Review: The Blind Side (2009)

[Steve Rhodes]

THE BLIND SIDE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2009 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  ***

THE BLIND SIDE is a wonderfully old-fashioned and decidedly inspirational 
sports film that will call to mind many other movies, especially ones like 
RUDY, in which an unlikely player makes it.  But THE BLIND SIDE does have at 
least one completely unique aspect.  It's about a kid who overcomes a very 
low IQ and a childhood spent in a long series of foster homes and eventually 
makes it into the National Football League.

The only potential problem for THE BLIND SIDE is that, were it not a true 
story, which it is, viewers would likely simply write it off as being 
completely unbelievable.  Bookended with footage and still shots of the real 
Michael Oher, a guy with an IQ of 80 and an initial high school GPA of 0.6, 
and the real Leigh Anne Touhy, a Southern woman with a big heart and an 
unstoppable persistence who adopted the teenage Michael, the movie makes 
sure that we remember it's a true story.

Director John Lee Hancock (THE ROOKIE) lays on the schmaltz at times, and 
the movie is longer than it needs, but it is consistently genuine and 
touching.  While not nearly as good as classic sports movies like HOOSIERS, 
THE BLIND SIDE never loses control of your mind or your heart.  You'll be 
with it, cheering the whole time.  One surprise is that, except for the 
introduction, the movie eschews any time on the football field until a full 
hour has passed.

When we first meeting Michael, who is now a professional right tackle, he is 
a homeless kid nicknamed Big Mike who doesn't speak and who may or may not 
be completely illiterate.  His size and hence his potential for being an 
athlete get him a scholarship to a Christian high school in Memphis, 
Tennessee, but whether he'll ever get on a team is problematic.  First, he 
has to get his grades up considerably to be eligible.  This appears to be an 
insurmountable hurdle for him.  He eventually makes it past this, even if 
just barely.  But even when he does start to play, his coach complains in 
disgust that Big Mike "looks like Tarzan but plays like Jane." This initial 
assessment is dead-on, since Big Mike is, by his nature, a classic gentle 
giant who doesn't want to hurt anyone, even a little.

Michael, played with a beautifully understated performance by Quinton Aaron, 
is taken in by Leigh Anne and her family and eventually adopted.  In one of 
many acts of unselfish grace, Leigh Anne works hard to give Michael more 
than just a bed, something he usually goes without; she gives him a real 
home.  In probably her best performance ever, Sandra Bullock is downright 
brilliant as Leigh Anne.  As in CRASH, Bullock proves again that she is much 
better at drama than comedy.  She nails her character in a performance 
that's hard to forget.  The world would be a much better place if more 
people were like Bullock's Leigh Anne.

The film is also quite funny, with Leigh Anne's young son S.J. (Jae Head, 
"Friday Night Lights) providing much of the humor.  By the time the film 
ends, you'll have bonded completely with the characters, and you'll have 
shared some good laughs with them too.

THE BLIND SIDE runs a little long at 2:08.  It is rated PG-13 for "one scene 
involving brief violence, drug and sexual references" and would be 
acceptable for kids around 9 and up.

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, November 14, 2009. 
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Cinemark 
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.

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Email: Steve.Rhodes at InternetReviews.com

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