After an exciting premiere at SXSW, the Ben Affleck-directedAircontinues to build buzz across theaters nationwide. The hysterical cast of Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, and the aforementioned Affleck shine as they dramatically portray the events leading up to the monumental moment of shoe company Nike signing the prodigal rookie from the University of North Carolina.
In the same vein as the docu-seriesThe Last Dance(2020), the appeal ofAiris intrinsically linked to the legacy of Michael Jordan. However, unlike the Netflix series, the GOAT is somewhat invisible inAir.
Although Affleck has been adamant about covering his tracks, the absence of MJ ultimately leaves an apparent hole in the story.Indiewire recounts a Q&Awhen Affleck explains “[t]hat the one sure way to ruin the movie … is to point the camera at anybody that’s not Michael Jordan and say, ‘Hey, that’s Michael Jordan!’”
But there’s something misaligned when you tell a story centered around someone as iconic as Jordan without ever showing his face. Is Michael Jordan so famous that he overcomes our suspension of disbelief?
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Despite his good intentions, Ben Affleck’s decision to omit the Air Jordan namesake from the film comes with unintentional consequences. Let’s critique how this omission affects the highlights and shortcomings of this heart-warming sports flick.
Where is Michael’s Presence?
Before criticizing the film, it’s important to discuss what the filmmaker’s got right in telling this story.As reported by Variety, Affleck explains how he had conversations with Jordan before moving forward with production. He states, “I had a chance to sit down with Michael Jordan, because I just wasn’t going to make this movie without asking him, ‘What matters to you?’”
Though Jordan is not physically in the film, his presence can still be felt in the framework of the screenplay. Jordan was instrumental in incorporating Nike executive Howard White (Chris Tucker) and his mother, Deloris Jordan (Viola Davis), into the script, for Affleck didn’t know that side of the story before talking to MJ.
Affleck has also been vocal about not wanting this film to be pegged as “the Michael Jordan story.”In an interview, he claims, “I have to be very clear … If you’re going to do a Michael Jordan story, they should back the f*****g truck up.” In other words,Airis just a small sliver in the mythology of Michael Jordan and shouldn’t have to carry the weight of being “a story about Michael Jordan”.
The filmmakers, including writer Alex Convery, never intended to make a movie with empty dramatizations and a shallow Hero’s Journey. At the end of the day,Airis simply a light-hearted comedy about a serendipitous strike of luck that created a gigantic rift in the fabric of sports marketing.
Both in the pre-production phase and the promotional undertakings, Ben Affleck has done his due diligence when it comes to appropriately representing this story. But this doesn’t excuse him from criticisms when it comes to how his decisions affect the resulting film.
Erasing Black History?
While Affleck has clearly shown that he means well and has expressed a deep appreciation for the basketball legend, removing the six-time MVP from the movie can appear to be side-stepping the black voice in favor of the white perspective. It’s like telling the story of NWA but from the perspective of the studio executives who signed them. The end result teeters along the lines of becoming more likeThe Blind Side,where the merits of the white protagonist depend on their association with a black athlete rather than on the heroics of the athlete’s journey. It begs the question, “Who is this story made for?”, especially given Hollywood’s history ofwhitewashing BIPOC stories.
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At its worst,Airlooks like a movie where a couple of friends wrote themselves into roles for a story no one really asked for. There are moments where the film seems self-interested while glossing over more impactful events. While the filmmakers deserve credit for including Deloris Jordan in the story, it often feels like her influence is understated or quickly summarized. Her main contribution to the story - her demands for a part of the shoe’s revenue share - changed how future athletes negotiated with shoe companies. The subsequent success of the Jordan brand has also led to Michael Jordan being the only black majority team owner across all four major sports leagues in America. For such an industry-altering decision, Deloris surely deserves more than a side serving of screen time in a film about her own son.
This isn’t necessarily an attempt to tear the film down. On the spectrum of bad biopics, there areworse examples to choose from. However, in the name of improvement, the filmmakers could’ve done a better job incorporating the characters of Deloris Jordan and Howard White. With all that said, director Ben Affleck and the ensemble cast of Hollywood legends deliver on producing an entertaining movie about one of the greatest athletes in American history.
