The Blind Side

Released: 2009
MPAA rating: PG-13
Run time: 2:08

"The Blind Side" probably fits under the inspirational sports movie umbrella, but the sports plays a very small part of the story.  In fact, the genius of this movie is that the filmmakers have figured out how to make a "football chick flick".  We follow the story of NFL player Michael Oher (Quintin Aaron) who is a homeless teenager taken in by an affluent white family, who help him get an education and to make himself a big-time football player.  Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, the matriarch of the family who decides to help this poor young man and make him part of the family.  Bullock has been getting lots of attention and is winning awards for her performance.  She is very good, but I am not so sure it is anything really ground-breaking or award winning.  She is actually playing the same part she played in "Crash", without the racism.  The movie details Oher's beginnings at a catholic high school and Touhy's discovery that he is homeless when she sees him walking in the rain to find a place to sleep.  She initially takes him in for the night and her family begins to see him as one of their own, leading to her and her husband (Tim McGraw) being named his legal guardian.  The movie is very well-acted and well-written.  It is funny when it needs to be funny and very heartwarming overall.  My only issue with the movie is Hollywood's need to make a great story even better than it is.  When Oher first begins to play football for the school, he has no concept of the game and needs Tuohy to talk to him like a three-year old so he can get it.  From what I have read, Oher was already playing football in his younger years and this scene was very much over the top.  While it is an amusing scene that marks a turning point in the movie, it just seems like this story is great enough without that embellishment.

Grade: B+

Trailer: