Air

by Julian Spivey

Photo: Amazon Studios

Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck & Viola Davis 
Rated: R (language)
Runtime: 1 hour & 52 minutes

 
“Air” is the kind of movie you don’t see much in theaters anymore, especially in spring/summer when theaters are inundated with I.P. films. It’s an adult story about something that happened 40 years ago and is set in the world of business and marketing. Honestly, “Air” wasn’t supposed to be a theater movie either. Being an Amazon Studios film, it was originally slated to debut on Amazon Prime Video, but it tested so well with audiences the company decided to send it out for a theatrical release (though I’m sure it’ll be available on Amazon Prime Video before too long).

Directed by Ben Affleck from a script by newcomer Alex Convery, “Air” is the story of how Nike, a popular running shoe company already by the early ‘80s, but fledgling with its basketball shoe division, sets out to sign Michael Jordan as the face of their brand.

The executives at Nike don’t think they have a shot at attracting Jordan, the third pick overall in the 1984 NBA Draft, as it’s well-known he prefers Adidas and will be too expensive for the company’s budget. The company wants to grab two-to-three draft picks to sign to their shoe – looking at future stars like Charles Barkley and John Stockton, but also players who would turn into pro basketball nobodies like Melvin Turpin.

Nike’s basketball talent scout Sonny Vaccaro, played by Matt Damon, wants to make a big splash and thinks he could potentially attract Jordan by throwing the entire $250,000 budget at him. But to do so he has to inspire Jordan with the right shoe, approach his mother, Deloris, to help get in with the young player, battle across phone lines with Jordan’s agent David Falk and convince Nike CEO Phil Knight it’s the right decision.

“Air” is entertaining from start to finish, which is quite a feat for a story about marketing and business that probably won’t have too many mouths watering with anticipation or excitement. But like similar movies “The Big Short,” directed by Adam McKay, and “Moneyball,” directed by Bennett Miller, Affleck is able to make exciting and interesting a topic many wouldn’t find to be so. The key to this, I believe, is a mixture of Convery’s script and the incredible cast.

Damon has perfected this everyman with a big dream character. We saw it recently in director James Mangold’s 2019 film “Ford v Ferrari,” in which he played another real person in automotive designer Carroll Shelby. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen that movie, but it feels like the performances are very similar – which might be a negative for some, but as long as Damon’s grooving let him groove.

Affleck is fun as Knight, no doubt playing off of some of the eccentricities of being a rich guy running a big business, even if Nike wasn’t anywhere near the kind of big business in 1984 it would turn out to be, thanks in lots to the results of what happens in this film. Affleck’s performance as Knight, with his tracksuit, crazy sunglasses and Buddhist aphorisms is played as the film’s comic relief, potentially necessary with people’s livelihoods on the line if the deal bombs.
The supporting cast of “Air” is stellar.

Viola Davis portrays Deloris Jordan as the wise matriarch of the Jordan family knowing her son is something special that doesn’t come around often and has the opportunity to set himself up for life if they play their cards right. We see this the most in the final phone conversation she has with Vaccaro, where they ask for something that simply wasn’t ever done before. It wound up making Nike and Michael Jordan billionaires. Davis is stellar in basically everything she does and because of this is probably the most likely Oscar nomination from the film, but it’s far too early to be thinking about that stuff.

Jason Bateman is likable in nearly everything he does and he brings this likability to his role as Rob Strasser, Vice President of Marketing at Nike. Strasser knows the company needs something big to keep the basketball division going and believes in Vaccaro, but he also is reluctant at first to stray from the conservative plan of signing multiple players. One of the best scenes in the film is Strasser telling Vaccaro that his job within Nike is more than just a job to him.

Chris Messina as David Falk is such a Messina performance that I couldn’t possibly see any other actor playing the character after watching “Air.” The on-the-phone battles between him and Vaccaro were potentially my favorite moments of the film, with the two of them absolutely giving each other hell in vile ways (especially from Falk) that range from cordial to furious to cordial again. It’s a blast watching Messina and Damon go at it verbally in these scenes.

Chris Tucker is only in three scenes as Nike employee Howard White, who would become Vice President of the Jordan Brand, but you will smile the entire time he’s on the screen. Tucker essentially plays the role as himself, but as a personal friend of the real-life White, maybe there’s more acting there than we really see.

Another thing about “Air” I really enjoyed was the era-appropriate soundtrack that had me tapping my feet along on the theater floor the entire runtime. It begins with Dire Strait’s “Money for Nothing” and includes other great needle drops like “Blister in the Sun” by Violent Femmes, “Legs” by ZZ Top, and, of course, “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen.