Amanda's Picks

Some people are calling Air (R) “this generation’s Jerry Maguire.” It’s not. Yes, they’re both about sports and they’re both smart and funny, but no movie is Jerry Maguire.  My beau was right when he compared it to another great sports movie, Moneyball, and I agree.  Both movies examine how someone thinking outside the box shook up the business of sports. Just like you didn’t have to be a fan of baseball to enjoy Moneyball, you don’t have to enjoy or even understand basketball to love Air.

Set in 1984, Air tells the story of how Nike lured at the time, potential basketball superstar Michael Jordan to sign with its fledgling basketball shoe division. Doesn’t sound that exciting, right? But in the hands of Director Ben Affleck and a killer cast, it is.

The folks at Nike know that the marquee players are going to sign endorsement deals with competitors Adidas and Converse. Nike is a running shoe company with no cache and a comparatively low budget. But Nike does have Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon.) While his co-workers are resigned to settling for the other company’s rejects, Sonny, who’s a gambler (literally), wants to act on a hunch and bet Nike’s basketball budget on just one player, Michael Jordan.

Knowing that Jordan is already keen on their competitors, Sonny wrangles the support of Nike’s unconventional CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck) to go after Jordan. In order to do that, Sonny needs the support of Marketing Director Rob Strasser  (Jason Bateman) and the rest of the team.

After a conversation with co-worker Howard (Chris Tucker) Sonny understands that the way to Jordan is through his mother. But to get to her, he needs to get past Jordan’s agent David Falk, played to the hysterically hostile hilt by Chris Messina.

When Sonny does sit down with Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis), we understand who has the power in these negotiations. Deloris fiercely believes in her son’s talent and potential and she’s a savvy businesswoman. So savvy, that ultimately she negotiates a deal that would change endorsement deals forever.  

Do I care about basketball? No. Have I ever owned or purchased a pair of Air Jordans? No. Did I love watching a movie about Air Jordans? Yes.

 It’s hard to believe that Air is the first produced screenplay for writer Alex Convery, 30, as it is lightyears better than almost anything else. The writing is sharp, tight and very funny and the film manages to be suspenseful even though everyone knows the end of the story.  

Affleck shows every bit of the skill and command as a director he demonstrated with Argo, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2013, while as you probably know, Affleck was notoriously snubbed for a Best Director nomination. He makes so many thoughtful choices in Air, and it’s what he doesn’t do that’s most impressive. He shows us Sonny has a gambling problem early on and then doesn’t bring it up again. He doesn’t invent a love interest for anyone. And he only shows Jordan in archival footage.  

He also gets phenomenal performances from everyone. Damon has never been better. His passion made me root for a guy who basically just wants to make a lot of rich people richer. Matthew Maher as shoe designer Peter Moore, comedian Chris Tucker and Bateman also deliver flawless performances and Affleck himself is terrific as Nike CEO Phil Knight, a hybrid of profit-minded executive and barefoot Buddhist.  And again, every scene with Messina screaming at someone on the phone is pure gold.

Michael Jordan personally picked Viola Davis to play his mom, just one more of his very cool moves as Davis is nothing short of mesmerizing. Watching Deloris quietly but fiercely inform Sonny why her 21-year-old son deserves his own shoe, an insane amount of money and a deal that no athlete had ever received before, is borderline mesmerizing.

Air is the best movie of the year so far and is already getting awards buzz. Maybe this time Affleck will get his due.

Air