Movie Review: The Blind Side

The movie opens with a few minutes of voice-over as Leigh Ann Touhy (Sandra Bullock), tells the story of how Lawrence Taylor changed football history in a matter of seconds. Personally, I felt it was the best part of the movie and I am NOT a big fan of voice-over because more often then not, it is used to make up for poor movie making. But in The Blind Side, it provides a little education about the game of football including the importance of the left tackle position. I feel smarter. The movie is based on the true story of Michael Oher who was rescued from abject poverty by the Touhy's; clothed, fed, tutored, nurtured and groomed to be a sought after football player. And it's true, they did that and I believe they did it out of the goodness of their hearts. But how do you make a movie like this and not make it feel like; you found a puppy (in the pouring rain no less) and everybody in the family is jumping around asking "can we keep him?" I don't know how and neither did the director, John Lee Hancock. It's actually not all that manipulative (which I appreciate), but it does not engender the kind of emotion that I thought it would (or hoped it would). It is well acted. The only weak-link is Quinton Aron who plays Michael. He does not have the acting ability to play this part without appearing like a caricature of the role. Bullock is perfect and, quite frankly, never better as the no-nonsense, southern bell who protects her interest in Michael like a tiger. There is a Guess Who's Coming to Dinner-like scene, where Leigh Ann walks away from a lunch with her condescending friends. It is very reminiscent of when Katherine Hepburn sends her friend off down the driveway: "..take the check....and get permanently lost. It's not that I don't want to know you, although I don’t, it's just that I'm afraid we're not really the sort of people that you can afford to be associated with." Remember that? How great was that. Not everybody can be Katherine Hepburn and not every movie can be Guess who's Coming to Dinner. Tim McGraw does a nice job as the husband but the best acting and most endearing role is that of the little brother, S.J., played by Jae Head. He is adorable, funny, fast talking and provides the movie with its comic relief. And I loved the credits where you get to see photos and video clips of the real-life Touhy family. They're not as good-looking as their movie counterparts but you can see their genuine affection and you can imagine this very heartwarming story, playing out. It makes the whole movie worth it. It does not need a big screen so I can safely say you can wait for it to come out on DVD. Although, truthfully, there is not much out there so if you want to kill a few a hours, you will not be disappointed. It is also a "feel good" movie and we can all use a little "feel good" right now.

The real Touhy family with Michael Oher