‘The Blind Side’: Well Acted and Inspirational
by Cam CannonI finally had a chance to be one of “those people.” You know the ones, they read the book and see the movie so they can say, with more than a twinge of superiority, “The book was so much better.” They’re also the same people that added the Walter Matthau-Robert Shaw version of “Taking of Pelham 1-2-3” to the Netflix queue about a month before the Travolta-Washington version hit the screens. You know, so they could say, “The original was better.” It’s of course true that the original was better, but I worked at a Blockbuster in Hollywood for five years and not once did anyone request that movie until the trailer for the remake hit multiplexes.
Anyway, I digress. Here’s what I think about “The Blind Side.”
The book was better. But the movie’s pretty daggum good too. I only read the book because a friend told me it would never work as a movie, anyway, and there was no point in waiting. My friend was right, the book is dense and wordy, and roughly half of it is about the evolution of the left tackle position in professional football. The Michael Oher stuff takes up the other half, and that’s what John Lee Hancock focuses on here. He gets the vast majority of it exactly right.
Sandra Bullock is well-cast as Leigh Anne Tuohy, a well-to-do Memphis interior decorator who takes in a homeless kid who is also a very hot football commodity. His name’s Michael Oher, and he’s immense. Huge. Massive. Surprisingly, he’s also quick on his feet, agile, and has a pretty sweet jump shot. The movie finds a clever way to use his hoops skills to introduce Michael to his future high school football coach, Coach Cotton.
The race and class issues are addressed, and as in the book, we get a sense of how political correctness has actually made these problems worse, not better. No one can seem to believe that the Tuohy’s take Michael in for any reason other than personal gain.
You know from the trailer and from real life that Michael is black. For some reason, this matters to a lot of people. And only some of them are openly racist.
The movie, like the book, contains textbook examples of Christian-minded conservatism in practice. Michael’s mom, it turns out, is addicted to crack cocaine. Leigh Anne meets Michael’s mom, and is remarkably non-judgmental. This is a great-ish performance from Bullock, playing an unapologetically conservative woman. Giving great support are Tim MacGraw as Leigh Anne’s husband, who was a star point guard for Ole Miss, and Ray McKinnon as the head ball coach. Newcomer Quinton Aaron excels as Michael Oher, a role that I thought would be nearly impossible to pull off. Several Southeastern Conference football coaches make cameos, to varying degrees of success. I wanted Georgia Coach Mark Richt to show up so that the actor playing Oher could lay him out and maybe knock some damn sense into him, but…
There’s bit of a scuttlebutt on BH over the swipe at George W. Bush. Some folks see it as a typically liberal slam of the former president. I didn’t know about this joke before watching the movie, and I found it rather innocuous. It was a federal government building, and W. was the head man at the time…didn’t bother me. In fact, one of Bush’s problems was that the Federal Government grew under his watch, and he wasn’t as conservative as advertised, so it didn’t bother me one little bit.
If you like football movies, this one’s better than “Remember the Titans,” not as good as “North Dallas Forty.” Good performances, some approaching great, and a lot of humor make this movie an inspirational choice for your family this Thanksgiving.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Big Hollywood and Michael Chavez, DNC DUDES. DNC DUDES said: ‘The Blind Side’: Well Acted and Inspirational: I finally had a chance to be one of “those people.” You kno… http://bit.ly/8EmCHf [...]
I have been looking forward to this movie since I first heard about it…. I am such a Sandra Bullock fan that I will see just about anything she makes (I even went to see All About Steve… and liked it, is how big of a fan I am). I was disheartened about the joke… but I pretty much came to the same conclusions you did. I still cannot wait to see this movie.
The book was "dense and wordy"? Compared to what, Ferdinand the Bull? I also highly disagree that North Dallas Forty was a better football movie. I saw that one as a kid when I was just starting to play organized football and thought it failed miserably to capture any of the spirit of the game. I didn't know what the word meant at the time, but my gut told me it was a post-modern piece of crap.
I agree 100% with your analysis of the GWB sucker punch, though. Very well put.
One of my high school friends that I played football with called this morning and told me he saw this movie. He absolutely loved it and was adamant that I need to see it. I wasn’t going to because of the swipe at President Bush but I’ll probably watch it on Netflix.
