Average Hollywood treatment of true life tale of Christian charity

Rating: 5/10 (29 May 2010)

The Blind Side is one of those movies that manages to evoke a huge difference in opinion as to whether the film works or not. I'm somewhere in the middle. Certainly the saga of the White Republican Tuohy family who takes in Michael Oher, a black kid from the 'other side of the tracks' and then helps him to become what he has become today, a very successful NFL star football player, is an inspirational tale of true Christian charity. On the other hand, the story is riddled with so many clichés that ultimately the film devolves into a predictable Hollywood tale of an underprivileged youth making it in the sports world.
Some posters argue that the white characters in the film, particularly the Tuohy family themselves, come off as saintly and the black characters are all presented as negative stereotypes. I don't see that at all. For starters, the first black character we meet, 'Big Tony' Hamilton, is a self-sufficient and kindly man who ends up being responsible for getting Big Mike into the Wingate Christian school where he eventually thrives. Leigh Anne Tuohy is hardly a saint as she is depicted as sensitive but also a thoroughly pushy and sometimes obnoxious woman who is capable at times, of putting her foot in her mouth. While Michael Oher is a slow learner, the film makes it quite clear that he has street smarts and inherently is a lot smarter than what the teachers at the Wingate school pegged him to be. Unfortunately, the film's scenarists know a lot more about Leigh Anne Tuohy's personality than Michael Oher's. This is perhaps the major shortcoming of the film as the warm, winning ways of Oher are not shown here; rather, he's depicted as thoroughly introverted and socially inept and rookie actor Quinton Aaron is unable to make much of a part that is quite thin to begin with.
The first third of the movie is perhaps the most moving as it shows Leigh Anne's Tuohy's growing realization that she has led an isolated life. In a most poignant scene, Tuohy is startled when Michael reveals that he's never slept in a bed before. Leigh Anne's willingness to take Michael in is tested in the scene involving the car accident. After Sean Tuohy Sr. buys Michael a new car, he gets into a car accident while the the young SJ is in the passenger seat. Somehow all is forgiven when it's revealed that Michael prevents the full force of the air bag from hitting SJ. Never discussed are the events preceding the crash—Michael and SJ are engaged in singing a rap song without Michael paying attention to the traffic ahead of them. I also wondered if Leigh Anne would have forgiven Michael so easily had SJ actually been seriously injured in the accident or even killed. Christian charity I suppose has its limits!
Once Oher is acclimated to his new family, 'The Blind Side' picks up the Hollywood mantle and offers up another tired and long-winded high school football scene, replete with the young SJ obnoxiously 'coaching' Oher before the big game along with Leigh Anne later fending off the token white racist in the stands. Oher not only gains confidence as a defensive tackle but the big teddy bear flips an opposing player over a fence after the bully has been mocking him before every play (how cute!).
Again, the second half of 'The Bind Side' ends up with mixed results. There's more 'cute' stuff when Leigh Anne hires a tutor (Kathy Bates) who tutors Michael to get his grade point average high enough to qualify for college. Liberal Hollywood needs to let us know that the tutor is a Democrat so that both conservative Republicans (the Tuohy family) and a Democrat both have a hand in helping Michael reach his goal. There's a stab at comedy when all the college recruiters start courting Michael and again the obnoxious child actor who plays SJ attempts to get the 'best deal' for himself in the event that Michael is recruited (stuff like walking out on the field at the beginning of the college football season).
When an NCAA Investigator questions the Tuohy family's motives in 'adopting' Michael after he accepts an invitation to attend Ole Miss, Michael impulsively returns to his old ghetto haunts. There he's taunted by Alton, the head gang member, brilliantly played by IronE Singleton (this actor has the potential to be a major star!) Michael gets into a fight with Alton and gets the better of him and then disappears. Leigh Anne looks high and low for Michael and confronts Alton. Some posters say the scene is implausible since the gang member would have retaliated when Leigh Anne challenged him. I'm not so sure—when she claims that she's friends with the DA, that in itself might have given Alton pause to take revenge. After all, he's a drug dealer who doesn't want any outsiders calling attention to his business. Finally Leigh Anne finds Michael after he calls her. There's a reconciliation and Michael of course goes on to graduate from high school and is drafted by the NFL.
Sandra Bullock does an excellent job of conveying the brash personality of Leigh Anne Tuohy. Tim McGraw as Sean Sr. and Lily Collins as Collins Tuohy have little to do during the film. As previously mentioned, the youngster SJ (played by Jae Head) is simply obnoxious and Quinton Aaron does not know how to make Michael Oher into an engaging character. As 'The Blind Side' is based on a true story, it certainly is worth watching. Just don't expect much complexity when it comes to the majority of its characters.