Everyone Is Ignoring A Great Ben Affleck Movie As We Head Into Oscar Season, And I'm Sick Of It
Whenever awards season comes around, we start to see a lot of the same movies appear on Top 10 lists from critics or in the roster of nominees from the many Hollywood organizations that vote on year-end cinematic greatness. Whether they're critics circles from around the country, the various guilds for writers, directors, producers, actors, and other filmmaking departments, or the big show from the Academy Awards, there are always a handful of titles that garner attention across the board.
Some would have you believe this happens because critics and members of Hollywood at large are afraid to go against the grain and adopt a groupthink mentality, which is a big reason why so many general audiences see Rotten Tomatoes as more of an entity representative of all critics as opposed to a review aggregator trying to generalize many voices. But perhaps it's because groups of seasoned filmgoers come to recognize the same remarkable features of the films recognized as being among the best of the year.
Regardless of what you think about the awards season process, which certainly has its flaws (such as wrapping up the year a whole month before it's actually over, which is several months before many awards contenders even get wide releases in theaters, but I digress), it can always be frustrating when these Hollywood voting bodies seemingly ignore a movie that rightfully deserves awards attention. In the opinion of yours truly, this year, it's Ben Affleck's phenomenal "Air" that is being given a bit of the cold shoulder, and I'm sick of it.
More than a shoe
2023 saw numerous movies tell the stories about the creation of popular brands. There was "Tetris" with Taron Egerton, "BlackBerry" with Glenn Howerton, "Flamin' Hot" directed by Eva Longoria, and even "The Beanie Bubble" with Elizabeth Banks and Zach Galifianakis. But for me, the one that stands taller than the rest is "Air," the story of how Nike courted rising basketball player Michael Jordan to create his own brand of sneaker, the Air Jordan, which would go on to become not only one of the most lucrative shoe deals of all time, but a gamechanger in athletic branding across the board.
Now, it would be easy to be cynical about a movie that celebrates something like an iconic shoe brand from one of the biggest corporations in the world. But as "Air" so beautifully illustrates, the Air Jordan has come to represent so much more than a shoe. Sure, the Air Jordan is a fashion statement and a status symbol. In some circles, they're coveted because they're expensive. Others want them because of their constantly-changing colors and style. But no matter who's wearing them or why, Air Jordans represent our pride, our ambition, and our endless potential to achieve. Matt Damon's monologue as Sonny Vaccaro in one of the most pivotal scenes of "Air" says it best:
"A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it. Then it has meaning. The rest of us just want a chance to touch that greatness. We need you in these shoes not so you have meaning in your life, but so that we have meaning in ours. Everyone at this table will be forgotten as soon as our time here is up — except for you. You're gonna be remembered forever, because some things are eternal. You're Michael Jordan, and your story is gonna make us want to fly."
Beyond Jordan
An argument could be made that the Air Jordan has become so iconic that it might have outgrown the popularity of Michael Jordan himself. Of course, the greatness that he represents will always be linked to the shoe, but there are generations of kids wearing Air Jordans who weren't even alive when the man himself was playing basketball. But there's a scene in "Air" that has a more subtle resonance than Sonny's monologue, and it illustrates why products and brands become such an integral part of our lives, as capitalistically crass as that might seem at first glance.
Sonny and his colleague Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) share a moment on the day before they're slated to pitch to Michael Jordan. Strasser talks to Sonny about how a judge overseeing his divorce has just dictated that he gets to spend Sundays with his daughter. For four hours on Sunday, that's when Strasser gets to be a father. At seven years old, he laments the fact that getting to spend this small amount of time with her father makes it so that she doesn't feel used to his presence anymore. But the one constant that they now have in their relationship is that he brings her free Nike shoes from his office every Sunday. Strasser explains:
"The shoes, it makes me mean something to her. And if Phil shuts this division down, I'm ashamed to say that I'd still buy the shoes, even if it meant giving Phil money and we make 'em in Taiwan."
A shoe is always just a shoe...
Strasser hopes that doesn't happen. He hopes his daughter keeps loving him and he gets to keep his job, and he believes Sonny might have been a little too cavalier with taking such a big risk on betting everything Nike has on Michael Jordan. Of course, Sonny retorts that they have to take risks if they want a real win, to which Strasser says, "Spoken like a man without a seven-year old on Sunday afternoon."
Sonny feels bad about putting everyone's job at risk, but Strasser also acknowledges that he understands what they're shooting for. For a moment, Sonny steps back outside of himself and says, "It's just a shoe," trying to brush off the significance of this potential move. But that's when Strasser says, "Well, a shoe is always just a shoe until someone steps into it."
While it might seem silly to assign such significance to something as seemingly inconsequential as a shoe, these material things are always just things until they become part of our lives. A toy is just a plaything until your kid takes it everywhere with them and gives it a special name. A ring is just a piece of jewelry until you use it to propose to your significant other. A hat is just an accessory until it becomes one of the last things you see a loved one wearing before they die. And the Air Jordan was just a shoe until Michael Jordan stepped into it and provided the inspiration for limitless potential for future generations.
Ben Affleck's "Air" isn't just about a company finding their cash cow in one of the greatest athletes of all time. It's about how the most mundane things lying around can become surprisingly significant pieces of our lives.
"Air" is streaming now on Prime Video, and it deserves so much more awards love. But even if it doesn't get it, I hope Affleck knows he made an amazing film.
I spoke about "Air," and the rest of my top 10 movies of 2023, on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below: