Delivers what you'd expect.

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2010)

A quintessential feel-good movie, about the only thing unexpected here is that Dennis Quaid didn't play the father! Instead we get Tim McGraw hiding under a wig and delivering a fairly decent performance as the successful hen-pecked husband of Sandra Bullock. The Blind Side is the mostly true story of Michael Oher, a disadvantaged Memphis teen who is taken in by a wealthy family and turned into a good student and a great offensive tackle. I just watched Oher and his Baltimore teammates run wild over Tom Brady's Patriots today, as a matter of fact.
Obviously when you go to see a movie like this, you already know the ending. Unless you don't watch football or have no idea who Micheal Oher is. So the challenge for the filmmakers is to construct a compelling story of how he got to where he is today. And for the most part John Lee Hancock and company make it worthwhile. Not only do we come away understanding Oher's very difficult childhood, be we also get a feel for just how big a risk the Touhy family is potentially taking by inviting him into their home. Though it is suggested at one point that they are only grooming a great athlete for service at their alma mater, we can clearly see that the Touhys care about Michael as a student and a person as well.
The cast is generally up to the task at hand. Bullock is fairly convincing as an attractive southern belle whose idea it originally is to offer Michael a place to stay. Will she get any Oscar consideration? Probably not, but who knows. Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher might have been a bit too pudgy for the role but his portrayal will make you care about the man's plight. There are also quite a few real-life coaches playing themselves to varying degrees of success. None of these men currently hold the coaching positions they did when this movie takes place. Congrats to Tommy Tuberville on his getting the Texas Tech job this weekend. He's a good man who won't be locking any players in closets like someone we know. Football fans more than anyone else will like this movie best of course. 8 of 10 stars.
The Hound.