If there is such a thing as the World Series of raunch, Brockmire is a champion. Do not confuse this series with Longmire, a show I highly recommend about a Wyoming Sheriff who struggles to move on after losing his wife. In this tragicomedy, Brockmire loses his wife in a different fashion, to infidelity. As a result, he loses his career as a baseball announcer in one of the first meltdowns ever to go viral. The next ten years of his life is spent announcing “cock-fights and the like” overseas.
As you can see by the 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating, consistent throughout the four seasons, the critics love the “raw” humor. I kept thinking that after the first episode, then the second episode, that the graphic references would slow down. They didn’t. Truthfully, the take on baseball and social media can be hilarious and insightful. Baseball superstitions, kangaroo courts, doubleheaders, and cheap beer nights are all fair game. But, to get to those home runs, you put up with the strikeouts of booze, drugs, and sexual references. I give Brockmire 3.5 Gavels and you can find the eight episodes of Season One on Apple TV+ for $10.69.
Plot
Jules James inherits the Morristown Frackers from her father and intends to save the team from the evil Pennsylvania Shale Oil and Gas Company. She tricks Jim Brockmire into thinking that this minor league job will be his first step back to the majors. Little does she know the depth of his feelings for his ex-wife, in a self-destructive way. Will the nation be able to accept a changed Brockmire? Will Brockmire be able to change?
Actors
As a fast-talking, quick-on-the-quip announcer, few can compare with Hank Azaria. His Jim Brockmire is well deserving of two nominations for Best Actor-Comedy by Critics Choice Television Awards. Usually, a show has one character that is “the adult in the room.” Do not expect Amanda Peet, or anyone else, in Brockmire to fulfill that role. Her Jules James is as hard-drinking as he, determined to do what it takes to keep baseball in her beloved town. Tyrel Jackson Williams, as Charles, knows nothing of baseball. So, of course, he is in charge of spreading Brockmire’s rantings to the masses.
Final Thoughts
Brockmire is really an accident by way of The Eddy. Now on Netflix, produced and directed by the genius of La La Land, Whiplash and First Man, certainly I would write about that musical drama. While the music is terrific, its story is a wreck. Besides, as Jules says to Jim “neither of us can imagine a life without baseball.” Why not try out this highly rated series?
The critic for the New York Times both admires and warns “if you loved the baseball film Major League but always wished Bob Uecker’s broadcaster character had been darker and more bawdy, this is your show.”
It’s summer (almost). I miss baseball, although I can be a fair-weather fan. Brockmire will give you a taste. Just be aware that many will find it distasteful.
