2009 Review #61: The Blind Side

The Blind Side

Rated PG-13

(one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references)

2 hour 8 minutes

Storyline:
Oversized African American Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), the teen son of a murdered father and a crack-addicted mother, is homeless at age 16. Taken in by an affluent Memphis couple, Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and Sean (Tim McGraw), Michael embarks on a remarkable rise to play for the NFL. Based on Michael Lewis's bestseller, this inspirational sports tale also stars Kathy Bates as Michael's persistent tutor, Miss Sue.

Starring:

Sandra Bullock

Quinton Aaron

Tim McGraw

Critics Grade:

B-

(Consensus: It might strike some viewers as a little too pat, but The Blind Side has the benefit of strong source material and a strong performance from Sandra Bullock.)

My Grade:
A-

I wasn't 100% sure about this movie when I saw the previews. I don't really know why I wasn't sure if I'd like, but I still wanted to give it a shot. I'll let you in on a little secret, I've always been a fan of Sandra Bullock (Crash, The Proposal). I don't know why she get's a lot of crap from people, but she's reliable when she picks the right role. So yeah, 85% of the reason I ultimately saw this movie was because Bullock is the star, and a $35 million weekend at the box office next to "New Moon" means that a lot of people probably have the same feeling I do.

I'm glad I went and saw The Blind Side. I actually thoroughly enjoyed this movie as a whole. The consensus at Rotten Tomatoes is right, this movie has a strong source material which makes the film that much more better. It's not the same old football story about a crappy team that never wins that defies all the odds to win a championship. This is a remarkable story about one man who never had any real love on his side, find love from a family who help him get through school and ultimately drafted by a pro football team. It's a pretty solid tale, and a true one at that. You can tell they "Hollywood-ized" the story however, and that's where most of it's flaws come from.Mainly it's littered with cliches. There are many moments that I don't know actually happened in the real life story. Some of things only happen in movies to make it more appealing and to add more drama. Lines like, "I'm not changing his life, he's changing mine" sounded kind of corny. Mainly because we don't really know how he affected this woman's life because for we know she was already a very loving, strong willed woman. We don't know much back story of the family, so when we hear lines like that it all sounds too "scripted" and not very authentic. There are a couple lines like that in the film that just added on the cheese factor.

That being said, this has quite a moving story to tell. Overall it was very well written. It has this engaging, fun spirited quality to it. You really love these characters, they make you smile, they make you think about your own inner self. They make you wonder if YOU could do what this family did. It kind of inspires us to think about our situations in life. Makes us wonder how much of ourselves we focus on, as opposed to thinking for and caring for others. We have to care for ourselves of course, but there are tons and tons of people out there who need that love to be focused on them and not our own selfishness. Maybe I'm getting off track here, but these are the things this movie made me think of after my trip to the theater. Is it going to change my life drastically? No, sadly not. I wish I could be as selfless as that woman. I wish I had her courage and inner strength.

That being said, let me move on now. Sandra Bullock probably gives her very best performance here. I thought she deserved some award attention for Crash, where she proved she has dramatic acting chops. She takes that ability to the max in this film. Her whole performance feels so true to life and authentic. You believe her as this woman, she becomes this woman. We pull for her, we root for her, we love her. At least I did. If she got an Oscar nomination for this film (which yes, there IS talk of) I would certainly not complain. I just don't know if it was powerful enough to garner a nod, but we will see. She held her own though, she deserves attention for this performance. Finally she comes out of that romantic comedy shell and shows us what she can really do. Bravo to her! The guy who plays Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), doesn't do such a good job at acting here. He's actually kind of bad, which makes me feel bad for even saying that. He doesn't really get much time to speak in the film though (kind of weird since the story is about him). We learn a lot about his past, but we don't really get to much of an insight into the guy. The few lines he does get, I think Aaron could have done a better job at bringing this character to life. We still like him though, and we want him to succeed.

This movie won't appeal to most manly men out there. This is NOT your normal football movie. In fact, football doesn't become to much of the story until about mid-way through. This is more of a story about how a Christian family selflessly takes in an orphan that no one wants to give a rat's ass about, and shows him love. They show him the kindness of people. They give him a new life. It really is a touching story that I just loved. Stick around after the credits to see the real life pictures of these characters and it all comes together. It did for me. It hit me when I saw those pictures how real this story is, and I'm glad I got to see this tale come to life. This movie is carried by a solid story and career best, award worthy performance from Sandra Bullock and I would say to anyone to go and see it!! I thought it was one of the better movies of the year. Not the BEST, or even in the top five, just one of the better ones I've seen. Solid flick!