The Blind Side (2009)

Today I was supposed to watch my "Force Fed Film," but like a fool I left the blu-ray at work. So instead I chose to watch The Blind Side. I've heard a lot of varying opinions on this film. A lot of people seemed to outright dismiss it, utterly certain it was bad just because of Sandra Bullock's presence. On the other hand, Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in this. Certainly though, the most vocal people were negative on the movie. I was in the mood for a sports movie, and I figured it was about time I watched this and decided for myself. Find my own thoughts on The Blind Side just after the jump!


There's not much to say about the story. The Blind Side is a biographical film about Michael Oher, played by Quinton Aaron; about how he met his adoptive family, and how he got into football. We see how he first gets into school, how he meets the Tuohy family, and how they become a real family together.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. I'd only see parts of trailers and from all the other advertising I'd seen, such as the poster, I was lead to believe this was a movie about Sandra Bullock being a football coach. Turns out it's not about that at all.

Michael Oher on his first football team

Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, wife and mother of two. She sees "Big Mike" walking down a cold rainy street and finds out he has no where to stay. It's about to be Thanksgiving, so she takes him in, and before you know it, offers to let him stay with them permanently. Soon she realizes that while she can give him clothes and food and a place to sleep, his quiet, respectful, and humble ways are rubbing off on the family.

I really liked Sandra Bullock in this role, and it seemed quite different than previous roles I've seen her in. Sure I've seen her be tough before, but it always just felt like she was putting on an act, just putting on a brave face. In this though, she simply was a tough woman you didn't want to really mess with. At the same time, you could tell she was a loving mother and Michael really meant a lot to her. As for Quinton Aaron, I thought he did an alright job portraying Oher. The only thing that bothered me slightly was that he came off seeming mentally handicapped sometimes, when I really don't think he was supposed to be like that. It's a fine line though, between being very shy, and looking like you don't understand what people are saying. For the most part though, he did alright.

The complete Tuohy family's first Thanksgiving together

I'd say the only parts that I had problems with were the emphasis they put on the little boy of the family. He's in a ton of scenes with Michael Oher acting as his personal trainer and just generally spending time together. While I can see what they were going for, it was supposed to be cute/funny, I just found the kid really annoying. Either a different kid, or cut these scenes out, it's hard to say what would be better.

As for the actual football going on, I wished it had been better. It wasn't thrilling or action packed, which seems impossible for football. It didn't seem too bad, it just wasn't the strength of the movie, which is unfortunate because that's probably the main reason people would watch The Blind Side. It's why I put it on.

A heart-to-heart between mother and son

In the end I thought The Blind Side was alright. Not great, but definitely not a bad movie. Its strengths lay in the drama and family story, rather than in the sport which is what I think most people would be expecting. For that reason, I think that's why I heard so many negative opinions when it came out. The people who primarily went to see it probably went for the football, but what they got was a mother/son bonding movie. It has good messages and some good characters, it's just not as action oriented as I think most people would want. At the very least, it's a good biographical film for a man who has an amazing upbringing and a fortunate sequence of events that brought him to where he is. If anything can be taken away from this film, it's that you should never give up. If Michael Ohers can go from nothing, living on the streets, and end up a star NFL player... well, you know how it goes from there.