"A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it."
— Sonny Vaccaro
Air (also known as Air: Courting a Legend in marketing) is a 2023 sports biopic film directed by Ben Affleck and written by Alex Convery. It stars Matt Damon, Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, and Viola Davis.
The film follows Nike employee Sonny Vaccaro in 1984 as he sets out to court rookie player Michael Jordan to become the spokesperson of a new shoe line. The film released in theaters on April 5, 2023.
Previews: Trailer
Air contains examples of the following:
- The '80s: Quickly established the with Dire Straits' song "Money for Nothing", the opening of the film sets the stage in 1984 with a montage showing number of events that happened during that year and around it. note
- Answer Cut: After Phil wonders how much money the Air Jordan shoes could really make when the Jordans ask for a cut of the profits, a caption shows up on screen saying that they went on to make $162 million in sales that year.
- Artistic License – History: The movie actually skips the last round of negotiations between Nike and Michael Jordan's camp where Falk was more involved, as Adidas actually doubled their bid to $500,000.note
- Bait-and-Switch: After several jokes directed at him about his weight and lack of exercise, Sonny decides take up running, goes to a track, and begins to run...only to stop a few seconds later, declare that it was terrible and that he'll never do it again, and promptly leave.
- Based on a True Story: The story is a dramatization of Sonny Vaccaro's negotiations with Michael Jordan's camp in 1984 for Jordan to become the spokesperson of a new shoe line which become the first Air Jordan shoes.
- Bookends: When we first see Sonny meet up with Phil, Phil asks Sonny if he runs, with Sonny saying he doesn't. In one of the film's final scenes, Sonny attempts to jog at a running track only for him to stop and declare he'll NEVER do that again.
- Brick Joke:
- Michael's desire for a red Mercedes 380SL, to the point of being willing to accept any shoe line that'll give him one (except Nike), is repeatedly mentioned throughout the film. The "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue reveals that he did end up getting one.
- Sonny and Rob discuss the Lyrical Dissonance of "Born in the U.S.A." and how it sounds triumphant but no one notices it's actually about very unhappy topics. The movie ends with a triumphant victory montage set to "Born in the U.S.A."
- Brief Accent Imitation: Sonny puts on a shitty faux-Nazi accent when telling Mrs. Jordan what the Adidas execs will do. Mrs. Jordan understandably tells him to drop the accent.
- Call-Forward: During Sonny's big speech to Michael, there are cuts to real footage of Michael's triumphs such as wining multiple championships, and also personal issues like his famous gambling addiction and father's murder.
- Cluster F-Bomb: David Falk delivers a foul-mouthed tirade to Sonny after learning he visited the Jordan household.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: After Sonny makes his big speech to Michael, including the line that Michael will be the only person in the room the world will remember, a miffed Phil points out that, as the founder of Nike, it's very likely he will be remembered.
- The Faceless: Aside from archival footage of the real Michael Jordan, his face is never clearly shown in the film, always being depicted with his face away from the camera or obscured by someone else.
- Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: The Adidas execs bicker in German over who's in charge, trying not to give away the chaos behind the scenes. The Jordans notice anyway.
- Historical Beauty Upgrade: The real Sonny Vaccaro was an averege-sized man with a receding hairline and exaggerated features (like his nose and ears)◊. The movie tries to downplay it, but Matt Damon, even with a fat suit, is unusually attractive looking to some extent.
- Likewise, the real Phil Knight doesn't exactly have the same good looks like Ben Affleck.
- It Will Never Catch On:
- Played with. Sonny's proposed name for the shoe line, "Air Jordan", is given a lukewarm reception by Knight — who then admits that it might grow on him.
- Early in the movie when Sonny is talking about basketball with a clerk at 7-Eleven, the clerk has a dismissive attitude about Michael Jordan. Later near the end of the movie, there is another scene where Sonny talks to the clerk and this time he acts like he knew Jordan would be a big star.
- One executive shoots down the idea of endorsing Charles Barkley, saying that no one will want to see him on their TVsnote . Barkley went on to be a superstar, and later, an extremely successful TV sportscaster.
- When John Stockton is floated as an endorsement candidate, multiple characters take potshots at him as well as the fact he played college basketball at little known Gonzaga. Stockton would go on to become a Hall of Fame player, while Gonzaga has become one of college basketball's powerhouse programs.
- Phil's final lines have him believe the Air Jordan will not be especially successful, claiming the most they've ever made off a single shoe was three million. The title card then reveals that the Air Jordan made $162 million for Nike in its first year and now brings in four billion dollars for the company annually.
- Lyrical Dissonance: A Discussed Trope by Rob — he talks to Sonny about how much Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." hyped him up and made him feel patriotic, until he really paid attention to the lyrics and realized that the song is about how a veteran was cast aside by society after fighting in the Vietnam War.
- Mama Bear: Michael's mother is very protective of her son and is very much looking out for his best interests when it comes to any deal he will make with a sponsor.
- "Mister Sandman" Sequence: As the film is set in 1984, it begins with a montage of clips of news and pop culture from that year set to "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits (which is a bit anachronistic as the song was released in 1985, but the filmmakers thought it worked so well that they had to use it).
- Nothing but Hits: Unsurprisingly for a period piece movie. On top of having an assortment of 1980s hits, Tangerine Dream's Paul Haslinger provides a few original musical cues throughout the film. (Tangerine Dream's own hit "Love on a Real Train" also plays in the film.)
- Prefers Going Barefoot: Ironically, despite running a shoe company, Phil Knight likes to go barefoot in his office.
- Running Gag: Phil's penchant for Buddhist aphorisms, much to the annoyance and confusion of everyone else.
- Shout-Out: Patrick Ewing went to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's high-school which gets name-checked.
- Stating the Simple Solution:
- When faced with how limiting the NBA's rules for shoe colors are — 51% of the shoe must be white or black, else they player is fined $5000 per game— and how difficult they make designing an individual-inspired shoe, Sonny suggests making the shoes how they want and just paying Jordan’s fines.
- Later reversed: Mrs. Jordan asks for a far bigger cut when the negotiations are apparently in the bag, causing a despondent Sonny to reject the deal. Phil just says to pay it, with the implication that they've already gotten this far and that they're already going to pay for MJ's fines, anyway.
- Succession Crisis: Sonny warns Mrs. Jordan not to sign with Adidas, saying that with the death of their founder the company is in chaos. When she asks the Adidas execs who's in charge, she gets different answers and some quiet bickering in German.
- Tick Tock Tune: The trailer opens with a clock ticking on the soundtrack as an executive talks about how bad the year was for Nike.
- Trade Your Passion for Glory: In the midst of the disagreements, Sonny accuses Phil of forsaking the ideals and practices he used to build Nike into the company it is in favor of being a typical businessman who only cares about satisfying the board of directors. After the company closes the deal with Jordan, Phil admits Sonny wasn't entirely wrong and Sonny's antics through the whole ordeal served as a good reminder of the old days.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Rob gives a restrained one to Sonny where he calmly points out how risky Sonny's plan is and that Sonny has not seriously consider how if it doesn't work out, a lot of people including Robby will be out of a job.
- David Falk’s rant to Sonny for visiting the Jordan household is……noticeably less restrained.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: A closing montage points out how everyone involved with the deal made an obscene amount of money from it — except for David, who "merely" sold his company for $100 million, which is a still a lot but is pittance compared to the amount of money that everyone else made — with other details like how Nike eventually bought Converse, one of its biggest competitors, or how Jordan and his family used a lot of the fortune that they made for charity.
