Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli

I can only usually handle watching about 5 to 10 minutes of most stand up specials. I watched this one straight through. Pete's on a whole other level now. People love hating on this guy because he's an easy target and shows his vulnerabilities. And probably because he consistently dates hot women. Good thing he left SNL. He's coming into his own with his show Bupkis and now this special, which buries all his past ones. He's got an edge to him, and like most great comics he's a little off the rails and desperate with a sense of urgency. 2 names that pop in my head are Pryor and Greg Giraldo............

I love that Pete pushes the envelope and has always produced original, boundary-challenging material that feels authentic to who he is. And this special has lots of very funny moments, but ultimately it disappoints. He took a genuinely funny concept about his mother so far that it felt more directed to an audience of other comics. (If you're a fan of "the Aristocrats," which I'm not, it's right up your alley.) It deserved about 2 minutes but went on til it was dead and rotting. Likewise the whole saga of the stalker, which was boring AF, lacked any relatable authenticity, and was beaten to death to the point where I had to fast forward to get to the end already. First time I've ever needed to do that. But that shows I was still hopeful, because normally I'd just turn it off. However, the realtor story was a weak finish. Pete's well-meaning "commitment to the bit" may work well in improv, but in a tight 55 minutes he desperately needed some wiser editing and direction.

It's dark, like his comedy. I enjoyed this special and most of the jokes in it, however, a few of them are a little uncomfortable so make sure not to watch with your mom. I really find Pete Davidson funny and I know that not everyone does, so I want to be careful to say here that if Pete isn't your thing you aren't going to enjoy this one as much as I did. He speaks reality into every day life in a way that I appreciate. Maybe that means I'm mentally ill like he is, but I liked this one so much I watched it twice in a week because a friend was over and I knew it was one I could enjoy a 2nd time.

The only person that could have written that has to be Pete David send himself. I keep giving this guy a chance after chance and I am consistently disappointed. He had his moments and I mean brief moments at SNL but he is absolutely terrible as a stand-up. Surprisingly he's better at acting so long as that role is basically exactly who he is in real life but at least it comes across as natural. I don't care about his dating history or anything of this sort but this guy got put on a pedestal and I don't believe he is deserving of one and I think this is my last foray into the world of Pete Davidson.

Pete Davidson is Pete Davidson, and continues to be Pete Davidson in his most recent standup special, which is titled Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli. It might be a little less funny than I remember his older standup being, and the decision to film it all in black and white felt a bit pretentious, but I got a few chuckles out of it, and other specials in the past from lesser comedians have certainly provided less in the past.

I feel like the main thing that tanks this is the way he milks certain topics long past the point where they stop being funny. It felt like half this special was dedicated to talking about interactions with a stalker, and whether the story has any credibility is beside the point; it just stopped being funny after a while.

Anyone who's enjoyed Davidson's humour in the past will get some laughs out of this, but it's definitely not a great special... and I say that as someone who has enjoyed some of his humour in the past. I'm not going to say standup is dead or anything, but I haven't been wowed by a comedian's special in a while; I can say that much.