Air

No one could blame you for being cynical about the prospects of a movie that appears to be a commercial for Nike, an enormous multinational corporation that makes tens of billions of dollars in revenue a year (to say nothing of their more than dubious ethical record). There is no way to make this movie without that being the case, at least a little bit. Making a biographical movie about people who work for giant companies isn't necessarily something worthy of automatic scorn (there are a lot people who work for giant companies out there), and I would like to think that director/star Ben Affleck didn't choose to create this project for primarily commercial reasons. However, it's hard not to feel at least a little bit uncomfortable about celebrating the history of such a company, and it's something the viewer will have to deal with.

Increasing the level of difficulty is the fact that we all know how the story ends. The entire plot revolves around Nike trying to convince a rookie Michael Jordan to sign a shoe contract, and even people on Mars know Michael Jordan ends up wearing Nikes.

All that being said, it's to the movie's massive credit that A) it does not at all end up feeling like a commercial, and B) there is some pretty compelling drama to be had from a situation that only ever had one destination. Affleck and a very talented cast and crew have made a smart, energetic, crowd-pleasing, mid-budget movie for adults, the exact kind of movie they "just don't make any more." Consisting of not much more than people having conversations in rooms, it's an impressive accomplishment that everything feels so alive, helped by Affleck's keen sense of pacing and a script with hardly an ounce of fat in its nearly two-hour runtime.

It's 1984 and Nike's basketball division is on the verge of collapse because they are losing all of the elite young players to Converse and Adidas, and well, Nike just isn't very cool. Marketing VP Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) and Nike co-founder and CEO Phil Knight (Affleck) task the company's basketball talent scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) to find up-and-coming young basketball players to pitch a shoe line to. An early marketing meeting makes it clear that this task is bleak; all of the top players have already committed to the competition and no one with any potential star power is left to woo. Vaccaro becomes obsessed with the idea of signing the newly drafted Michael Jordan, even though Jordan's agent David Falk (Chris Messina) makes it clear that Jordan isn't interested in Nike, and any approach would be unwelcome.

Vaccaro puts his career on the line by getting in touch with Jordan's intelligent and protective mother (Viola Davis), and Nike scrambles to come up with the magic formula that will convince the Jordans to take a chance on Nike.

The movie shares a lot in common with the Aaron Sorkin-penned Moneyball (2011), as most of the thrills come from witty banter and whip-smart dialogue. Air's rookie screenwriter Alex Convery does a great job imbuing each character with charm, even with a cast portraying mostly sad sack middle-aged white guys. Messina's portrayal of swaggering asshole agent Falk is a true highlight, and his interactions with Damon's Vaccaro are absolute gold. Damon and Bateman both have plenty of experience playing these kinds of normal everymen, and it's very agreeable to watch them do their thing. Chris Tucker brings some welcome energy and surprising pathos as Howard White, a self-deprecating former player and marketing rep. Damon's conversations with Viola Davis crackle with life as well, as both characters share a palpable respect for each other even as one is trying to sell the other. With all of these talented actors playing off each other using snappy dialogue, it's pretty hard to miss.

Some of the time period table setting is a little silly and overbearing, as the movie is often broken up with montages of 80s cultural touchstones (Princess Di! Hulk Hogan! Where's the Beef?), including a non-stop barrage of predictable 80s needle drops. But you can mostly forgive the gee-whiz "hey remember that" nostalgia as a minor quibble.

All said, it's a very good movie about pitching shoes to a world-famous athlete who hardly appears in the movie himself for more than a few seconds. A tough task done well, and an impressive accomplishment for Affleck and company.