I do not now, nor have I ever considered myself a “sneakerhead,” despite the fact that someone’s shoes are the very first thing I look at when I meet them or even pass them on the street. As a skateboarder from the early ’90s, a person’s shoes could mean the difference between friend and foe. Insults and physical confrontations from cops to jocks and from teachers to angry parents terrified that their kids would turn out looking like us were daily occurrences back then, so, naturally, finding allies was important. Spotting these allies was often as simple as looking at their shoes. If someone wore a skate shoe brand, the odds were they were probably decent people. If not, caution was advised.
This now 30-year-old habit is by no means scientific (or maybe even rational), but I bring it up to demonstrate that shoes are important, even if you’re someone who doesn’t give them much thought. The cultural influence of certain brands and eras of footwear cannot be overstated, nor should it be downplayed or passed off as pop culture footnotes. Shoes are cool, and you don’t have to be a sneakerhead to appreciate just how cool they can be. Which brings us to Air, Ben Affleck’s loving tribute to how the most iconic shoe ever produced came to be.
Air centers on Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), the basketball talent scout at Nike who, throughout 1984, concentrated his efforts on signing Michael Jordan to what would become a groundbreaking endorsement deal. These efforts included convincing perpetually track-suited company owner Phil Knight (Affleck), Jordan’s no-nonsense mother Deloris (Viola Davis), and an assortment of Nike employees, agents, and rival shoe company executives (Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina, Gustaf Skarsgård, and others) that Jordan was not only the right man for the job, but that his shoe would change the sneaker landscape forever.
For some, how a sneaker was created and endorsed may not sound like very exciting storytelling, but Affleck brings a fun kind of nonchalance to the table that makes Air a surprisingly engaging piece of biographical filmmaking. Believe it or not, Nike was a small company back in 1984, and watching Vaccaro and his ragtag associates slug it out with the likes of Converse and Adidas gives Air the kind of underdog feel usually reserved for more traditional sports films. The fact that we already know who will ultimately win the battle for basketball shoe supremacy does nothing to neutralize the fun Affleck creates along the way to the finish line.
But ultimately it’s the cast that makes Air such an enjoyable ride. Damon and Affleck have long since proven their chemistry together, and their likability is once again on full display here. However, it’s the well-rounded nature of the cast’s entirety that shines brightest during the mildly vulgar conversations and arguments that take place between its many players. They speak to each other as one might to an old friend, with all the low-blow insults and cheap jabs this might imply. In the end, everyone is a professional, but part of their business is to one-up each other, and part of that process involves clever takedowns and blatant affronts to each other’s egos and reputations.
To contrast these sometimes overly manly (or childish, you be the judge) displays of intestinal fortitude, we’re treated to a very tough-minded Davis. As Michael Jordan’s pragmatic mother, she sees right through all the blustering and speaks her mind regardless of previously established and long-standing industry practices. She’s a capable match for the men who would take advantage of her son for their own gain, and she has no problem playing the game on her terms, not theirs. It’s a battle that, ultimately, both sides will win.
It could be argued that Air isn’t much more than an extended commercial spot for Nike, and honestly, I wouldn’t argue too hard against that point. But there’s something more here than a nostalgic gimmick or marketing ploy. Air Jordans are a cultural institution that stands to this day, and the love for that institution is displayed proudly as the focal point of this curiously enjoyable origin story.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.