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InsideHasan Minhaj, there are two wolves.
That guy, that wolf, is the subject of Minhajs stories about himself.
But the other guy, the second version of Minhaj, is the one we actually see onstage.
And that guy is a bit of a wet blanket.
Hes a try-hard, that second wolf.
The Kings Jesteris partially hindered by its organizing conceit.
Its an autobiographical retelling of Minhajs rise to celebrity, and there is ample material to joke about.
He does not care enough about how his actions might harm his immediate family.
heading, followed by a parade of bold-font bullet points that march in with each new click.
His wide eyes stare out at the crowd, mega-earnest.
He wants the audience to feel moved.
It also feels like someone might pass around a pamphlet on how to make good life choices.
It might be a relief if someone did, actually.
He was cruelly ignoring his wifes feelings!
He put his own ego over the safety of his daughter!
That wild, uncontrollable version of him did all these alarming things!
At every turn, though, the unpredictable potential of wolf No.
1 is quashed by the confident control of wolf No.
There was never any real danger.
There are sections ofThe Kings Jesterthat stand out, sometimes because of and sometimes in spite of Minhaj.
The harder I scrub these dishes, he tells himself, the less bad my lie is!
But the implicit assumption Minhaj makes about this special is correct.
Taking a crack at Kushner at a fancy, extremely public awards venue is a good story.
The material ofThe Kings Jestermakes it noteworthy.
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