No. 23 (2023) AIR March 28th.

 

Film No. 23  (2023)  March 28th.  6:15 PM EVENT Cinemas, Cine 11   Woodlands W.A.

"When you were selling sneakers out of the back of your Plymouth, that was risky. Don't change that now " (Vaccaro explains his strategy for attracting Jordan to try to convince his cynical boss, Phil Knight).

WORLD PREMIERE: April 5th 2023. 

Note of Interest: Affleck asked MJ for input. MJ had only one request, that Viola Davis play his mother. Viola was available and plays Deloris Jordan with aplomb. 

In 1997, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were out of work actors with no prospects, and the skeleton of a promising script written by Damon. Their willingness to make friends with Rob Reiner and then Harvey Weinstein (now an ex-friend) and take risks, paid off. That script became the screenplay for GOOD WILL HUNTING. The rest as they say, is history. 25 years on, AIR hits screens world wide. It tells the  story of how an everyday man took Nike into the realms of becoming the mega business it is today. How? By in 1984 signing the then 18 year old Michael Jordan to a shoe deal. 

Is it any good? Yes it is everything a sports lover, a movie buff, even a once a year movie goer, might love about a trip to the cinema. Sports movies generally tell an uplifting story of a team or sports person picking them selves up by the "bootstraps" and celebrating ultimate success. AIR is just that, but when the hero is an overweight marketing executive, who remains as overweight when the film ends as when we first meet him, there is a point of difference. The film's hero is Steve Vaccaro played to perfection by Matt Damon.

It is Damon's film. His take of the legendary sports marketing executive is special. Vaccaro is a good guy (classic Damon) who brings his team around to his way of thinking, to pull off what is still regarded as the biggest sports marketing coup ever devised. Vaccaro was, and still is, the everyday guy whose passion it is to work with sports organisations. Damon's talent is truly on show as he gives us the most likeable, highest achieving slob ever recreated on screen. It's a big call I know, but I've made it.  

Affleck directs this minor masterpiece in a way that does justice to historical events, salutes the eccentric characters central to the story, and most of all creates an entertainment that runs for 110 minutes but feels like 80. I knew little of the story behind the gargantuan Nike marketing machine that is Air Jordan. Other than Michael Jordan I'd never heard of this Nike team, including founder Phil Knight (played by Affleck). Maybe that's part of the reason I enjoyed AIR so much!  11GUMS.  

Oh, if you're going because you think you will see a depiction of Michael Jordan on screen, forget it. It's a major reason why the film is so good.