‘Air’ details enjoyable journey to ink improbable shoe deal for Michael Jordan
Apr 6, 2023, 9:00 PM | Updated: Apr 7, 2023, 2:59 pm
(Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
(Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck take an enjoyable stroll down memory lane for a movie, when you boil it down, is about sales – specifically getting Michael Jordan to endorse Nike before he becomes an NBA superstar.
Damon in “Air” plays Sonny Vaccaro, the man tasked with getting big NBA talent to endorse Nike basketball shoes.
He knows Jordan has something special and is willing to bet the farm on getting him to sign on.
With only 17% market share in 1984, Nike was not a shoe wear behemoth and certainly not Jordan’s first or second choice.
There’s not a lot of basketball in a film about one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but how Vaccaro, Nike’s Phil Knight and other executives do a lot of handwringing and improvising to get the deal with him done.
It’s one of those feel-good movies that could have a lot of more emotional heft, but leave that for the people who lived through it to remember the cultural touchstones of the times.
Even so, it’s certainly watchable with solid performances from all, along with a MTV-heavy soundtrack boosting it along.
Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Damon Wayans and Jay Mohr also star.
