The Curious Case of the Hollywood Treatment

Rating: 5/10 (16 January 2010)

"The Blind Side" isn't awful, as some critics are writing. It's also not terrific, as some viewers are saying. It's a mediocre movie with moments of greatness.
As a Baltimore resident, I love to see the Ravens logo emblazoned on screen. Michael Ohers strikes me as both a respectable player and a respectable man. His story is an inspiring one; Ohers rose from poor circumstances and became a national figure. But this isn't the story you get when you put your $10 in the ticket slot, buy your buttery popcorn, and sit down in your sticky seat at the local cinema.
"The Blind Side" is essentially about a dumb, poor, black man who finds salvation at the hands of a sassy white woman. Clearly, this is not the story of Michael Ohers. I'm not accusing the Hollywood producers responsible for the film of racism, but rather of opportunism. They obviously decided that this sports story would be best served as a Sandra Bullock movie, complete with "comedic" stock characters and "humorously" ironic situations.These Bullock-pampering comic scenes are then juxtaposed with clearly exaggerated and dramatized serious scenes. The effect is an uneven dramedy with some thudding jokes and some unintentional laughs. Toby Keith and Kathy Bates don't bring much to the table as Bullock's husband and Michael's teacher. However, the film doesn't completely collapse.
Sandra Bullock gives one of the best performances of her career. With a game Southern accent and a tough-as-nails attitude, she turns a stereotype into a flesh-and-blood character. Her comedic timing has always been good, and it works especially well here. At the same time, she brings gravitas to her character's more trying moments. Bullock carries the film. While her character's role in Ohers' life is overplayed, her work saves the film from the "DUD" label.
Some of the comedy falls flat, Ohers comes off as a wholly dependent idiot, and the film's realism is shaky at times. Still, it's worth seeing the film for Bullock's performance.