| THE BLIND SIDE |
| The Blind Side (2009) By Cherish Hamutoff Published February 8, 2010 Even though the first thing The Blind Side offers is an explanation of the game and the importance of the left tackle, the voice over provided by Sandra Bullock lets us know that this film - while about football - is also all about Bullock playing Leigh Anne Tuohy. When the good-hearted spitfire Leigh Anne is driving her brood home from a school event and spots the lumbering Michael Oher sloshing through the rain and finds out he’s as homeless as he looks, she insists he hop in and come home with them. Michael quickly becomes a part of the family, but slowly opens up. He’s bright, but not the best student; so the Tuohy’s hire a tutor, Miss Sue (Kathy Bates). He’s a wall of a guy and fiercely protective, but not an instant natural at football; so Leigh Anne, her son SJ (Jae Head) and Coach Cotton (Ray McKinnon) take turns teaching him skills. His mother’s a crack addict and can’t help him or herself; so the Tuohy’s adopt him. The Blind Side, based on the non-fiction book, “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” by Michael Lewis, is a story of a seemingly saintly rich white family who takes in a homeless African-American teenager who eventually goes onto NFL glory. It’d be a pretty unbelievable story…if it weren’t true. As implausible as the premise sounds, as perfect and pristine as the Tuohy’s are depicted, as clichéd as the “poor teenager from the ghetto needs saving by the rich white folk” is, I have to say that because of some serious acting by Sandra Bullock, I completely and totally enjoyed this flick. It was a one-woman perfect storm. Bullock was feisty, Southern and steely, warm-hearted but embarrassed about showing emotion, funny, clever, fast-talking, ballsy and big. She stole the show. While the story wasn’t about her, the film sure was. Some may say that the focus of the film was off – that we didn’t really get to know Michael Oher and his story. They’d be right. The film didn’t follow him, it followed Leigh Ann. If it were played in any other hands, the film would’ve been a total miss, but because she was so friggin’ entertaining, it was a hit. The rest of the cast was fine. While there were no stand-out performances (save a solid bit by Adriane Lenox as Denise Oher, Michael’s birth mother), no one was lacking. Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher was quiet and solid, even if not particularly interesting. Kathy Bates was a hoot as the tutor and only Democrat within miles. Everyone was there to support Bullock, and they didn’t disappoint or steal focus. It was a movie content to let us get caught up in Bullock’s whirlwind; and I was content. But life seemed to be pretty darn easy for the Tuohy’s and even for Michael. Yes, they showed mild hints of racism, they showed Michael’s disaster of a mom, they showed that Michael did have to put in effort in both school and sport, but the Tuohy’s were a joyful group, never seeming to really have a big care in their big world in their big house with their big hearts. While The Blind Side kept carefully out of sensationalism, schmaltz and total stereotypes, it did live a little in the black and white. This was a movie without conflict. Sure, it showed some tiny flaws and exposed Michael’s slum background without making the rich the “saints” and the poor the “lowly,” but there was never any doubt that Michael was on his path to glory – until the college snafu. That was the only real hill that had to be climbed, and it almost felt forced in; like they HAD to finally have some conflict. Even with that said, their lightly white-washed world really didn’t bother me all that much. We are watching a movie, and movies aren’t reality. But this movie was based on reality. So, I guess that’s where my concern came in. I know I was also forgiving of the film’s flaws because I kept pinching myself, saying, “This is really a true story? This is a true story.” I was amazed at the kindness of strangers and felt myself being kind back. Even though the Tuohys were too good to be true, I forgave the film because I had admiration toward the real people behind the characters. Remember; it’s a true story, it’s a true story, it’s a true story. And whether or not the story was totally and utterly true, Bullock pulled out a truly memorable performance. I hope future Hallmark movies take a lesson from The Blind Side in creating a picture that has all the material to be a sappy, weepy, empowerment piece but lifts above that with a real, true human drama that is in turns as funny, charming, heart-warming, motivating and inspiring as The Blind Side. Rated: PG-13 Running time: 2 hours, 6 minutes Directed by: John Lee Hancock Written by: John Lee Hancock, based on the book by “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” by Michael Lewis Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quentin Aaron, Kathy Bates, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon, Jae Head |