'Bupkis' Review: Pete Davidson Plays Himself in Spotty But Lovely Peacock Series

It’s a question that may come up again when you scan the list of mouth-watering cameos in Davidson’s new Peacock drama On your lipsBupkis – Everyone from Machine Gun Kelly (of course) to Ray Romano (why not) to Al Gore (what?). Oops, this is more or less the premise of of Bupkis, created by Davidson (with Judah Miller and David Sirus), and starring Davidson as a fictionalized version of himself. Given the season’s eight uneven episodes, Davidson wasn’t sure how to respond. But it’s also fun to watch him try once in a while.

If you’re familiar with the basics of Davidson’s biography, most of Bupkis The content will sound familiar. Him with his mother (Edie Falco) and him at 9/. Like Davidson, Pete (as I’ll call the fictional character) is a comedian and actor with a prolific love life. Like the Davidson version we see in his other semi-autobiographical work, King of Staten Island , who spends most of his down time doing drugs with friends in the basement. Like every iteration of the Pete Davidson genre we’ve seen on screen (including in Big Age of Puberty by Bupkis at the helm Director Jason Orley) Pete tends to be reckless — though in 29, he seems more and more aware that it’s not as cute as it used to be.

But if most of Davidson’s early work made him a trustworthy slacker, Bupkis Leaning provocatively in the opposite direction. The drama is largely about Davidson’s own showbiz celebrity, and his avatar is as uncomfortable as Davidson seems. Sometimes it’s a small inconvenience, like when a fan interrupts Pitt’s family outing to ask for a selfie. Occasionally, it’s a perk he doesn’t seem to realize he’s enjoying; only someone as rich and famous as Pete could have someone else coordinate when he decides what his dying grandfather Joe (Pescie) needs is sex. Hiring Sex Workers (Lynn Kopplitz).

For the most part, this seems like a very alienating experience. “Everyone with a family is fucking fantasizing about having a life of their own,” an uncle (Bobby Cannavale) tells Pete. But this isn’t Entourage; we rarely see the movie star enjoying his job or the glitzy parties and Supermodel dating. What we get is a storyline about Pete suspecting which of his friends are revealing his location to the paparazzi. Or about Pete spending Christmas alone in a Canadian movie and seeing his character get killed Ten minutes to die — and, in his solitude, become so obsessed that fantasy and reality begin to blur together, reminiscent of Shia LaBeouf’s Dear boy.

Often, the experience of watching Bupkis is like flipping through someone’s diary. Not that it’s full of juicy secrets (you’ll get 1235401419 no Kardashians tea here), but in its fluff. An ongoing storyline shifts the focus. The same goes for mood and theme. The character arcs are only formed in retrospect, if at all—it’s not until later in the season that Pete’s journey becomes apparent not as growth, but as depravity to addiction and depression. Much of the series is first draft, which is to say a bunch of ideas that could take a firmer hand to trim its excess and dig deeper into its intricacies. Unfortunately for Bupkis , its flaws are most evident in the premiere, which is only half an hour and wanders aimlessly It makes the King of Staten Island look taut by comparison.

However, there’s something cute about its willingness to try something just for the hell of it. There seems to be an entire episode of the Fast & Furious series for no other reason than the people who made the show thought it would be driving around in sports cars It’s fun to fly by with Don Omar’s score, and another one that turns Pete’s rehab into a stark, somber black-and-white score. Every now and then, it finds exposed nerves in silly antics. Storylines about Pete’s burning desire to have children are predictably amused when Pete finds out that caring for just an 8-year-old (Delanie Quinn) is more than he can handle. But when he asks, “Am I crazy to think I can take care of something and love something?” His voice is so genuine, it breaks a little.

Bupkis Not so convincing when it comes to the characters around Pete up. Though he’s surrounded by a fairly consistent inner circle — which includes his sister Kathy (Oona Roche), his assistant/bestie Evan (Philip Ettinger) and his on-and-off girlfriend Nicky (Chase Sui Wonders) , Davidson’s 1235111438 body body body costar and current girlfriend) — Nobody has nearly the same curiosity as Pete. Pesci secretly plays Pete’s no-nonsense grandfather, but it’s underused in the cancer storyline, which is often an afterthought. Ditto Falco, her only plot that doesn’t revolve around Pete is about her determination to cut down on her life to revolve around Pete.

Again, can you blame Davidson for being preoccupied with this project when everyone else seems to be drawn to it, too, being Pete Davidson? In a brunch conversation like Baby J, Pete and his friend John Mulaney (playing himself) exchange ideas on addiction, recovery and public opinion, John comments How he found Pete’s life “fascinating”. “I mean, I don’t know what it’s like to live,” he admits. “But damn, are we having fun watching? It’s a good time.” We may never quite know what it’s like to be in Pitt’s or Davidson’s shoes. As much as we know about Pete’s scars, his inner workings remain opaque even to himself. But Bupkis, in its raw, chaotic, and occasionally disarming attempts, still keeps the imagination entertained.