MICF: Jen Kirkman – I Know What I’m Doing & Other Lies I Tell Myself

Jen Kirkman wants us to think she doesn’t know what she’s doing, but even in this preview of her show, she keeps the audience in the palm of her hand.

Jen is a natural storyteller, who is mining her life for gems; she shows off in an awkward, endearing way. Her anxieties began as a child in the 1980s, when she was frightened of nuclear war (thanks to a made-for-TV movie) and Biblical Armageddon (thanks to grandma). Those fears were off-set by her desire to tap dance, get on the local TV news and/or replace Tina Yothers as Jennifer on Family Ties.

The stories she tells aren’t just funny, though. She makes us laugh while also cringing at life choices and selfish perspectives during terrible events. Does Jen really not know what she’s doing? No, that’s just a lie she wants to sell us. This is a funny, thoughful examination of her life by someone who solves problems with Cybill Shepherd’s wardrobe and/or a hockey stick.