I Finally Watched Dave and… Yeah, We Need to Talk About It

 May 4, 2021

So I finally sat down and watched Lil Dicky’s FX show Dave. I know, I know — I’m late. Whatever. There’s too much shit out there to watch, and this one just kept slipping down the list until I said, “Fuck it, let’s see what all the noise was about.”

And honestly?
This show is the definition of equal parts brilliant and absolutely ridiculous. It’s like someone handed Lil Dicky a blank check and said, “Make a show about your life, but also make it weird as hell.” And he said, “Say less.”

Let’s break this down.

What the Show Actually Nails

First off: the show is hilarious. Not “chuckle once and move on” funny — I mean painfully funny, because half the humor is built on awkward-ass moments that feel too real.

Case in point: Gata.
Dude shows up as Dave’s hype man. Funny, loud, full energy — until he isn’t. When he finally reveals he’s bipolar, the whole scene gets painfully quiet and uncomfortable. Not in a bad way — in a “damn, this show really went there” way. And the guys’ reactions? Honest, supportive, and not played for cheap laughs. It worked.

That’s the part of the show I actually respect.
It’s messy, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s real.
They let these characters be complicated as hell.

Same thing with Elz, Dave’s engineer friend. Man’s making beats for actual artists but too scared to play them for anybody. Then he shoots his shot with Trippie Redd, Trippie fucks with it, and suddenly Elz gets a spine. Boom — character growth. Legitimately well done.

Moments like these are why the show works. Underneath the crude humor and chaotic writing, there’s a heart. A messy, insecure, self-deprecating heart — but still a heart. The show is about embracing your weird shit and pushing through it anyway. And weird or not, we’ve all been there.

What Completely Misses the Mark

Now let’s get into why this show also made me roll my eyes so hard I almost sprained something.

Because holy hell…
the dick jokes.

I expected sexual humor — it’s Lil Dicky — but they abuse that joke like they’re trying to claim it on their taxes. Every episode, without fail, there’s some reference to his “weird penis,” and by episode three, I was like, “Alright bro, wrap it up. We get it.”

It stops being self-deprecating and starts being predictable.
Painfully predictable.

And then we get the sex toy episode.
And listen… I’m not squeamish, but this shit was unnecessary. They showed him going to town on this toy like they were shooting a National Geographic special on endangered mating rituals.

You just knew the joke was coming:

  • He hides the toy

  • Girlfriend walks in

  • Toy falls out

  • Awkward confrontation

  • Cue emotional vulnerability moment

I get that the scene was meant to explore the insecurity in his relationship — cool — but the execution was so over-the-top it lost all impact. It felt like they built an entire emotional arc on a foundation of “Let’s make sure the audience has to watch him pipe a silicone torso.”

Nah.
You could’ve done better.

By the time his girlfriend asks to see the dick he’s been hiding like it’s a haunted relic, I didn’t even care. The moment could have been intimate and meaningful — and weirdly, it almost was — but the show drowned it in shock-value buildup that didn’t need to be there.

Final Verdict

Dave is one of the most confusingly enjoyable shows I’ve watched in a minute. It’s funny as hell, the writing hits way harder than it has any right to, and the character stories are actually relatable. But the show also can’t resist tripping over its own dick jokes every chance it gets — literally.

If you watch it, you’ll laugh.
You’ll cringe.
You’ll pause mid-episode and question your life choices.
But you won’t be bored.

Is it worth watching?
Yeah.
Is it worth hunting down, binging, and preaching about?
No.

Watch it when you’re bored. Enjoy the good parts.
And when the dick jokes start flying, just know… I warned you.

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