'The Brink' episode 3 review: 'Baghdad My Ass'

If anything, The Brink is persistent. The rhythm never quite lines up. The various plot points now only barely connect to one another. And the jokes we’ve found in this week’s third episode, “Baghdad My Ass,” rely on lazy gags based on one man’s Dirk Diggler or keeping Secretary of State Walter Larson’s (Tim Robbins) phone number on the cover of Maxim. But Roberto & Kim Benabib remain as confident as they can, though, and the enthusiasm parading their program isn’t without its benefits.

If only their work was smarter, more mature and, well, funnier. After last week’s mildly better installment — where Robbins’ more experienced direction gave the show more precision — “Baghdad My Ass” brings things back to a sluggish, ineffective halt. Editor Jon Poll is smart enough to keep the program on the move, but as a director he fails to present anything to make the actors prove their talents or hone in the laughs the Benabibs' teleplay so desperately wants to deliver. This third episode is yet another muted effort, lacking the charm or sophistication needed to regulate past sheer mediocrity. But its worst crime this week is wasting the talents of lovely guest star Jaimie Alexander as Lt. Gail Sweet.

Just as pilots Zeke (Pablo Schreiber) and Glenn (Eric Ladin) after locked up for their disastrous, drug-aided drone malfunction, the female Lt. comes to the soon-to-be jail-ridden men’s and informs Zeke she’s pregnant with his child. Something he knew about, apparently, but what he didn’t know is this: she’s moving to San Diego to raise the child on her own. Despite already having a wife and kids, Zeke wants to be there for the young child and soon-to-be mother, but Gail isn’t haven’t it. That’s because the drug-dealer’s actions — recent or not — aren’t necessarily making him father-of-the-year anytime soon. Asking her to flush down his remaining drugs in his upstairs quarters isn’t swaying her opinion either.

Meanwhile, also in dire restraints is the likewise incarcerated CIA diplomat Alex Talbot (Jack Black), who must use his connections to Larson to get the White House official to agree to General Haroon Raja’s (Bernard White) requests if he, his Pakistan U.S. Embassy employee Rafiq (Aasif Mandvi) and the latter’s family wish to live. While the two work hard to reach communication with the politician, the man himself is dealing with his own concerns.

Walter finds his wife Joanne (Carla Gugino) sleeping with her well-endowed trainer Billy (Christian Gehring), but the real problems derailing him is her announcing her plans to accept a Pentagon General Council job Walter’s nemesis Pierce (Geoff Pierson) offered to her just to f**k with her husband. The stress of this, along with going to Pakistan to solve this potential third World War with no plan, leads to an infected kidney stone, which he continues to complement through his alcoholism.

Much like a wide-eyed politician trying to enter the White House to change things from inside, The Brink is all eagerness with no real clear hindsight or game plan. Continued efforts are made to provide broad humor on modern politics without really saying on the matter, while the characters are not funny, witty or simply likable enough to get invested in. The Benabibs’ aim for In the Loop here, but this effort is growing closer towards Welcome to Mooseport terrority. It doesn’t even go for something as out-and-out goofy as Bulworth. Its silliness feels constrained, its naughtiness never targeted and its spears never sharped to make any piercing commentary or jabs.

Even though we finally see Alex and Larson in connection to one another, The Brink still appears too lopsided. Not in terms of its politics or anything, just with its narrative. It’s likely the creators have bigger plans for Zeke, but he often feels like an afterthought in the scheme of things. His story takes away from the development which could be used to make Black more than just a mugging machine and Robbins your typical oversexed politician, but including his story — beyond his extremely brief interaction with the president via webcam and almost causing trouble with the drone — doesn’t gel with anything we’ve seen from our two other leads.

Bringing in more proven talents like Alexander and White descends this comedy series into further disappointment due to its continuously unearned potential. It’s easy to call The Brink lazy, but really it seems the series is just too unconcerned for its own good. The talent involved proves smart, dependable people are at work, but without anything to prove their comic skills or make worth our time, the Benabib series once again goes down the road most sluggish. They have the missiles to shoot at full force, but no target at site to blow them away.