On an off topic sidenote: this friend of mine was a hardcore liberal at the beginning of this year. Thanks to obama’s dreadful economic policies and the push for nationalized healthcare he no longer calls himself a democrat, he’s shifting to the right and now calls himself an independent. I asked him if he heard about the hackers that exposed global warming as a total fraud. He had heard and was surprised. He now sees clearly and is connecting the dots. He’s slowly coming to the realization that the democrat party and its proxies like ACORN and SEIU are indeed criminal enterprises.
2010 will be a bloodletting for the liberal sellouts and prostitutes.
No offense to anyone crying about the Bush joke, but get over it already. The joke was met with chuckles when I saw it Friday. (From a thread last week)
Also met with a good laugh was the joke nobody seems to mention when Kathy Bates brings up that she's a democrat to the family almost as though it was a sin. Or, how about the other jab when Tim McGraw says to Bullock something along the lines of "Who would have thought we would have a black child before we had a democrat as a friend?"
Ease up folks. The movie is one of the most heart-wrenching and beautiful family stories I have seen in years. It seems we are too eager to tear apart this movie apart because of a 5 second line of dialogue when it honestly shows the most important message: It shows the true meaning of conservatism. Don't let one jab drive you away from seeing this film.
Don't feel too bad about Richt, Cam… Lou Holtz couldn't seal the deal for my Gamecocks either.
OK, the crack about Richt had me spouting coffee onto my monitor. Thanks bunches
agree w/ Dan—love the crack on Richt—thanks for saying it. someone needs to do something about it, for sure.
Fine Movie, saw it. Bullock was really great and will likely see awards for this one. In the end though, the biggest story now being told is the Climate Emails!!!!
I have not seen the movie, but I am expecting the book any day now. As for the Bush thing, IMO it is one of those"Blame Bush For Everything moments".
Your toilet backs up, Blame it on Bush.
Your car won't start, Blame it on Bush.
Your dog eats your newspaper, Blame it on Bush.
I see it as a comedy relief moment.
Moonbats get away with swatting at Bush, Cheney et al. because we don't stick together. I wonder, was the swipe in the book? I kinda doubt it.
Didn't like it. Didn't HATE it, but it's frustrating how much better it could've been.
My biggest issue is the question of WHY this story needed to be a Sandra Bullock vehicle. Since the story isn't willing to put any kind of depth or shading into her character's reasoning (the only person who raises the obvious specter of ulterior motives is, of course, a big meanie whom the audience will never sympathize with – oldest cheapest writer's trick in the book) she remains a total saintly mystery – which is a narrative-killer when she's the MAIN CHARACTER.
I imagine it would've been MUCH better if it were Oher's story, told from his perspective. Then they could've had it both ways: Keep the family as unquestioned, mysterious, angelic gooder-than-goody-good-do-gooders from Planet Good AND still have a main character that people can relate to (as opposed to being flattered-by.)
Those illegally obtained emails proved nothing and didn't deny science.
Connie Britton from TV's Friday Night Lights could have been much better in the role.
Having a black child in the house went over my head, but a democrat as a friend?! Don't try and play on my fears.
I like the thought re: Richt, but I'd like it better if the proposed target was Lane Kiffin. GO GATORS!!!
I suspect when the real Mrs. Touhy was told she would be played by Sandra Bullock, she did a back flip and gave the ok… and the deal was done, as long as her character wasn't butchered. I saw it this weekend, and it was about as good as it could have been. Perhaps, and I know it's a stretch, but just maybe, Bullock learned something from it?
I will probably see this later down the road. I am still trying to recover from the torture Sandra Bullock put me through while watching "All About Steve." It may be a while……
Thanks for your input Baghdad Bob. Unless you're unable to read English the emails specifically state how these climate quacks were manipulating the data. They were caught red handed but yet there are those true believers like yourself that deny reality. I hope you understand you're mentally ill.
GREAT, GREAT, GREAT movie – it's now one of my favorites! Not a dull moment, from beginning to end. Outstanding acting which will surely be nominated for awards. Just awesome – can't wait to see it again!
You need to understand that AWG is truly a *religion* to the Ed Begley's like mileshigh. They'll never see that they would have to replenish an entire rain forest to offset the alleged carbon footprint Al Gore has left, whilst flying to conferences on his G-4.
