THE BLIND SIDE Review

It may just be another inspirational sports movie, it may just be another drama about the fortunate helping the not so fortunate, it may also be just another film about an unconventional family, but what makes THE BLIND SIDE powerful is not only the fact-based message but its ability to… connect with the audience on a personal level, mostly thanks to writer/director John Lee Hancock’s heartwarming adaptation. THE BLIND SIDE is one of the most remarkable stories this year, you will stand up and cheer and your faith in people will be renewed.

A homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, Oher (Quinton Aaron) is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential on and off the football field. At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhys’ lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own.
Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.

John Lee Hancock has dealt with sports stories before, tackling The Rookie back in 2002, starring Dennis Quaid, now instead of the problem of being too old, Hancock’s latest character, Michael Oher faces problems of people doubting him due to his shady background, his size and his color. Based on a book by Michael Lewis but Hancock’s story basically gets Oher’s life to revolve around those three obstacles.

Inviting a stranger into your house, letting him stay over for more than one nights can be a frightening thing and luckily Hancock doesn’t make the Touhy family some kind of martyrs or saints. Even they have their doubts. Throughout the entire movie, we always see, with the exception of the naive little son S.J., we always see the Touhy’s often rethinking, reconsidering whether or not they’re doing something right or they should make other arrangements instead. For all we know, Oher could be some kind of a rapist, thief, or a murderer, a seemingly gentle giant but with a potential psychotic breakdown. Hancock puts us in the Touhy’s shoes as we’re concerned what others may think of us, may speak about us behind our backs, or that we may be worried what a big boy in the house might do to our teenage daughter. It’s a PG-13 movie but those fears are still presented and Hancock thread them gently.

It takes a while for me to actually like Sandra Bullock’s character, Leigh Anne. She comes across as a self-righteous rich lady who wants to help a poor colored boy either because of guilt or to show off the good charity she can do. But after a while, I see Leigh Anne, more like Erin Brockovich. High maintenance, gorgeous ‘cougar’, Leigh Anne is a tough character that doesn’t take crap from nobody and yet, she has a big heart. Bullock is exceptional as Leigh Anne, Bullcock might not win an Oscar like Julia Roberts did, but THE BLIND SIDE goes to show that Bullock is one of the strongest, marketable female lead stars in Hollywood. She plays Leigh Anne with such energy, fearlessness and charm.

What’s great about THE BLIND SIDE is that Hancock always finds a crack and slips in a few one-liners and effective humor, this job seems to be given a lot to Tim McGraw. This movie is filled with lines that will knock the wind out of you and give you that wake-up call, a reminder of human triumph. When Big Mike says he never had a bed before, it takes a while for Leigh Anne to fully grasp the magnitude of what just happened. At the same time the story is also filled with family-friendly, harmless (some may push the edge a bit) jokes that tickle your funny bones.
If there’s one tiny problem, I think the movie’s runtime could’ve been trimmed a bit. However, on second thought, it’s wise for writer/director Hancock to make Michael briefly return to his old neighborhood because the question of why the Touhy’s would go through all that trouble and more just for Michael needs to be answered in order to silence the doubters once and for all and close the case for good.

Oher doesn’t change Leigh Anne’s lifestyle or how she holds her head high with pride, Oher changes Leigh Anne in a way that keeps her feet on the ground. There’s nothing wrong with being rich but there is something wrong with not doing anything selfless with the riches that you’ve been blessed with. THE BLIND SIDE shows you the difference between the true Christians and the pretend Christians. The intentions of the heart will eventually reveal themselves. What the Touhy’s basically do with Oher’s life is that they take a chance and they’re willing to go through with it. When Leigh Anne says Mike can do anything he wants to do and Mike tests her by saying he might want to flip burgers, Leigh Anne once again takes a chance and says yes, knowing that she now has full confidence in Mike that he would wisely decide and do what is right for his own future.
You’ll never know if you could make a difference in someone’s life unless you’re willing to take that chance.

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