SOUTHERN SPUNK: A FILM REVIEW OF THE BLIND SIDE

By

Cleo E. Brown 

      The Blind Side is the true story of how orphaned Michael Oher was befriended, taken-in, and finally adopted by a wealthy family during his last year of high school.  With his mother addicted to drugs, and his father deceased, Oher becomes a male Cinderella, not only because he is adopted and treated like Royalty by his new family, but also because he becomes a major talent in football guiding his small Christian Academy, were he is a student, through a championship year. 

What this means for Michael Oher is , if he can raise his grades to an acceptable Grade Point Average, he will be able to attend college on a football scholarship.  Seemingly over sentimental and sometimes hard to take because of the racist sentiment otherwise conveyed, I needed to keep reminding myself that The Blind Side was not a fictional story but a true one in which the real life Michael Oher really met such people as The Touhys’ family. 

Sandra Bullock, who won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as The Best Lead Actress in a Drama is full of sassiness as a Southern Lady of Means who decides that to take care of and to adopt Michael Oher is the right thing to do.  Also good in The Blind Side are the supporting cast of Tim McGraw as Sean Touhy,   Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, Lily Collins as Collins Touhy, and Adriane Lenox as Denise Oher (Michael Oher’s mother).  Also, Ray Mckinnon as Oher’s football coach, who has good comedic chemistry with Bullock, and the young actor who portrays SJ Touhy each deserve a best supporting actor award.

      The screenplay, which was written and directed by John Lee Hancock, moves quickly through the two years of Michael Oher’s life preceeding his graduation from high school.  Sentimental and hard-hitting yet true; it makes us all wish that we could change places with the major characters in this story, if only for a moment.  On a scale of from one to twelve roses, therefore, I am giving The Blind Side ten-and-a-half roses which converts to, almost, four stars. 
 
Conversion Chart: 

• one star  =  three roses
• two stars = six roses
• three stars = nine roses
• four stars = twelve