Overrated but Watchable

Rating: 6/10 (19 March 2015)

he Blind Side is the 2009 biographical drama that examines the relationship between a wealthy socialite named Leigh Ann Tuohy and a homeless teenager named Michael Oher, who would eventually go on to a successful career in college football and eventually would be the 2009 round one draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens.
The film is supposed to be about the relationship between these two central characters; however, their relationship is not the primary focus of the film, as it should be, which is the main reason the film doesn't really work as it should.
Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance as Leigh Ann, a strong-willed matriarch with a heart as big as all outdoors who sees Michael walking on a deserted road in the rain one night and, upon learning he has no place to stay, decides to take him in and it is the slow burn of the relationship between Leigh Ann and Michael that is supposed to be the heart of this story; unfortunately, I found the relationship that develops between Michael and Leigh Ann's son, SJ, a lot more compelling than his relationship with Leigh Ann.
I also think the film loses points for trying to encompass a little too much. The film begins to veer off track as we watch Leigh Ann being mocked by her high society girlfriends and watch Michael being tracked down by the NAACP when Leigh Ann's motives for helping Michael come into question. Writer director John Lee Hancock should have kept the focus of his screenplay where it seems to belong...on Leigh Ann's dedication to helping Michael carve out a new life for himself via a career in college football. Despite the fact that the basis of her inspiration for him lies in some kind of test he took where he allegedly made high scores in the category of "protective instincts." I went to high school and college and don't remember ever having taken any kind of test regarding "protective instincts", though it does provide the impetus for one of Bullock's best moments in the film, where she interrupts Michael's troublesome football practice by offering familial analogies to help Michael do what he has to do on that field.
The fact that this story is based on real people and events also had me questioning certain parts of the story and their credibility, which easily could have been glossed over or altered for the sake of a more entertaining story. I find it a little hard to believe that Leigh Ann's husband and family were so immediately accepting of Leigh Ann's decision to bring this stranger into their home. I also found it troubling that before beginning proceedings to become Michael's legal guardian that Leigh Ann actually went to Michael's crack-addicted mother to let the woman know what her plans were and the fact that Leigh Ann wasn't troubled by the fact that the woman wasn't terribly upset by the news was also troubling.
Sandra Bullock gives a solid performance as Leigh Ann and I understand to a point why she won the Oscar...it was her turn I guess, but personally, I think Bullock has done better work. For the record though, I LOVE Bullock as a blonde.
Country singer Tim McGraw charms as Leigh Ann's wealthy husband, who just seems to go along with everything Leigh Ann wants a little too easily and I find it hard to believe that the real Sean Tuohy was as easy going about this whole thing as the character in the movie is. Quinton Aaron is refreshingly natural as Michael as is Jae Head as young SJ. Mention should also be made of a very entertaining performance by Ray McKinnon as Michael's high school football coach, who is initially baffled by Michael but loved taking credit for everything he did.
John Lee Hancock had a very Oscar-baity story here that he is only partially successful in presenting. Despite problems in story construction and improper focus on character relationships, the film is worth checking out, but it is not everything that it has been made out to be.