Air Review
Air is the sort of simple, wholesome content that - when done well, and it is done very well here - makes an impact.
Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) works for Nike, tracking down talent that the Basketball Division can entice to wear their fledgling array of basketball shoes. He, marketing director Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman), Howard White (Chris Tucker), and the CEO of Nike Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), are all trying to use their paltry budget for the year to entice some lower tier players to join their shoe roster. But Sonny has an idea, to go after just one player and pour the whole budget into that venture; Michael Jordan. The 3rd round draft pick famously hates Nike shoes, and is almost guaranteed to go to Adidas. In fact, his agent David Falk (Chris Messina) refuses a meeting outright. But Sonny believes Michael has the chance to be great. He goes down to meet with Michael’s mother Deloris (Viola Davis), as he and his team break all the rules, and all the conventions, to get this future NBA star into a shoe with a swoosh on it.
Air is such an interesting film, because you can see exactly how easily it could have gone off the rails. It’s the sure hand of Ben Affleck here in the director's seat, and the script from Alex Convery, that makes certain Air never overreaches. It never grabs for the tempting fruit around it; the mile a minute pace of a basketball game, or the tempting headlines that could be generated by having some young up and coming actor play Michael Jordan himself. Instead, it grounds itself in the core heart of this story, and one that ultimately is fascinating.
Affleck makes the imaginably staid process of designing a shoe, doing financial deals for revenue share, and enticing the family into a single meeting, extremely fun. He has a fantastic balance for flair and character, and delivers this melting pot of 80’s memorabilia, office politics, and adjacency to big basketball, in a very compelling way. The film gives a very lived in and authentic view of the 80’s vibe, avoiding some of the more poppy versions done in other recent fare.
Character-wise, the balance is all here. Damon delivers the lead role as the straight man, and does so with aplomb, delivering the needed inspirational speech as required. The dialogue may be stock standard, but Damon tackles it winningly. Bateman plays a sort of more earnest version of his usual character, and has a number of winning jokes. Affleck’s Phil Knight is iconically 80’s, perfectly self-doubting, and a fan fave. Viola Davis, in her brief screen time, also impresses. Chris Messina is an absolute standout as the foul mouthed agent, Falk. He is frequently hilarious, completely over the top, and brings a smile to your face constantly.
Ultimately, what makes Air such a winning film is the fact that it tells an interesting story, self-contains it, and is confident in delivering what it sets out to do. The ambition here is curtailed, but in doing so it foisters a vote of confidence in the source material it’s dealing with. The tale of this shoe deal is interesting, almost anecdotally, and Air tells it in a fun, enjoyably engaging, funny and affecting way. This movie probably isn’t going to change your life, but you’ll have a blast watching it.
