Great job, especially Bullock

Rating: Null/10 (30 April 2012)

Even before this movie, Sandra Bullock was one of my favorite actresses. And not just because she is gorgeous. She looks good enough with dark hair, but being a blonde (as Leigh Anne is) doesn't make her prettier despite what most people say about blondes. She does look good enough for me to wonder if Faith got jealous, but there's much more to her here of course.
I have to disagree that Bullock was the obvious choice for best actress on all the awards shows, but she certainly deserved a nomination. Some of her best moments include teaching Michael how to play football and putting Alton from the 'hood in his place. Leigh Anne is a force to be reckoned with, and she has a sarcastic sense of humor.
Of course there was more to this movie than just Bullock's performance. It's an inspiring story overall, and Quinton Aaron is a wonderful gentle giant, easy to like, friendly and intelligent with a sense of humor. For someone who has been through all he has, Michael has such a good attitude.
Jae Head does a great job for such a young actor. Michael's "little brother" is quite a standout.
Tim McGraw doesn't remind me at all of the country singer. He holds his own against a strong, intelligent wife, and he's easy to like, but he knows his place.
Someone else who deserves a mention: Eric Benson, #66 on the first team Michael played against. He intends to make Michael's life miserable and found out Michael was a giant creampuff. The taunts never ended until Michael learned just how deal with him, and how he did it was memorable and humorous.
Michael's teachers are quite patient with him. He just needs to be taught in the way he could learn. There are lots of good performances among the Wingate faculty.
Kathy Bates does a good job as Michael's tutor, but except for her horror story about the Knoxville stadium, I have to say she did slightly better in the other movie I saw her in on the same day--a humorous version of the Jesse James story.
There are issues this movie hints at but doesn't deal with fully. Michael grew up in the 'hood and has an African-American heritage, and the issue of racism is touched on briefly, but there's not a lot of real conflict. Leigh Anne's friends make some insensitive comments, but they can easily be forgiven. They do have a lesson to learn.
I was surprised at the TV-14 rating ABC gave this. Only a couple of violent scenes in the 'hood would be worthy of this. This is actually a family movie. Though Michael's old friends have such dirty mouths, and one word generally edited out of movies before broadcast is not in this case. While Michael has such a calm attitude, he can only be pushed so far.
The obvious Oscar winner? I don't think so, but it was well worth seeing.