If you thought being a teenager back in the day was hard, Generation Z might have it even tougher than we did. Today’s youths are facing accelerating climate change as well as an increasingly restrictive political sphere — and dealing with puberty on top of all of that. Thankfully, they’ve got an unlikely role model to help guide their way: Pete Davidson.
In the 2020 film Big Time Adolescence, the comedian plays an aimless young man named Zeke who takes his ex-girlfriend’s high school brother Monroe (Griffin Gluck) under his wing. If you ask anyone around, Zeke isn’t exactly qualified to be anyone’s mentor, but Monroe, nicknamed Mo, is thrilled to have the chaotic presence in his life.
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Under his friend's tutelage, Mo learns important life lessons like how to talk to girls, how to mix drinks, and how to (barely) get away with selling drugs at a party. As the pair grows closer, both Zeke and Mo's understanding of the world around them changes, for better and for worse. It's a hilariously inappropriate coming-of-age story with an important reminder: even the adults still have some growing up to do.
Big Time Adolescence isn't Davidson's first appearance on the silver screen (he's had minor roles in films like Netflix's Set It Up and What Women Want), but the movie does mark his first lead role. The film, set to premiere on Hulu on March 20, also features a number of familiar faces alongside Davidson; Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria), Emily Arlook (Grown-ish), and Emmy-winner Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) also star in the project. It was also produced by American High, the innovative production partnership between Jeremy Garelick and Mickey Liddell’s LD Entertainment
Outside of playing the world's most questionable role model in Big Time Adolescence, Davidson has a very full schedule. The 26-year-old is coming upon his sixth consecutive year as a full-time cast member on Saturday Night Live, starring in iconic running sketches as Chad and offering up problematic hot takes on the show's Weekend Update. Davidson is also set to release his first full-length comedy special for Netflix, Alive From New York.
See the actor's chaotic energy at its peak in the Big Time Adolescence trailer, below: