Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli

I'm a big fan of Pete. Whoever's been coaching him on his joke delivery is doing an exceptional job, because it's clear Pete is a master at communicating in his craft. The content though! Wowsers...I'm not a prude, I swear, I'm cool. There were some jokes that I figured were left in just to promote the show as in when thrones of people tweet, What the heck did he just say? I get it, eyes on your content is crucial. I think Pete's talent is beyond that though. Ya know, like does he need all the MF jokes? I don't know. Pete can do no wrong in my books. By the way, Pete, you are looking very hott!

I was underwhelmed with Pete Davidson's first Netflix special, "Alive From New York," which struck me as a little sloppy and unpolished. It was pretty good, but it was his first special and the potential for well-written jokes was there.

Because of that, I hoped that this second special would demonstrate his growth. And it did. His jokes in "Turbo Fonzarelli" are better worked out and clearly more practiced. He was much more comfortable and confident with his stage presence, and ultimately it felt like the show was more for his fans and less for himself. I'm genuinely excited to watch Pete continue growing and evolving his comedy.

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.

No pun intended - I really like Pete. He is a good comedian and this stand up special is nice too. That may sound worse than I mean it to be. Also nice may not be the word you may think of when you watch this! As already stated in my summary line, he uses quite a bit of profanity. By the way this is nothing new - see Richard Pryor and many others from many decades ago.

He has some jokes about sexuality and drugs too. In other words you cannot be too sensitive or easily offended ... well you can, but it probably does not make much sense watching this if you already know this will trigger you and make you angry ... just saying. I also am quite certain this year will have way better stand up specials ... at least for me. That said, I don't mean that this was one is bad ... well he is bad ... but in a good sense ...

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............