#Junkit mix martins series

Consider Brockmire’s own description of such places: “They are scraped out husks … victims of the capitalism that made a lie out of the American Dream.”Ĭhurch-Cooper and Kirkby seem to have a genuine understanding and a sincere affection for folks who live smallish lives in tiny places – for hard-working Americans who reap little or no rewards throughout years of hard work but carry on anyway and manage to enjoy life’s simplest pleasures. Some of the credit goes to the profoundly effective writing by Joel Church-Cooper and the equally fine direction by Tim Kirkby, who are so detailed in their storytelling and its execution it’s as if they have lived in Morristown (or one of the hundreds of American towns very much like it) for most of their lives. That’s enough dramatic weight to crush the funny out of a comedy of any kind.

Oh, and the unrelenting menace of technology, which ensures that, if caught on video, the lowest and most embarrassing moments of peoples’ lives will be preserved on the Internet for the entertainment of millions for millennia to come. There are grand themes at play here – pride, redemption, forgiveness, self-doubt, self-loathing, self-respect and the power of love, friendship and community. Her goal is not simply to revitalize the Frackers but to restore the entire town itself. It is Jules who convinces Brockmire to come to fictional and failing Morristown, PA and begin to put his life back together, offering unconditional personal, professional, emotional and sexual support along the way.

#Junkit mix martins series

(He first played the character back in 2010 in an episode of the Funny or Die series Gamechangers.) The same can be said for Amanda Peet as Julia “Jules” James, the strong-willed and good-humored owner of the Morristown Frackers – the team Brockmire now serves as announcer for - and, conveniently, a popular local bar known as Rusty’s (a clever name, given that Morristown is located within the increasingly influential American “rust belt,” a region that recently flexed its collective muscles and … well, we all know how that turned out). Azaria has had many terrific roles in his career, but his layered portrayal of Jim Brockmire looks to be a career best.

That’s not to detract from their performances or the overall effectiveness of the show, which finds moments of personal achievement and inspiring grace notes in the life of a man who was once considered one of the greats in his field but – thanks to a booze-fueled public meltdown preserved forever on the Internet – is now off the scene, except as an object of online ridicule. Were it not for the fact that two television stars of a certain stature – Hank Azaria and Amanda Peet (right) – head its cast, Brockmire would be a thoroughly modest production in every way.