Netflix Is A Joke dropped several specials from their event from earlier this year, so we are doing today the Pete Davidson Presents The Best Friends review. This widely expected comedy special by the SNL alumni and Kim Kardashian boy toy. If you’re not sure whether to laugh at this or laugh with them, make sure you watch the special. Moreover, randomly fast-forward the episode to any segment and see if you catch up. That’s how random it can be.
The Netflix is A Joke event was a widely publicized event all over Los Angeles scheduled early this year that brought together the big names of comedy for a few nights in several venues all over the place. Some high-level names, like Davidson or Amy Schumer, got their special. This is one of them.
Pete Davidson Presents The Best Friends Trailer
I am not a fan of modern-day stand-up comedy because it is simply too bland. I miss the good old days of George Carlin and Richard Pryor. But I decided to give this Pete Davidson special a shot. When your reference point to compare any comedian on this is Carlin or Pryor, comparing Davidson is setting the bar too high. And after you read this, you’ll understand why the bar stays way up the stratosphere.
The Pete Davidson special begins with a weird montage of what I think is Davidson’s phone from several artists texting him about his show. To break the ice, what does Davidson do? Bank on the fact that he’s piggybacking on some fame for sleeping with Kanye’s ex, Kim Kardashian. I really hate it when comedians are laughing when they’re trying to tell a joe and can’t contain their smirks. I’m supposed to laugh at this, not you.
The Best Friends
When Davidson introduces a giant Bray Wyatt-looking dude to sing a song and then presents a dude named Neko White, and then I understand that the show isn’t as much about Pete but his friends. His routine is way better than Davidson’s, albeit with some politically correct jokes about transgender folks, and the fact that the humor is so politically correct makes it bland. Stand-up used to be edgy. Just ask Dave Chappelle! Grow a pair!
Neko makes way for a dude named Giulio Gallarotti, who originally starts his routine on something that George Carlin made wonderfully in the 2000s: Airport security. After that, Gallarotti stops plagiarizing Carlin and begins a dull self-deprecating comedy routine.
Pete Davidson Presents The Best Friends Trailer
Carly Aquilino
The first girl on stage is Carly Aquilino, and she kicks it off with some preaching to the choir of Covid acceptance. She makes fun of Southern Americans who were skeptical of social mandates for the pandemic. Her routine is also of self-deprecation with millennial undertones. Which brings me to the next topic, why do modern stand-up comediennes always have to joke about their hormonal cycles? I’m sure there are more aspects to making a comedy of womanhood than just that.
Then Dave Cyrus’ turn and Jewish cultural separatism take the stage. If he’s any good at telling jokes about how Jewish, he should get some coaching because they’re too damn long to get to the punchline. Not funny. After that car-wreck of a stand-up show, we have a man called Joey Gay who pretty much yelled the entire routine, loud, but not in the Sam Kinison kind of way.
Jordan Rock
Who’s Jordan Rock? Yeah, he got to the stage making some COVID jokes, and of course, why not mess with Donald Trump. His routine on the generation gap would be funny, but he just plagiarized memes and some Carlin jokes from his 1960s material and changed them up a bit.
Is This Comedy Special Worth Watching?
If you want to see the current state of stand-up comedy to get a sense of where Big Comedy —like big tech, big pharma— is taking us, watch this because it is a harbinger of just how bad the state of comedy is. Remember when Joe Rogan warned us about the dangers of comedians losing their edge because they don’t want to hurt any sensibilities? Well, this is his warning materializing.
Nowadays, comedians are too self-deprecating because they’re afraid to go the extra mile and offend someone when lampooning them, some others are plagiarizing material, and some others are simply not funny. I didn’t like this one. But kudos to you if you did! After all, if you’re not like me, and all you want is a nice laugh, be my guest.
Also Read: For All Mankind Season 3 Premiere Recap: Danny Saves The Day
