PG-13 | Rottentomatoes.com Rating:70% | 2009 |
(Thematic elements, moderate language) | Picky Flicks Quote: The Blind Side ends up being a tear-jerker, a heart-warmer and a crowd-pleaser all in one." | RUNTIME: 2 hrs. 8 mins. |
Visit:www.screenit.com for complete details | Movie Mood:  Convicted |
Although I try to make a habit of recommending little known films on this site, there are times when a mainstream film warrants mention, and this is one of them. The Blind Side is hardly an off-the-radar film. In fact, it’s just earned mega-star, Sandra Bullock, her first ever Academy Award nomination, not to mention pulling in a whopping thirty million dollars its opening weekend (small potatoes for a blockbuster, but huge for an emotional drama like this one). I’m on the fence about whether Bullock deserved the nomination (or if, similar to Julia Robert’s nomination and then subsequent win for Erin Brockovich, the Academy is giving a nod of recognition to her many years of faithful “service” to Hollywood), but there’s no denying that her portrayal of protagonist, Leigh Ann Touhy, is both natural and compelling.
The Blind Side is the “inspired by a true story” tale of seventeen-year-old Michael Oher, an underprivileged black kid who rises from obscurity to NFL stardom as a result of being taken under the wings of the wealthy Touhy family. When we first meet him, Michael is the type of kid who “stays” on his friends’ couches when he can but more often than not, finds himself slumped in a plastic chair at the local Laundromat, warmed by the buzz and glow of the tumble dryers. Michael has very little going for him, except for the fact that he is huge (a characteristic that earns him the nickname Big Mike). That, in and of itself, isn’t usually a good thing in our body-conscious society, but for a kid hoping to get a college scholarship to play football, it’s a very good thing.
Not that that’s what Big Mike has in mind. In fact, he doesn’t usually seem to have much of anything on his mind, lowering his soulful brown eyes to the floor when spoken to, and, when prodded, finally offering up a mumbled, “I don’t know,” to most questions. But when a friend who owns one of the couches he crashes manages to sweet talk the coach of a private Christian high school into giving Mike a chance to enroll (the coach becomes considerably more amenable to the idea after seeing Big Mike stuffing a basketball through a hoop), it seems Mike’s prospects are improving.
Or are they? At his new, overwhelmingly whitebread school, Mike is little more than a novelty—a chocolate-colored giant in a world of vanilla midgets. He’s miserable, and he isn’t learning a thing. Then, one day, Leigh Ann Touhy notices Mike shuffling along in freezing weather wearing nothing but a worn polo shirt and cut-offs, and she orders her easygoing husband to turn the BMW around so she can accost Big Mike about whether he has a place to stay. As it turns out, he doesn’t, a discovery which prompts Leigh Ann to drag Michael back to her mansion (their family owns eighty-five Taco Bells/KFCs), where he sleeps on her couch, a $10,000 monstrosity that’s a far cry from the sagging heaps he’s used to.
Leigh Ann is clearly a fixer, a micromanager even. And while the film’s portrayal of her meddling ways is benign, amusing even (at one point, she bullies Michael into finally learning to tackle in earnest at a football practice by dragging other players over to him by their face masks or any other protruding article of clothing she can get her hands on; it might not sound funny, but it is), it’s easy to see how such an intense personality could get old and quickly. Still, somehow Michael’s meekness and Leigh Ann’s steam-roller ways complement each other—so much so that Michael ultimately finds himself calling this manicured Southern Barbie doll, “Mama,” while she proudly introduces him as her son.
The Blind Side is a manipulative movie. It wants you to cry, to cheer, to love the characters and enter wholeheartedly into their world. And, I must admit, I did cry, though probably not during the parts I was supposed to. I found it fairly easy to stay dry-eyed during the film’s final, triumphant moments when hugs and onscreen tears abound and the music swells. But watching the innocent Michael search his pockets for bus fare or sneak his only other shirt into someone else’s wash cycle at the Laundromat because he doesn’t have any quarters…that just about undid me.
Not surprisingly, The Blind Side works best during moments like the ones I just described, when it’s simply letting its characters be. That doesn’t happen that much, unfortunately, but neither does that mean that some of the more emotionally forced moments or klunkier dialogue completely undermine the film’s sweet nature and its message of redeeming oneself through the process of helping another.
Despite its foundation in reality, The Blind Side is ultimately a fairytale, the kind of situation that almost never works out. In fact, it seems so good to be true that the NCAA becomes suspicious, convinced that the Touhys have clothed, fed, and incorporated Michael into their household as a way of getting him to play for their alma mater, Ole Miss. Still, there seems to be some truth to the Touhy’s love for Michael, if the candid shots of the real-life family’s smiling interaction with the real-life Michael as the credits roll are any indication. And there’s no denying that Michael, who currently plays football for the NFL, now leads a drastically different life.
Although The Blind Side may be a tad trite and its loose ends a little too neatly snipped, many of the warm fuzzies it strives for are well-earned and its characters endearing, especially Leigh Ann, Michael, and Michael’s “little brother,” SJ (aka Sean Touhy Jr.). It’s hard to imagine asking for much more in a movie that glorifies selfless behavior and stepping out of one’s comfort box and has a happy ending.
If you go to see The Blind Side, remember to bring your optimism and some tissues with you. Who knows? Even the most cynical at heart may just find this movie sneaking up on them and landing a powerful tackle on their blind side. There's only one way to find out...
Until next Wednesday, stay picky! Your mind will thank you later.
Not surprisingly, The Blind Side works best during moments like the ones I just described, when it’s simply letting its characters be. That doesn’t happen that much, unfortunately, but neither does that mean that some of the more emotionally forced moments or klunkier dialogue completely undermine the film’s sweet nature and its message of redeeming oneself through the process of helping another.
Despite its foundation in reality, The Blind Side is ultimately a fairytale, the kind of situation that almost never works out. In fact, it seems so good to be true that the NCAA becomes suspicious, convinced that the Touhys have clothed, fed, and incorporated Michael into their household as a way of getting him to play for their alma mater, Ole Miss. Still, there seems to be some truth to the Touhy’s love for Michael, if the candid shots of the real-life family’s smiling interaction with the real-life Michael as the credits roll are any indication. And there’s no denying that Michael, who currently plays football for the NFL, now leads a drastically different life.
Although The Blind Side may be a tad trite and its loose ends a little too neatly snipped, many of the warm fuzzies it strives for are well-earned and its characters endearing, especially Leigh Ann, Michael, and Michael’s “little brother,” SJ (aka Sean Touhy Jr.). It’s hard to imagine asking for much more in a movie that glorifies selfless behavior and stepping out of one’s comfort box and has a happy ending.
If you go to see The Blind Side, remember to bring your optimism and some tissues with you. Who knows? Even the most cynical at heart may just find this movie sneaking up on them and landing a powerful tackle on their blind side. There's only one way to find out...
Until next Wednesday, stay picky! Your mind will thank you later.
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