Rico Recommendations: Bupkis Is A Really Good Show

Fast facts ... Bupkis is on Peacock as I'm sure you can tell by the trailer, and is (LOOSELY) based on the life and times of Pete Davidson. It takes place on Staten Island, just finished it's first season and runs for half hour episodes. I banged through it pretty quick, and overall really enjoyed it. I went in not knowing much about it other than being a fan of Pete Davidson and the cast be LOADED (get to that later), and to be honest pretty pessimistic about it after seeing The King Of Staten Island, which I hated. 

People are always asking what are you watching, what should you watch etc, and I always feel like I'm the one taking recommendations instead of giving them so I decided to get in front of this one and suggest it to the people. Let me unpack the 1st season and pitch it to you the best I can. 

The Positives:

The Cast 

Let's call it like it is here... Joe freaking Pesci is doing a TV series. I mean what more can you really ask for? He's fantastic as the grandpa by the way. He obviously goes to the well like he did in Goodfellas and Casino when he wants to get mad, but he shows a much deeper range playing the concerned, mentor, wiseass grandfather. It's a good role and Pesci is perfect for it. I hope he's a strong part of the series for as long as it runs. 

Pesci would be enough, but add in Edie Falco, Bobby Canavale (Gip Rosetti from Boardwalk), the brother from Everyone Loves Raymond, guest spots from Shane Gillis, Ray Romano, Steve Buscemi, and Method Man ... it's loaded. Also the actresses who play his sister (Oona Roche) and girlfriend (Chase Sui Wonders ) are really good too. Plus Chase Sui Wonders kind of looks like Danica Mckeller (Winnie Cooper) so you'll never hear me say a bad word about her. 

I'll watch TV shows way longer than I should if I like the cast. Shit, I watched all of the train wreck that was Ballers because I liked The Rock and that dude from 8 Mile in R Babbit's crew. A good cast buys you time with me, and this has a KNOCKOUT cast, so it only helps that it is written well and has very funny moments. 

The Wedding Episode

Maybe the best episode of TV I watched since the pilot of The Bear. Officially it's title is "Do As I Say Not As I Do", and without giving too much away it is a flashback episode to Pete's younger life while also showing the current day. It's a fantastic balance of what shaped him as a kid, and what he's dealing with today. It's very funny, and very sad. It's the best episode of the series thus far. I hope they do more flashbacks like this (more on that later). 

This was the episode when I said this show has something, and it's way deeper than the movie King Of Staten Island which was super silly, exaggerated and over the top. This show develops characters much more. 

Pete Davidson 

I like comedians in different roles. When Sandler did Uncut Gems it was fantastic. Davidson shows some range here with comedic moments that we all like him for, and the struggle of a guy about to enter his thirties looking for answers in life, while sorting out his friends, behavior and dreams. He's been really open about some of his struggles, and they are mirrored in the show. 

The Negative

Some of the Exaggerated Plots

The only real knock on this show to me was at times, some of the scenes got exaggerated. A chase scene in Miami specifically. Now the good thing is the scenes (the uncle with the prostitute) are funny, they are just a tad over the top. The movie did too much of that, and I was hoping he went away from that in this, which he has for the most part, but it's still a comedy so they will never bag something completely if it gets laughs. 

Wishes for Season 2 

More flashbacks. I mentioned this before, we need more of this. Pete Davidson has spoken at length how difficult it was growing up on Staten Island, losing his dad and dealing with assholes in school etc. He went to a few different high schools and seemed to struggle with finding a place to fit etc. The flashbacks could shed light on why this was, what went on etc. If he's really committed to  making the show based on his life, we need the flashbacks. 

Overall ... this is a really really good show and I give it my strong recommendation to watch. Can't wait for season 2.