In the summer of 1982, Ronald Reagan was in the White House, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” led the box office, “Dallas” topped the Nielsen rankings and Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” was No. 1 on the pop chart. The U.S. was suffering through the end of a recession but still embracing the “Morning in America” moment for pop culture. Amid this heady mix, the Milwaukee Brewers exploded, quite unexpectedly, as the hottest team in Major League Baseball.
The legacy of that almost-miracle season for the Brewers is revisited with great affection in a new documentary directed by Sean Hanish. “Just a Bit Outside: The Story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.” The project from Cannonball Prods. was a labor of love for Wisconsin natives Hanish and Kelly Kahl, former CBS Entertainment president, who produced the pic with Paul Jaconi-Biery.
Related Stories
“Just a Bit Outside” opens today for a limited run in the Milwaukee area at Marcus Theatres locations. The screening schedule was upgraded from a dozen theaters to 83 showings in 14 theaters due to the demand for advance tickets.
Popular on Variety
“We are thrilled to introduce this fantastic film to theatergoers,” Clint Wisialowski, senior VP of sales and development for Marcus Theatres, the biggest exhibitor in Wisconsin, told Variety. “The ticket sales have been outstanding and the audience’s reaction has been tremendous.”
Back in 1982, Kahl was a 15-year-old baseball fanatic growing up in the Milwaukee area who was “living and dying with every one of these games,” he told Variety.
Spoiler alert: the Brewers went all the way to the World Series that year, but the St. Louis Cardinals prevailed in Game 7. And the Brewers haven’t been back to the fall classic since.
The spark of inspiration for “Just a Bit Outside” came about eight years ago when Kahl had the chance to play golf with Gorman Thomas, the quirky former Brewers centerfielder who sported a handlebar mustache in his playing days.
“He had a story for every hole – and typically it was a drinking story about being out at 1 a.m. in Boston or Cleveland or Kansas City,” Kahl said of his first meetings with Thomas. “It was just so apparent talking to him that it was a very different day and time. Baseball players can’t go out drinking every night now. You can’t roll 10 deep into a bar on the road because everyone would be whipping out their cell phones.”
Hanish and Kahl, who have previously worked together on indie scripted films, knew from first-hand memories that there was a great baseball tale to tell. But after doing their research and meeting more Brewers players, they found the story was more poignant and more present than they realized.
“They say be careful about meeting your heroes. We met all these guys and they were all amazing,” Kahl recalled.
For sure, the former players had plenty of war stories to share. But what stood out to Hanish and Kahl was the profound sense of loss that many of them still carry. It may have been 40 years ago, but that final out it St. Louis still stings.
“We really thought we were going to get a bunch of fun drinking stories and what it was like to go on this run,” Kahl said. “But as we started talking to these guys, they’re kind of joyous and walking through the season and regaling us with stories and tales. But when it got to Game 7, these guys all got a little dark and a little emotional on us. What we learned was that there’s a regret there and a disappointment that still really lingers 40 years later. No one’s walking around with a big cloud over their head all of the time. But when you take them back to that point, for most of them it’s biggest disappointment of their lives.”
Hanish and Kahl have self-financed the docu and are shopping for distribution. Executives at Marcus Theatres reached out to the duo when they got word that “Just a Bit Outside” was in the works. It’s another sign of exhibitors getting aggressive about courting independent projects for direct distribution deals.
“We’re happy about the Marcus deal because it’s going to get it in front of the fans who this movie is going to mean the most to,” Kahl said.
Working on the documentary also gave Hanish and Kahl insights into how the game of baseball has evolved in recent decades. The duration of most games was shorter back then — just as the pitching clock and other MLB rule changes implemented last year are helping to shorten them again. Pitching strategies were also markedly different.
“Now it’s all about throw as hard as you can and strikeout, strikeout, strikeout,” Kahl observed. “These guys cared much less about that. It was just, get the batter out, we don’t care how.”
In assembling the film, Hanish and Kahl naturally spent many hours immersed in early 1980s America as they sorted through vintage footage. That process also illuminated the contrasts of how we lived then and the way we live now. For one thing, no one was staring at their smartphones while sitting in the stands at what was then Milwaukee County Stadium (known today as American Family Field).
“It’s a little bit of a time machine,” Kahl said. “It takes you back to a different time and place. The arc of that season is a fun ride – there’s no embellishment needed.”
(Pictured: The Milwaukee Brewers win Game 5 of the 1982 World Series)
