Boy Movies #25

The Matt and Ben issue, part II

Welcome back to this newsletter, which is called Boy Movies. I was at a post-Aly and AJ concert (they slayed) hang this past weekend and accidentally made a joke about Kacey Musgraves’ boyfriend’s newsletter (I’m not linking; he doesn’t need my business) that resulted in me having to explain to a stranger that I, too, write a newsletter. Imagine anything more humiliating. If you enjoy fun anecdotes like that, consider subscribing!

Thank you so much to everyone who wrote in with suggestions, requests, and pitches last week! What an overwhelming delight. My inbox remains open for any ideas, and I’m always happy to hear pitches from writers interested in contributing guest issues. Email/DM me! I’m nice!

Dads vs. boys

One message I enjoyed in particular comes from Abigail:

Have you written yet about the distinction between “boy movies” and “dad movies,” if one exists? The sneaker movie and Top Gun: Maverick have both been referred to as “dad movies” a lot, and I for one am curious about what makes a dad movie a dad movie. I assume it has something to do with that shirt Matt Damon’s wearing.

You certainly remember the shirt, which was highlighted in last week’s fake issue.

I’ll say this: You cannot imagine how many times this topic has come up since I started this newsletter. Dad movies feel slightly outside of my purview — my dad is famously dead, and I simply do not look at movies through that lens due to my general lack of understanding. The only people who have the authority to call something a dad movie, I feel, are those who have ever walked into a room to find their dads doing the dad pose in front of a cable play of Mission: Impossible 2. That said, I do think such a distinction exists, and I think it’s important to denote.

After careful deliberation, this is what I can confidently say about dad movies:

• Dad movies are a subgenre of boy movies. In many ways, boy movies are dad movies’ daddy. I understand this might be confusing, but that’s how it is.

• Dad movies can contain violence, but they are not gratuitously violent spectacles. Quentin Tarantino, for example, makes boy movies, not dad movies.

• Dad movies should have uncomplicated narratives with zero mind-bending or trickery. I imagine that the films of Christopher Nolan are perturbing to dads.

• Dad movies should have emotional resonance but they should never lean into melodrama.

• Dad movies should be based in reality. Dads are not fucking with fantasy or sci-fi.

• Dad movies can make use of the occasional muted joke, but should not be played for laughs. Quippy Marvel-style dialogue has no place in a dad movie.

• Dad movies should not indulge in camp.

• Finally, here are some fundamental building blocks of dad movies: a male protagonist over the age of thirty-five; war, specifically Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s idea of war; cars, but in a Ford v Ferrari way, not an ostentatious Fast and Furious way; sports, as observed from an underdog’s perspective, or perhaps an athlete who has aged out of his prime; adaptations of true stories; ordinary men dealing with extraordinary circumstances; the relationship between father and son, though you have to be careful with this one — something like Beautiful Boy, about Steve Carell loving Timothée Chalamet even though he is addicted to drugs, is not a dad movie; the concept of work and working (going to work, things that happen at and because of work, what happens when a man works too much or even too little, etc).

Does that make sense? A boy movie can be a dad movie, and vice versa, though the distinction is murky. As Abigail said, something like Top Gun: Maverick hits the ideal midpoint between the two: the aging movie star lead surrounded by a dozen young men, the war-adjacent plot that doesn’t delve into the complexities of what war means, the frank emotional core balanced out with cool shots of planes going zoop zoop. The comedy is light-hearted and chuckle-worthy; militaristic violence is nowhere to be found (I love when Maverick survives his fall from the sky without even a scratch). Ultimately, what it comes down to is mood. Dad movies must possess a level of sincerity that isn’t as important to boy movies. In a regular boy movie, there’s some room for playfulness. In a dad movie, everything should be played completely straight. Dare I say dad movies are boy movies, matured.

Which brings me to the sneaker movie.

There’s nothing cool about Nike

Back in November, I wrote about Matt (Damon) and Ben (Affleck). At the request of a beloved friend and loyal reader, I covered Good Will Hunting, the seminal Bostonian masterpiece that ushered them onto the world stage, and used that issue to go on record as a lifelong devotee to the church of Damon and Affleck. I never know what I’m supposed to do about how much I love Matt and Ben; I guess just keep going to see their joint cinematic efforts in a theater near me.

