Pete Davidson is primarily known for "Saturday Night Live" and his dating life. But he's at his best when he's emulating Adam Sandler.
His show, which stopped at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake on Sunday, is far from a copy-cat act, though. Davidson, who turned 30 last month, is far darker than Sandler.
In his one-hour set, he joked about an oedipal relationship with his mom and getting hooked on ketamine. He was quick to remind the audience that he drove his car into a Beverly Hills house earlier this year and has been to rehab more than once.
But Sandler and Davidson do share a lot of similarities, starting with their disdain for fashion. For Sunday's show, Davidson sported a drab brown hoodie, green sweatpants and a baseball cap, looking like he just stepped out of his hotel room for a bucket of ice.
"I ran out of clothes," he explained at the top of his act in a sing-song voice.
Immaturity was celebrated. Davidson, like his three openers, was tickled pink to watch obscenities get translated by a sign-language interpreter. Like Sandler, he slipped into silly voices and giggled at his own punchlines.
It's all part of a plan to keep things casual, let the audience feel like they're listening to a party conversation rather than a polished club act.
His most structured bits, which included an anecdote about his boyhood crush on Leonardo DiCaprio, were interrupted by jabs at Peacock, which streams his sitcom, "Bupkis," and some less than flattering thoughts on fellow comic Matt Rife.
Davidson said he used to worry about being lapped by the red-hot but controversial comic, coming to Minneapolis' State Theatre on March 1-2.
"Then I saw his act," he said.
Even his most loyal followers didn't quite know how to react when he broke away from a bit about helping the Make-A-Wish foundation to riff on the subject of molestation.
"Ninety percent of us have been molested," he said. "Most of us have better things to do than talk about it."
Near the end of his set, he tried out a new routine on how he inadvertently made racist jokes in front of his Black real estate agent. He took great delight in exploring the touchy subject.
"I'm having so much fun," he said after what appeared to be an improvised line.
Davidson is well aware that he's not for everyone. A lot of his TV work leaves me cold.
At one point Sunday, he estimated that 40% of the folks in the crowd were there mainly because of his tabloid fame. But like Sandler, he's not about to apologize. He doesn't have to. He revealed that "Bupkis" has been renewed for two more seasons and that Netflix will air his latest stand-up special in January.
If Sandler can remain on top of the comedy world for as long as he has, Davidson's future seems bright.