The Blind Side: A Sight for Sore Eyes

At first look, The Blind Side may seem like another condescending tale about the plight of an African-American and the intervention of a benevolent white person. Lest you allow familiar Hollywood commentaries on race and paternalism to avert your eyes from this film, I urge you to do a double take.

The Blind Side is based on Michael Lewis’s 2006 book which tells the true story of Michael Oher, current offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. We first meet “Big Mike” (Quinton Aaron) as an introverted, homeless teen with a dark past caught only in glimpses within rapid flashbacks. After a prep school football coach (Ray McKinnon) convinces his colleagues that admitting Michael is the “right thing” to do regardless of his athletic ability (yeah, right), the gentle giant assumes his place as the odd man out on an all-white campus.

With a deplorable GPA and teachers who are less than encouraging, his future doesn’t appear to possess much promise. When tenacious Memphis decorator/sexy soccer mom, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), resolves to take Michael under her designer-adorned wing, the talent, character, and strength of our humble hero begin to emerge.

Welcomed into the family with love and lavished with food, clothing, and his very first bed, Michael’s grades and self-esteem begin to improve, and he tries out for spring football. Like Coach Cotton, audiences may expect Michael to be an unstoppable steamroller on the gridiron given the aggression surely wrought by his rough childhood; on the contrary, Mother Teresa would have been a more effective left tackle her first time on the field. Immediately after Leigh Anne delivers a pep talk instructing Michael to associate his team with she and her family, his protective instincts suddenly coalesce into a force of NCAA-coveted nature. Coaches and recruiters from top universities flock to practices and show up one by one at the Tuohy’s doorstep, each vying to endear themselves to Michael, often by making grandiose promises to his new little brother, S.J., played by the buoyant and lovable, Jae Head.

The film was undoubtedly produced with the holiday season in mind as very little conflict and suspense threaten to erode the rosy family photo. Save for a few of Leigh Anne’s priggish friends and a menacing drug dealer, the story glides by smooth as Santa’s sleigh until an NCAA bureaucrat tries to place a road block in the way of a happy ending.

Some may criticize director John Lee Hancock’s uncomplicated rendition, but I for one never reject a wholesome cup of holiday cheer. This movie had audience members applauding and laughing throughout; I only sniffled a few times. The cameos of real-life football coaches were highly entertaining as were the adorable repartees between Sean Tuohy (Tim McGraw) and his wife and the endearing friendship of S.J. and Michael which, quite honestly, reminded me of Donkey and Shrek.

4.5 out of 5 stars