When Michael Jordan retired from basketball, that was it for me—I stopped watching.
In the 1970s, basketball courts were bristling with talent and ability. Everyone had a dangerous game. Now, whoever gets the ball immediately chucks it in the general direction of the basket and misses.
‘Air’
The story begins in 1984, when the Oregon-originated Nike company was basically known only for its running shoes. The basketball shoe division came in a distant third behind basketball heavies Adidas and Converse.Nike sports division recruiter Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) scouts up-and-coming high school basketball talent and helps them get partnership deals with the company to serve as spokesmen. Nike allots him a strict, piddling $250,000 budget to snag a few players with, and so Vaccaro’s options tend to be fifth draft picks and below. And unfortunately he’s also tethered in endless, mundane business meetings with executives who don’t have his talent or share his passion for basketball, and he’s reaching the end of his rope.
While multitasking at home—watching a tape of rookie Jordan’s famous game-winning basket and simultaneously watching tennis great Arthur Ashe promote his special racquet in a commercial–the proverbial lightbulb goes on over Sonny’s head.
The Pitch
Now Sonny has the daunting task of trying to convince Nike co-founder and CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to support his vision, along with head of marketing Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman).He’s also got to get Jordan’s highly vitriolic and uncooperative sports agent David Falk (Chris Messina) to not actively sabotage his vision, and finally, to successfully pitch Jordan’s mother, the extremely knowledgeable and shrewd matriarch Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis), on the shoe’s brilliant potential. Deloris, it turns out, has an excellent idea all her own.
The Essence
The offices and boardrooms of 1980s-era Nike are hardly the typical settings of sports dramas, but “Air” captures the triumphant spirit of what makes the American sports of basketball, football, and baseball so special. And while the film may be about the making of the Air Jordan shoe, director Affleck takes the opportunity to portray the differences between the creative guys in the sports-clothing business and the boardroom suits who view the players as money.
The dialogue is typical of the high-testosterone sports world, with plenty of strong language (the only reason “Air” is rated R). But it’s not “Glengarry Glen Ross.” There’s obviously plenty of competitiveness in this world, but we get to see lots of fun team spirit and camaraderie, especially as the Nike team goes over their game plan to pitch the Jordans: The CEO will arrive purposely late so as to appear super in-demand, and they’ll counter the anticipated objection to the all-red-and-black (Chicago Bulls colors) shoe they’ve come up with by pledging to pay the steep NBA fines. (The rule was that all NBA basketball shoes have a high percentage of the color white.)
The Performances
Matt Damon’s aggressive and confident portrayal of the endlessly motivated Vaccaro is the main attraction of “Air.” He’s a bit of a gambling addict on the Vegas craps tables, but this translates into a keen understanding of the level of risk-taking needed in business in order to achieve greatness, and his confidence is rooted in an all-encompassing knowledge of the game.Vaccaro constantly calls out his peers, who try and talk the talk but ultimately can’t verbalize why they prize a specific rookie player. Strong tension crops up between Vaccaro’s extraordinary vision and ambition, and the slightly unethical risks he indulges in that gamble with the careers of his colleagues.
Ben Affleck has fun with Eastern philosophy-spouting Phil Knight, who flaunts his wealth through interesting sunglass-wear choices, tracksuits, and a purple Porsche. And there’s lots of fun arguing between Vaccaro and Knight, who came up together in the business—Knight values Vaccaro but wants to make sure that it’s understood he’s in charge.
Much like the character of Marcee Tidwell (Regina King) in “Jerry Maguire,” Jordan’s mother, Deloris (Viola Davis), presides with proverbial, Southern, iron-hand-in-velvet-glove steely charm as judge, jury, and executioner of her son’s career, despite his having an agent.
Motor-mouthed Chris Tucker gets some decent comedic material as the singular African American executive in the basketball shoe division, and Matthew Maher is the wizard-nerd shoe designer, providing delightful insight into this under-the-radar realm of artistic and creative passion.
Marlon Wayans as Vaccaro’s confidante inspires his vision by raconteuring an excellent tale of how he came to possess the original handwritten speech of one of the great Civil Rights leaders.
Michael Jordan (Damian Delano Young) has almost no dialogue and is shot at off-angles so as not to disrupt suspension of disbelief. The real Jordan is presented at the end in various outtakes and clips of actual footage of him winning trophies and paying tribute to his brilliant mother.
Ben Affleck’s “Air” is an educational and inspirational marketing sports drama, with revelations about labor history. Its winning soul pays tribute to the people who see the greatness in others and help make their dreams come true. “Air” is definitely an Affleck-Damon-Michael Jordan slam-dunk that’ll bring back the reason basketball was so exciting when Air Jordan ruled the game.
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