reviewed by Ella G.
     

for BEST PICTURE; MAGNIFICENT PERFORMANCE [ Sandra Bullock ]

They could qualify for Memphis, Tennessee’s model family. The husband owns eighty-four Taco Bell franchises, thus they are prosperous and well off financially; there’s a good looking wife and two wonderful children who attend Wyngate Christian School. The Touhy family appears to be living the American dream.

Contrast that picture with that of Michael Oher. “Big Mike” is a black boy from “the other side of the tracks.” His mother is an addict; he has no idea who his dad is. Michael has no home to call his own; he barely has two sets of clothes. To top it off, his grades are lousy. All of these circumstances would point to him not amounting to much in life except for one thing—he is big and can play sports. This ability causes a coach at Wyngate to sit up and take notice of Michael, thus enabling him to get an education. But everyone seems to count him a hopeless case—that is everyone except Leigh Anne Touhy (Sandra Bullock). After pulling Michael out of the cold and rain, Leigh Anne and Sean (Tim McGraw) bring him home to their house, giving him a warm place to sleep and new clothes on his back. One thing leads to another and we find Michael fitting in completely with his “new family.” In fact, the Touhy’s become his legal guardians, hire a tutor that will help Michael improve his grade, and do something far more important—they love him like their own.

With the improved grades, Michael is able to play high school football and boy, can he play! Pretty soon all the major colleges within the SEC are knocking on the door trying to recruit him to their respective schools. The rest, as they say, is history. Michael Oher becomes the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. And all of this happened because of one family’s simple gesture.

“We either accept Michael or else we wipe out the word 'Christian' from our school.” These are the words of one Wyngate teacher who saw something positive in Michael Oher before the Touhys entered the picture. They are words that I think show many positives within the film, The Blind Side. Peppered throughout are messages of “protecting your family’s back,” whether it be on the football field or in life. The Touhy family is loving and functional and consequently, you love them back. My favorite line in the film is when Sean asks Michael if he would like to be a part of their family. Michael responds, “I thought I already was.” You discover, or rather are reminded, that there is more to family than just who gave birth to you—the people who love you and provide for you—they are your real family.

However, The Blind Side is not squeaky clean in the “Christian” sense of the word. There is a bit of language -- a** and b**** being the main ones I picked up on, though doubtless there was more. There are two violent scenes, one involving a car accident and the other, gang violence. Sean and Leigh Anne begin to get intimate in one scene (though they are fully clothed and the camera pans away). People from Michael’s past make comments about how they think Michael is “involving” himself with Leigh Anne and his sister (comments which cause him to go into a rage). There is a brief reference to a t*tty bar and how Leigh Anne hopes Michael doesn’t get a girl pregnant out of wedlock at college….or else she will go and cut off his…uh…reproductive organ.

For these reasons, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend young children to go see it, but for older viewers, it isn’t something I would be blinded to. Going against type, the acting by Sandra Bullock steals the show and it is fun for this country music fan to see Tim McGraw in something besides a cowboy hat. There is a bit of comedy, a bit of action, some football, some drama, and a lot of inspiring moments. It is a movie that has something for everybody.