Air, directed by Affleck, is their latest collaboration, chronicling the inception of Nike’s Air Jordan line in the ‘80s, during a period where the company’s basketball division was floundering¹. Damon stars as the guy doggedly pursuing a partnership with Michael Jordan; Affleck wears a silly wig and bright tracksuits to play his boss, continuing to explore this fascinating “eccentric supporting character” era of his career. Jason Bateman explains the true meaning of “Born in the USA,” which I earnestly loved. Chrises Messina and Tucker are there to serve. And I absolutely love movies where the only woman in the whole thing is an iconic older actress; in Air’s case, it’s Viola Davis.

Air is good, as you may have heard by now. More than that, Air is incredibly watchable. Basketball is my sport of choice in the sense that like two years ago I committed myself to a life of suffering by becoming a fan of the New York Knicks, but I am unable to have a conversation about it — please don’t ask me about terminology or what anything means, I just know that we cheer when ball goes in hoop. I also truly don’t understand business, despite being the SheEO of this modest start-up. None of that matters in Air, because Affleck is a genuinely talented director² who turns a boardroom bore into a zippy creation myth that feels timeless despite its constant reminders that it is very much set in the ‘80s. Crucially, Ben especially knows how to direct Matt. I was sorta kinda not really joking with Claire and Lusi about how Air is a movie full of guys who are in love with Matt Damon, a detail which I think can be attributed to his director. Sonny Vaccaro is supposed to be a schlub flop, but under Affleck’s eye, there’s an ever-present level of affection for Damon’s affable everyman charm.

hell yeah brother

Air juggles a lot of ideas with a straight face and a wry tilt of its head. It’s inherently a movie about how a group of mostly white corporate drones made unfathomable amounts of money for the billion-dollar corporation that employed them by securing the business and likeness of a young Black athlete, who also ended up getting filthy rich. It’s about what rights people who are used to sell a product have to their own image. It’s about American culture, and where culture meets fashion meets capitalism. It also deals with legacy, both literally and in a metatextual sense, thanks to the presence of Affleck and Damon.

It’s tough — for me, at least — not to trace their every on-screen interaction back to Good Will Hunting, a movie not exactly about their friendship but not not about their friendship either. It’s undeniably fun to see them continue to explore new variations on their dynamic together. In The Last Duel they snipe at each other and in Air they hype each other up. In Good Will Hunting, Affleck’s Chuckie pleads with Damon’s Will not to give up on his potential; in Air, Affleck’s Phil Knight puts his trust in Vaccaro to secure an impossible deal. There’s a through-line here that makes the whole production sing. These two guys have aged together, and their projects have aged with them. I’m not unmoved by it because I’m a big sap who is predisposed to be moved by acknowledgements of the passage of time. Without getting too lame or canonizing two rich dudes who have both said and done their fair share of bullshit over the years, I think we take for granted what a unique pair they are in Hollywood. It’s rare to have evidence of someone at twenty-five saying, “In twenty years, if you’re still livin’ here … I’ll fuckin’ kill ya” to the same person he’ll still be mining new depths with almost thirty years later. I don’t know if this is what we were supposed to take away from Air, but it’s what I took away from Air, and I feel fine about it.

Anyway, that was my long-winded way of affirming that Air is definitely a dad movie. I mean, just look at Matt Damon’s shirts.

• Sorry to get sentimental about the sneaker movie, do you guys still think I’m cool?

• There is of course a whole story about money here that I do not have the energy to unpack, but I must note that Air is in fact being released by Amazon.

• Exactly.

• I’m enjoying the Substack “Notes” feature, which is a Twitter rip-off, but as Twitter continues to get worse with every passing second, alternatives seem more and more enticing. Join me over there!

1. It is extremely funny that they’re like, “Nike is making NO MONEY… in our basketball division!!!!!” Right, got it.

2. I say “genuinely” because whenever he directs a new movie, everyone acts like we’re supposed to be surprised by this fact. Not me, though!