I really suggest seeing it. This is not her falling over in heels, laughing at Hugh Grant, or driving a bus. This is some good work. While I'm not saying she is a great actress, she pulled this off with class. And, especially this time of year, it's nice to have a feel good movie that actually makes you feel good. This one did.
Heartwarming and fun. See it!
I really don't like much that Hollywood does, and I'm sick of Bush bashing, but IT WASN'T ABOUT BUSH! It was a snark at civil-servant-buck-passing. Really. Go see it. You'll emerge with all your principles intact, I promise. It's a good movie.
My wife cried through the whole movie, and I had a lump in my throat as well. Very good movie…not Oscar material, but I hate most Oscar material movies these days anyway. It just so happened that the next day, the Ravens were playing the Colts and I found myself focusing on Michael Oher during the Ravens' offensive series. He didn't let anyone get to his quarterback. The twist is that he is actually playing right tackle for Baltimore, but he has started every game this year (his rookie year). He's my new hero.
mileshigh,
For what it's worth, they probably were not obtained illegally. Most likely they were left on an insecure server by mistake. In other words, they were as publicly available as Big Hollywood.
And in fact they demonstrate quite clearly that the global warming cabal manipulated, concealed, and deleted data; prevented the publication of contrary opinions; got skeptical editors fired; and in general behaved in scientifically unethical ways.
And yes, that does indeed undermine the scientific claims of the global warming activist/scientists.
If you can't handle having a Democrat as a friend, don't ever move to California.
To be honest though, it is not that hard. They mostly fall into two categories:
1. They are young and can be forgiven for being naive.
2. They are old and were never able to exit their "hippie-phase".
Hey, you could be a speechwriter for Obama!
"North Dallas Forty," is my favorite football, movie, and IMHO the best. I am glad the writer brings it up. "The Longest Yard" the original, is also a good film. I'm sure I'll see this movie some time, don't know when, though, probably when it plays back-to-back on TNT/TBS someday, when it goes into heavy rotation, kinda like…."Miss Congeniality."
…and just think how nice it will be when "civil-servant-buck-passing" directly affects our health!
Dense and wordy to me, I guess, compared to the other books I read. I only seem to read sports books, and this was more in depth than most, taking several pages to describe a four second play.
I'd have to see North Dallas Forty again, but I've always had a special place in my heart for it. Matter of opinion.
I still don't know what post-modern means. You're a fart smeller.
I was gonna go with my daughter, but I'm not now. I am done with any Bush bashing. For 8 years it was everywhere and I couldn't get away from it. I absolutely will not pay to see it now…even something "little". God bless W.
Totally with you. These people have a reflexive, Tourette's style need to indulge this stuff. I'll stick to Netflix and TCM.
[...] saw The Blind Side today and I thought it was great. Here’s a review of the movie from Big [...]
It WASN"T Bush-bashing. It was buck-passing. Let it go!
It is a good movie about good people and there are a whole lot more of them in this country than TV and movies usually notice. We enjoyed it in a half-full theatre on Monday night, which is pretty good for a normally slow night and especially since it was in a blue-Seattle suburb. I thought the batch of pictures of the real Tuohy family, Miss Sue and Michael over the ending credits was a nice touch.
I saw this movie opening day (Friday) and absolutely loved it. I went back Saturday night with a bunch of friends to see it again. And then I attended a screening of it on Monday where I got to meet and speak with the director (John Lee Hancock).
I can't adequately express how touching this movie was. I can't recall the last time I saw a film that blended beautiful storytelling, superb acting, and strong messages in such an inspiring and dignified way. I'd pretty much counted Sandy out of the dramatic roles given her recent batch of romantic comedies, but…WOW! She nailed it. All three times I saw it.
I determine how good a movie is based on the extent to which the actors make me believe that they are who they say they are (unlike stage acting with the willing suspension of disbelief…yada yada yada). There wasn't a single second I doubted Sandy's performance. I'll go back to see this one again a few more times. And I'll be first in line to buy it on DVD.
The BLIND SIDE is part of a vast govt operation to brainwash us that interracial is good, White equals black etc. Obama voters and the politically correct will be drooling all over this movie
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