 6, 2015). "Bo Burnham's Make Happy review – YouTube sensation's growing pains". The Guardian. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  11. Daw, Stephen (June 29, 2016). "Bo Burnham Talks Social-Media Despair, Why Trump Is Joke-Proof". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  12. Hugar, John (June 3, 2016). "Bo Burnham combines anxiety and absurdity to brilliant effect on Make Happy". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
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