‘SNL’ Cast Evaluation: Stand-Up Talent Pete Davidson Is Leading The Show’s Next Great Generational Shift

Here, at the Weekend Update desk, is where Davidson shines.

His debut, on the first episode of the show’s 40th season, not only defined him as a funny commentator with a strong point of view, but also established the beginnings of SNL’s next generational shift, representing his peer group with a fluid take on sexuality and gender roles.

Introduced for the first time as the show’s “resident young person,” he was supposedly there to comment on a case in the news at the time about a teenager who faced two years in prison for taking a sexualized picture with a statue of Jesus. But Davidson takes it in a different direction. After noting that, “kids my age do that stuff all the time” – a statement probably as true at any point in SNL’s lifespan as it is today – he then discusses the, “How much money would you go down on a guy for” game as something he plays with his friends somewhat regularly.

He describes it as follows.

“One of your friends will be like, ‘Hey man, would you go down on a guy for a million dollars,’ and then we would all lie and be like, ‘No.’”

When it’s mentioned that people assume that means he’s gay, he then says, “No, I’m a businessman. Look, if you’re gay, it’s fine. Me and my friends are just trying to make money. If you don’t go down on a guy for a million dollars, you obviously don’t care about your family.”

He mentions how this opinion had changed from just three years prior, when he was still living with his mother and had food, clothes, and a TV provided. Now he’s an adult who has to make a living, and some things are just practical. “I didn’t need to go down on a guy,” he says. “My mom was already doing that.”

The revelation here is that a homosexual act is discussed in such casual, practical terms. Update co-anchor Michael Che, ten years Davidson’s senior, shakes his head at first like the premise is the strangest he’s ever heard. But for Davidson, it’s common sense.

The bit was funny, insightful, risky, and bold, and, similar to castmate Leslie Jones, it allowed Davidson to establish his persona on the show right away. Since then, his segments at the Update desk have followed in kind, offering a perspective that combines a clearly original comedic mind with points of view reflective of his generation. (Not counting 26-year-old Jon Rudnitsky, who’s had very little to do in his first season, the next youngest cast members, Aidy Bryant and Jay Pharoah, are 28.)

Davidson’s commentaries established themselves as highly personal and with a matter-of-fact attitude about sexual realities, however odd they may have seemed. For a commentary on STDs, he talked about how, after a sexual encounter left him fearing a possible infection, he did what anyone else would do, and “sent a picture of my penis to my mom,” since, after all, “she’s a nurse, and I figured she would know.” Unfortunately, he tells Che, “I forgot to call her. Is that weird?” Noting that his mother sees lots of penises as a nurse, he explains to Che that, “my penis should be the most important to her in every way, except one,” a line that, like most of the commentary, got huge laughs from the studio audience. In the end, Davidson discusses how he then learned that he’s allergic to latex condoms, and talks about having to shop for lambskin condoms instead, a discussion it’s impossible to imagine any male cast member in SNL history having so candidly on the show before Davidson. (Could you picture Fred Armisen, Andy Samberg, or even current cast member Taran Killam, for example, candidly discussing having an allergy to condoms – or any other authentic details of their sex lives – at the Weekend Update desk?)

This level of male openness is certainly generational and marks a turning point for the show, embracing the storytelling, reality-based aspects of comedy that have come to the genre’s forefront over the past decade and, with social media, become even more prominent over the past few years.

A later commentary found him discussing transgender rights and the insanity of conservative bathroom fears, as, he notes, believing that men would go through everything a transgender person goes through just to watch women in the bathroom is kind of insane (“Last week, I accidentally walked in on my mom on the toilet, and I don’t think we’re ever gonna speak again.”) Another talked about the ridiculousness of Harry Potter not getting laid (“He had an invisibility cloak, and he used it to read more.”), and he’s even talked candidly about how he can’t act or do impressions, wondering if he got on the show because his mom saw an NBC executive hit a kid with his car.

No matter what his subject, Davidson’s commentaries have been honest, funny, and often emotionally open in ways that SNL has never seen before.

Davidson’s risk-taking sexual frankness might be what led to this controversial recurring sketch, which has run twice so far, and is one of the few (possibly the only) sketch(es) where Davidson has made an impact.

The premise is that a 16-year-old male student had sex with a 32-year-old female teacher, and now that teacher is being sued in a civil trial by the student’s mother. (Cecily Strong plays the teacher. Second time around, there were two teachers on trial, with Strong joined by host Ronda Rousey.) The show takes a weird hedge by declaring it a civil trial – thus removing the need for anyone to utter the phrase “statutory rape” – and yet, by declaring him to be 16, that’s where we are. Kate McKinnon as Davidson’s mother, crying and screaming “monsters” at the teachers, drives the point home.

The sketch got big laughs on the show and was received well enough to be repeated, and yet, some were predictably upset, believing the sketch made light of rape. As one indication of public sentiment, the Rousey version has over 18,000 thumbs up on YouTube, and almost 1,500 thumbs down.

To the point of this essay, Davidson’s performance, Davidson expertly plays the laughs here, risky as they are. If we can momentarily accept his premise – that in this case, having one (or two) beautiful women have sex with this character would be a major highlight for him – then Davidson’s performance is on point.

The joy he feels as he’s peppered by questions from Killam’s attorney is palpable. When asked what happened after the encounter, he replies, “I walked to the car with my arms out, spinning in circles like a Disney princess mid-song.” When asked how his classmates heard about the incident, it was from “me, telling the story to anyone who would listen.” Later, displaying the Vine he posted after the encounter, it’s jubilance personified, with Davidson pumping his arms, his open-mouthed smile an explosion of joy.

Controversy aside, it was a fun performance from Davidson, and one that, overall, got the audience on his side.

Davidson has played both Marco Rubio and Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz. Both have been brief, and both have shown the limits of his acting ability. His Rubio consisted of a wig, a slightly nasal version of his real voice which sounded little like Rubio, and slightly bugged-out, deer-in-the-headlights eyes. His Chaffetz – a relative unknown, and not one many will be able to compare his impression to – employs buck teeth and an almost squeaky high voice, neither actual Chaffetz characteristics, and both traits he loses before the impression is done. Both reinforce that so far, Davidson’s best tactic is to play himself, or variations thereof. His impressions will need a lot of work before becoming anything memorable.

In this sexualized Indiana Jones parody, Davidson plays Short Long to Dwayne Johnson’s Dr. Bones, and Kate McKinnon is the researcher traveling with them through the jungle. But the real premise is that McKinnon is insanely hot for The Rock – she’s openly playing with his nipple as the sketch commences – but Davidson is continually put in danger in ways that requires heavy physical contact with Johnson to save him, causing McKinnon no end of envy.

The sketch is a series of increasingly out-there physical comedy bits between Johnson and Davidson, and Davidson shows impressive dexterity, going limp as Johnson tosses him around like a rag doll, and ultimately resulting in a standing 69 between the two. There’s ultimately not that much to this – Davidson spends the bulk of the sketch with his lips pressed against Johnson’s various exposed body parts – but his enthusiasm helps carry it.

Larry Getlen is the author of the book Conversations with Carlin. His greatest wish is to see Stefon enjoy a cheeseburger at John Belushi’s diner. Follow him on Twitter at @larrygetlen.