Drama
Testament
Angel Studios’ Testament is a, ahem, testament to the incredible acts of Jesus’ earliest followers as it follows their stories after Jesus.
Pete Davidson is a joke. Pete Davidson is a loser and lives in his mom’s basement. Pete Davidson is overrated.
This is what Pete Davidson reads when he Googles himself. It’s never positive.
It seems that the entire internet knows his life story. Everyone knows his dad died a firefighting hero during 9/11. Everyone knows his sketchy dating history. Everyone knows the mistakes he’s made.
But few actually know Pete. I mean, Pete doesn’t even really know himself.
And this is part of his problem.
But he’s going to figure himself out. One moment at a time.
Do you know Pete Davidson? If you don’t, let me tell you a small bit about this man who now has a show about “himself” on Peacock called Bupkis.
Pete started his career in standup comedy, then moved to Saturday Night Live in 2014. Since then, this 29-year-old has appeared in multiple films and TV shows. He’s even been the hot topic in tabloids for dating stars such as Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian.
But why is there an entire semi-fictional, very meta show about this man?
Well, it seems like Pete Davidson–this version of Pete Davidson, anyway–wants to give viewers (according to the show’s promotional materials) a “heightened, fictionalized version of Pete Davidson’s real life.”
And what a heightened, fictionalized, messy version it is.
Each 30-minute episode of Bupkis, rated TV-MA, feels as though it could’ve been pulled right from Davidson’s own life. From Pete finding out his grandfather is dying to ignoring his own drug abuse to dealing with the death of his heroic father at a young age, there’s a lot of material to mine here.
Unfortunately, that material is really crass and the disappointing thing is that it doesn’t have to be. This could be a show about a man attempting to figure out his life and trauma in a respectful, or semi-respectful, way. But it’s not. And that’s sort of the point.
Each glimpse into Pete’s life suggests that he has done some thinking and, maybe even some therapy, when it comes to his own issues. But his default processing mechanism is humor. Humor of the mostly unfunny kind.
The first episode alone deals with sex, pornography, prostitutes, alcohol consumption, marijuana and running away from life’s problems. The second episode–which has the potential to be truly sad and thoughtful, as it’s about his deceased father–features drug use, horrible male role models, male nudity and a mother who turns a blind eye to her elementary aged child getting drunk at a wedding.
I’d like to tell you that it gets better, but it doesn’t. Some of these scenes are intentionally crude and shocking and when they’re not, they’re filled with profanity right up to this series’ brim.
Bupkis is loosely translated as meaning “nothing” or “nothing of importance.” And that feels like an apt description for this show.
Pete learns his grandfather is dying, so he puts together a “guys’ night” that turns into a weird, vulgar outing.
Pete Googles himself and finds nasty comments. Someone compares his eyes to a private body part, others claim he’s on drugs and that he is a hopeless case. He decides to watch pornography in virtual reality instead of face his issues. We see some of what Pete sees (including nudity); Pete masturbates, which leads to a very embarrassing and disgusting scene when his mother walks in.
Pete hires a prostitute for his grandfather, thinking it will make him happy. After his grandfather refuses the woman’s services, his uncle takes advantage of the situation. Again, it involves an intimate and unprintable encounter that includes movement, sound, lewd conversation and a displaced hip.
Pete’s grandfather brags about the amount of women he had sex with in his “prime.”
Pete smokes marijuana and cigarettes (as do others). Pete and others drink beer, champagne and hard liquor. Someone tells a sadistic joke.
The f-word is used about 40 times. We also hear multiple utterances of the s-word. “P-ssy” is used once, as is “a–.” Pete’s grandfather makes two jokes about Pete getting tattoos of the male anatomy on his face. A young man performs a crude gesture in front of a camera.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Angel Studios’ Testament is a, ahem, testament to the incredible acts of Jesus’ earliest followers as it follows their stories after Jesus.
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