This wouldn’t be the first film directed by Ben Affleck. This wouldn’t be the first film starring Ben Affleck and his childhood friend Matt Damon either. This is, however, the first film they are in together which is also directed by Affleck. Why is this important?
More than actors who are best friends in real life, Damon and Affleck have always been writers with conviction. Their first collaborative work earned them an Academy Award each for best writing and screenplay in the 1997 near-miss Best Picture – Good Will Hunting. It’s been a rollercoaster ride ever since with Affleck going on to direct four films including the Oscar winning Best Picture, Argo, while Damon wrote the story for four other films. Their collaboration here is particularly important because Air is about a story we already know – NBA legend Michael Jordan became an overnight superstar after signing on with Nike, and the shoe that was moulded for him – Air Jordan – became the most sought after sneakers in commercial sports history. So what’s new and why do we need to be told about something we know happened almost 40 years ago? The bigger question is what came first – the shoe or the legend?
The idea to tell this story came from screenwriter Alex Convery, who is credited with the screenplay of this film. After the screenplay was written, Affleck met Jordan to get his blessing for the film and asked if there was anything the star would like to add to the story. Rather than bragging about his glory days, Jordan asked for the inclusion of three key roles – George Raveling who was the coach on the 1984 Olympics team Jordan was on, Howard White who was the Vice President of Nike’s marketing division, and Deloris Jordan his mother, who was the most important person during the negotiation of her son’s deal with Nike. Damon and Affleck re-wrote these roles into the script, but remain uncredited. Then, they went on to find and cast these three roles. Marlon Wayans plays George Raveling. Chris Tucker plays Howard White. Viola Davis plays Deloris Jordan. The rest is illusionary brilliance from Affleck in this fifth directorial feature.
Basketball fans should proceed with caution. Air is less about basketball and even less about Michael Jordan or the Chicago Bulls. We don’t even see the face of the actor playing Jordan. There are no basketball games re-enacted or career best moments relived for cinematic glory. Instead, this film is about process, about people dedicated to their jobs, about taking calculated risks based on experience and foresight, about convincing the boss to reconsider the budget, and essentially, white hot drama in a corporate white collar world. All this comes together in a hugely entertaining package with infectious energy from Damon as Sonny Vaccaro, the Nike executive who nabbed Jordan by hustling his way through multiple hurdles. The biggest is convincing Jordan’s mother, which turns out to be the most genuine and best moment in the film. Along with Affleck’s Nike co-founder and CEO Phil Knight, their interactions are as bizarre as they are entertaining. No coincidence here that Damon and Affleck are playing colleagues but also friends from Nike’s early days. They are almost telepathic in their camaraderie and delivery, and together, show how something as mundane as a conference can be such a joy.
Everyone loves underdog stories that made sporting headlines. Air is not a sports movie. It is still an underdog story of how one man defied all odds on just a hunch, and changed Jordan’s life while simultaneously rocket propelling Nike’s stock stratospherically higher than competitors Adidas and Converse. Grit, power, truth, charisma, frustration, friction, ambition, and arrogance from characters in an all-star line-up, and all about a pair of shoes. But if it weren’t for these shoes, the alternate reality would be a little known Michael Jordan. Simple as that sounds, the feeling of raw joy at the end might just give the viewer a taste of what it feels to walk on air. And that feeling is how Nike turned a rookie into a rock star.
PS. In case you’re still wondering, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have starred in nine films together, starting with Field of Dreams in 1989, when they were teenagers. As extras on the set, they both recall getting five minutes to talk to lead actor Kevin Costner.
