What I liked
Hal is a consummate comedian, able to find the funny side in even the most dire of situations. He has this impish mannerism to his performance, a constant wry smile that knows what madness is yet to come and cannot wait to inflict it on the audience. With a childhood that could have been penned by the Cohen Brothers for the staggering amounts of absurdity and hubris his father seems to belch out with every breath, Hal paints the hilarious and compelling image of a man who truly is his own worst enemy.
These observations? Keen. These jokes? Sharp. My sides? Split. Hal’s stories? Bewildering and harrowing, but always honest with the sort of comedic exaggeration that captures the essence of something very real.
What I didn't like
I have called the FBI and hopefully Hal and his half-brothers will be brought to justice for their heinous crimes committed at the Minnesota Twins baseball field.
My overall impression
Coming from a place of true, complicated love and understanding, Jersey Devil is a story about a man man hopelessly immutable in his destructive patterns, becoming a vortex of chaos for anyone unlucky enough to be in his vicinity. But like… in a hilarious way, not a Streetcar Named Desire sort of way.
