When I saw this show in an article about 2023's top 50 anticipated new series and the cast involved I was very excited for it. Not a huge Pete Davidson fan per se but I usually like him in just about everything he's done outside of SNL (and his stand-up, which is lukewarm at best), he seems to really have a self-effacing quality that, to me at least, makes him more endearing than cringeworthy.
I think the combo of his own writing though, combined with no stronger director or producer at the helm (like king of Staten Island, guided by Apatow, who regardless of what your opinion might be has a LONG track record of being able to get the best out of comedic actors) prevents this from reaching a place that's anywhere above mediocre, at best.
I was hoping for something akin to Dave, a show that is MUCH better than it has any business being because it combines the "bits of true life" storytelling with well-paced, well-shot, hit-all-the-dramatic-beats structure to really make it pop.
Bupkis (terrible name for a series, btw) doesn't really have any of that though, besides the true life nuggets, but instead of being dramatized to effect into compelling story and characters, it just slowly meanders without saying much of anything at all.
A great show can really benefit from tonal range, but when there's really no core or heart to go back to, opening up with a guy nutting on his mom's shirt just feels like one of those American Pie spin-offs with no name actors. Fine, if that's the show you wanna make, that could be funny, but to then shift to a storyline about his grandfather being his best friend and with a terminal illness, it takes skill to pull that off and the people involved here unfortunately just don't have it.
Joe Pesci is an American treasure, but his character here is so boring, he just drops a ton of F bombs and says inappropriate things, again feeling like a character from American Pie: Staten Island, not a prestige TV comedy drama. Like I mentioned I really wanted to like this show, it's about an area I live near and have family from, an all star cast, a lead actor I like, a premise that could be fun or interesting, but it's none of the above.
I made it to the end of episode 6 and I think I've slightly laughed maybe 4-5 times total. On the other hand, this show's drama hasn't made me feel anything, I don't particularly care about these characters or their fates bc it's played like such a cheesy comedy half the time without the dramatic beats to balance it.
I give it a 5 because it's not more recycled IP, but really closer to a 4 which I never would've expected coming into it...
I think the combo of his own writing though, combined with no stronger director or producer at the helm (like king of Staten Island, guided by Apatow, who regardless of what your opinion might be has a LONG track record of being able to get the best out of comedic actors) prevents this from reaching a place that's anywhere above mediocre, at best.
I was hoping for something akin to Dave, a show that is MUCH better than it has any business being because it combines the "bits of true life" storytelling with well-paced, well-shot, hit-all-the-dramatic-beats structure to really make it pop.
Bupkis (terrible name for a series, btw) doesn't really have any of that though, besides the true life nuggets, but instead of being dramatized to effect into compelling story and characters, it just slowly meanders without saying much of anything at all.
A great show can really benefit from tonal range, but when there's really no core or heart to go back to, opening up with a guy nutting on his mom's shirt just feels like one of those American Pie spin-offs with no name actors. Fine, if that's the show you wanna make, that could be funny, but to then shift to a storyline about his grandfather being his best friend and with a terminal illness, it takes skill to pull that off and the people involved here unfortunately just don't have it.
Joe Pesci is an American treasure, but his character here is so boring, he just drops a ton of F bombs and says inappropriate things, again feeling like a character from American Pie: Staten Island, not a prestige TV comedy drama. Like I mentioned I really wanted to like this show, it's about an area I live near and have family from, an all star cast, a lead actor I like, a premise that could be fun or interesting, but it's none of the above.
I made it to the end of episode 6 and I think I've slightly laughed maybe 4-5 times total. On the other hand, this show's drama hasn't made me feel anything, I don't particularly care about these characters or their fates bc it's played like such a cheesy comedy half the time without the dramatic beats to balance it.
I give it a 5 because it's not more recycled IP, but really closer to a 4 which I never would've expected coming into it...