Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli

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.

I can see that Pete's standup skills have improved since his first special. In this one, he's become more confident and has a smoother delivery. I like that he still comes across as somewhat relatable despite his fame - he hasn't lost the casual vibe that's become his signature. This special also had a good pace, with plenty of content, and just enough callbacks to show that he's put thought into making it a cohesive performance. There was definitely some dark humour, and I didn't enjoy the mum jokes (those who've seen it know what I'm referring to), but conversely there were multiple other parts when I laughed so hard it nearly hurt. If you like Pete's usual style of comedy, you'll enjoy this.

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.

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