After several seasons building toward excellence, the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball set their sights on the 1982 World Series. With Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Rollie Fingers and Cecil Cooper already in the fold, the Brewers went out and acquired future Hall of Famer Don Sutton to help shore up their pitching rotation. The team catches fire and is just a single win away from capturing the division heading into their final series against the Baltimore Orioles. That’s when the Brewers decide to make things more interesting than necessary for the remainder of their season, eventually resulting in an unexpected parade through downtown Milwaukee.
At just under two hours of content, it’s on the long side but, if you’re a baseball fan, you don’t care. JUST A BIT OUTSIDE: THE STORY OF THE 1982 MILWAUKEE BREWERS is an incredible journey that only sports can give us and it’s told through the experiences of the players and team personnel that lived it. Gorman Thomas’s love for life is still evident, Bob Uecker is still everything you’d expect and seeing the emotion breakthrough in Yount is refreshing.
The other key player in this film isn’t a player at all. It’s the city of Milwaukee. It’s perfectly logical to assume that larger markets like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and Miami flat out can’t fathom a love like the one the Brewers have with their city. Sure, those markets probably have more fans — maybe even the same amount of die hard fans — but the team and town are cut from the same cloth, giving them a rare synergy that only exists in fanbases of that size.
Simply put, JUST A BIT OUTSIDE renewed my love for the sport. I grew up in the 80’s but didn’t start following baseball until the 1986 World Series when, as a nine year old, I had a $1 bet with my grandma. She took the Boston Red Sox, I took the New York Mets and I still remember her handing me a $1 bill after Game 7. That moment kindled my fire for the game and it wasn’t until the strike in 1994 that the flame burned out. This documentary brought back that memory, and so many others, without being attached to a team I followed, a player I loved or even a year I can remember.
Cannonball Productions and director Sean Hanish have given sports fans a gift. If you’re a Brewers fan, this is a must-see. If you’re baseball fan, you’ll want to add this to your queue. If you’re not a sports fan, you’ll still find enjoyment in it and that’s probably the biggest compliment I can give. The length is the only drawback.
JKG SCORE: 7.5
Untitled Film Project 