The Blind Side

As with any sports movie, you must have an underdog to cheer for, and Michael Oher is that underdog. Having been removed by CPS from his crack-addicted mother's home as a child and bounced from foster home to foster home, Oher has been staying on a friend's couch. He is reluctantly accepted to a private school when the football coach sees potential in him and pressures the school's admissions board to give him a chance.

Unfortunately, being an undereducated black youth in a predominantly white private school doesn't magically turn his life around, and in addition to struggling to understand his classes, he finds himself sleeping in an all night laundromat after the stay at the friend's house ends. While walking on a cold, rainy night , Oher is offered a ride and then a place to sleep for the night by Leigh Anne Tuohy, whose children attend the same school Michael does. It's this single act of kindness that begins a chain of events that will change this underdog's life, eventually resulting in his being a top 2009 NFL draft pick and signing with the Baltimore Ravens.

Sandra Bullock is powerful in her performance of Leigh Anne Touhy. This is far from an easy character to portray as she is very headstrong and knows what she wants in life and won't let down. I really feel that the portrayal is what the real Mrs. Touhy is like and that I would not see differences. I am really happy that she won the best actress Oscar for her amazing performance. For me though Jae Head steals the show with is perfromance as S.J. You can not help but simply smile anytime he is on camera because his smile is definitely contagious. Most of the laughs and clever sayings come from him and his interactions especially during the recruiting process.

This movie does exactly what a sports movie does, it uplifts and inspires. The telling of this story does a great job at giving this feeling through all the different ups and downs. As the audience if we can feel for the character then we will root for him. Quinton Aaron does a great job as Michael Oher, you really feel not only his shyness but his awkwardness at being this giant of a teenager in a very unfamiliar setting for him. While he does not have a ton of dialogue within the film he tells his story from his create facial reactions and feelings that really shine through, yet when he does have lines they are great and he works so well with everyone.

A great aspect of this film is that it appeals to everyone. While it may be considered a sports movie, the football aspect is actually a tiny percent of the film. The real aspect of this film is how we can make differences in each others lives. It is a great story and while I am sure parts of it has been glitzed up by Hollywood, it is amazing to know this is a true story and that no matter how bad society is at times that stories like this still exist.

For this being such a great inspirational story, and such strong performance throughout, I am giving this movie four and half buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a great movie that one should make sure to have in their collection, because it can help to restore your faith in humanity.

-The Movie Man-