I tend to like movies that deal with sports even though I don’t care for sports. I’d been wanting to see The Blind Side since I first saw previews for it.
Teenager Michael Oher has had a difficult life. His mother is addicted to drugs and he basically has no relationship with his father. He has grown up in a bad area of town. The father of a friend manages to get him into a private religious school, but Michael struggles once he is there. S.J. Tuohy starts to talk to Michael. One evening, the Tuohy family spots Michael walking home in the cold. Leigh Anne steps in and decides to take Michael home with the family. It doesn’t take long for Michael to become a member of the family. He starts playing football and does well enough that college scouts start watching him. His grades keep improving with the help of Miss Sue, a tutor.
The movie is based on a book about football that focused on two stories. One was about how the game had changed and how the tackle protecting the blind side of the quarterback has become such an important player. The second story was about Michael Oher. I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know what was changed for the movie. Things are usually changed at least a little even in true stories. Some aspects of the story are predictable, but I don’t think that keeps the movie from being entertaining.
A lot of what happens is more serious, but there is also a decent amount of humor. Most of the humor is provided by things that Leigh Anne says or does. I think there is a good balance between the serious and humorous things in the movie. Football is important to what is going on in the movie, but there isn’t a lot of football shown in it. There is more focus on how Michael and the Tuohy family come together and change. The cast does a wonderful job with their parts, especially Sandra Bullock.
I really liked this movie and think it is one of the better movies I’ve seen this year. It is definitely worth seeing.
I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.
The Blind Side