Bupkis review: A comedy about hating Pete Davidson, by Pete Davidson
- TV Show
Pete Davidson knows you probably hate him, so he made a show about it. Now for the twist: Bupkis — the new Peacock comedy that presents a "heightened, fictionalized version" of the star's life — is actually quite likable. Bolstered by a phenomenal ensemble cast and suffused with unexpected emotion, Bupkis is a millennial Curb Your Enthusiasm — minus the sneering misanthropy.
Created by Davidson, Judah Miller (Crashing), and Dave Sirus (SNL), Bupkis begins with Kim Kardashian's ex Googling himself in the basement of the Staten Island home he shares with his mom, Amy (Edie Falco). The results are unpleasant: "Pete Davidson Tops the Douche List"; "12 Things Horribly Wrong with Pete Davidson"; "Is Pete Davidson on Drugs?"; or simply, "Yuck!" Frequently depressed and persistently high, Pete spends a considerable amount of time in his basement with a collection of hangers-on — including Derek (Derek Gaines), Crillz (James A. DeSimone), Dave (Dave Sirus), and Gilly (Shane Gillis) — watching true crime TV, playing "real life Fruit Ninja" with a glaive, and making absurd demands of his put-upon assistant, Evan (Philip Ettinger).
But when his Grandpa Joe (Joe Pesci) reveals he's dying, Pete decides to learn all he can from the foul-mouthed father figure — the only person in his life besides his younger sister, Casey (Oona Roche), who doesn't coddle him. "It ain't the tattoos, Peter," growls Joe when his grandson wonders why no one takes him seriously. "They see you as a joke because you are a joke. And you act like a f---in' joke."
Davidson, credited as a co-writer on all eight episodes, seems to have no interest in using Bupkis to remake his public image. This "fictionalized" Pete is often selfish and impulsive, easily distracted and lacking a perceptible work ethic — though, like the real-life Davidson, he's usually able to smooth things over with a skillful deployment of humor and ineffable charisma. There's a kind of benign chaos to the storytelling, which swerves from over-the-top foolishness — Pete's trip to Miami for a gig devolves into a Fast & Furious style shootout led by a flamboyantly unhinged jeweler named Crispy (a hilarious Simon Rex) — to Curb-esque minutiae, as when Pete tries to track down the troll who keeps posting an unflattering picture of him on Wikipedia. Celebrities are a constant presence, popping up as themselves and in amusingly random cameos. (See: Kenan Thompson as "Referee/Barista"; Charlamagne Tha God as "Priest.")
The best episodes focus on Pete Davidson as a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew — in other words, a person rather than a walking meme. "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" flashes back to September 28, 2001, just two weeks after Pete's firefighter father died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Amy, 8-year-old Pete (Preston James Brodrick), and little Casey (Loulou Lazarus) attend the wedding of Amy's brother Tommy (chronic scene-stealer Bobby Cannavale), the boisterous, hothead uncle Pete idolizes. When he's not making "finger penises" in the family photos and otherwise acting out, young Pete spends the night listening to people rhapsodize about his hero father — "Your dad was Jesus incarnate," says Father Mac (Steve Buscemi) gravely — and watching Tommy snort drugs in the bathroom. The wedding scenes are juxtaposed with flash-forwards to the present day, where adult Pete spends the afternoon with Uncle Tommy, and slowly realizes there's a desperately sad man underneath all that tough-guy bluster.
Davidson does a respectable job playing himself, but he and showrunner Judah Miller were wise to surround him with exceptional actors as his TV family. Falco is brashly funny as Amy, an ardently devoted mother and high-octane meddler who thinks her son hung the moon. Not for nothing, she also loves being the mom of a celebrity. ("I am the queen of Staten Island! Marissa Tomei played me in the movie!") But the actress never lets us lose sight of the fact that Amy's love is born of tremendous loss, as she balances constant fear for Pete's well-being with tentative efforts to find her own fulfillment. (I'd watch a spin-off about Amy's over-40 women's basketball team, the South Island Handmaids.) Pesci, as per usual, is the Platonic Ideal of comic irascibility, and the 80-year-old actor brings a particular potency to Grandpa Joe's moments of melancholy disappointment. "Peter, you always apologize," he scolds his grandson. "I don't wanna be like all those assholes that enable you to be a jerk-off by accepting your apology."
Bupkis' ever-shifting tone sometimes leads to long lulls between the laughs, and the premiere leans too hard on lazy, lewd antics that aren't representative of the show's evident ambitions. But even when Bupkis fails to be funny, it's consistently interesting — sometimes weird and sad, but interesting. For a guy so many people love to hate, Pete Davidson is awfully good at holding our attention. Grade: B+
Bupkis premieres Thursday, May 4, on Peacock.
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Pete Davidson navigates fame, infamy, and family in this semi-autobiographical comedy.
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