I’ll spoil this: Michael Jordan is not in Air. But, that’s because at least to Nike from the get go, he was a god. Jordan’s presence is in Air’s air everywhere. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Viola Davis, inspired by Jordan’s greatness, find a way to turn the making of a shoe into something worthy of the NBA GOAT. And finally, the unfamiliar might understand why sneaker culture became the force that it is today.
It was tough sledding for Nike in 1984. In third place behind Adidas and Converse, Nike was seen as the lameoid running shoe, befitting their HQ in middle of nowhere Oregon. When the basketball division starts scouting which NBA players to sign in the upcoming draft, Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), the division’s basketball expert, thinks its time for a swing: spend all the money that year on MJ, whom he’s convinced is going to be something real special. Phil Knight (Nike’s CEO, played by Ben Affleck) and Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) don’t seem thrilled at this idea, with layoffs looming and a down year to recover from as demanded by their new corporate shareholders. After talking with agent Howard White (Chris Tucker) and his buddy George Raveling (Marlon Wayans), Sonny’s convinced he’s right, and takes his pitch right to the person that matters most. Not MJ; not MJ’s agent David Falk (Chris Messina); no…to Michael’s parents, James (Julius Tennon) and the real target, mom Deloris (Viola Davis), who Howard reminds Sonny really makes the decisions for her teenage son.
Even though the closest anyone gets to playing sports in this movie is the game of paper hoops Howard and Sonny play in their offices, director Ben Affleck decides that the proximity to Michael Jordan is close enough and steals the sports movie formula for Air. In basketball terms, Sonny would be the player/coach who discovered some new playing style, and is eager to usher in a new era with his assistant coach Howard White. Hilariously, Deloris Jordan is the star player he’s courting to play for his team. Adidas and Converse are the rival teams they have to face, and Phil Knight/David Falk/Rob Strasser are the rival team coaches, insistent on keeping the upstarts down. Director Affleck does a great job finding role allegories between your ho hum adult drama and a sports movie, giving Air an uplifting energy while also taking the time to craft a bunch of fascinating characters. Damon is predictably terrific as the glue here, forming legitimately great dynamics with the whole cast, but especially Viola Davis (the best), Chris Messina (the surprise), Chris Tucker (the joy), Matthew Maher (the weird), and Jason Bateman (my vote for most interesting character). Damon also gets to make this movie’s equivalent of the big shot, an incredible movie moment. Damon’s BF Ben also has a blast in many ways, playing the confusing living contradiction Phil Knight and immersing the audience in 1984, complete with tacky office space, weird clothes, and an incredible soundtrack that any fan of 80s music should Spotify immediately.
The Rorshach test for Air is it’s thematical pitch. If you’re more cynical, the movie is essentially on its surface a story about a corporation making bank on a great business decision. However, Damon, Affleck, and writer Alex Convery really make great effort to show how the movie isn’t only a Nike celebration. The story goes to great lengths to show how a faceless corporation is built and run by real people. Those people all have hopes and dreams, and a general desire to prove their worth to the world in some way. Affleck showcases this through his own character, Phil Knight. Initially, Knight is the human version of our corporate shill, spouting all the terms that stifle creativity of his team on profit grounds. But as the movie goes along, we see Knight is more complex, and he elevates out of that role. The “rules” and “board of directors” are just a piece of his puzzle. Along the way, all of the people involved in creating Air Jordan combine god given talent with hard work, over and over again proving their worth to others and themselves. Damon/Affleck’s real life noble pursuit Artist’s Equity neatly fits into Air too, as Deloris Jordan is an amazing representation of knowing one’s self worth and how to smartly fight for it. So it’s up to you all. Yes, Nike will be thanking Ben and Matt for their free commercial for how awesome they are, but Air is also a love letter to those people working within soulless systems of money and power, finding ways to be creative inspite of the challenges in their way.
In a big country, dreams stay with you as the song goes while Matt Damon calls Jason Bateman from a car phone. In Air, Sonny Vaccaro knew it, and built his little dream around MJ. Phil Knight believed in his dream with his buddy Sonny, and he jumped aboard. Rob Strasser and Deloris Jordan also figured it out too: a shoe is only a shoe…until Michael Jordan steps into it. And from North Carolina to Oregon to Chicago, Michael Jordan became a living dream: a dream so big it found its way across the planet, to little boys and girls everywhere hoping one day they could be like Mike.