The Blind Side

For someone who thoroughly enjoys going to the movies, the Thanksgiving movie going season is as wonderful to me as eating a hot Krispy Kreme – truly delectable. Needless to say, I have been waiting with great anticipation for November 20th to arrive to start my movie marathon.

The movie chosen as the first of to be seen was Sandra Bullock’s latest endeavor, The Blind Side.

Imagine a life in which you grow up as a young black male in Memphis TN, where your mother tells you to close your eyes so you don’t see her do drugs or turn tricks. Imagine a life where you have never slept on a bed, your parent has never read you a bedtime story, and that all that you have in the world is kept in a plastic grocery bag. Your home is located in a drug infested, gang ridden, roach motel of a public housing project. Now if that isn’t bad enough, imagine going home one day to find that your mother is gone, you home is padlocked shut and there is an eviction notice on the door. For as horrible as all of that sounds, now picture a white family driving down the road, stopping their luxury SUV and they tell you to get in, they are taking you home with them. If you can remotely imagine any of that, you have imagined the life of Michael Oher; right tackle of the Baltimore Ravens, and a brief synopsis of the deliciously warm, feel good movie of the year.

The Blind Side is the condensed story of the how Michael Oher evolved into the person that he is today, staring Sandra Bullock as Leigh Ann Tuohy and Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher. Leigh Ann Tuohy is portrayed as a bulldog of a woman with a heart the size of the sky, who takes Michael into her heart, home and family. Some of the nuances of her character have been seen before in her other movies, a strong woman accepting the challenge placed before her and conquering it with style and grace. However, this role for Ms. Bullock seemed to effortlessly flow out of her, her sincerity was not masked by a comedic script nor the slapstick humor that Ms. Bullock is known.

The Blind Side is a well done drama, with moments of comic relief provided by Ms. Bullock and Jae Head who plays her young son, SJ. Tim McGraw, minus the goat tee and hat, (no, you wont recognize him), portrays the former basketball jock from Ole Miss and a happy go lucky owner of several fast food restaurants throughout Memphis. Mr. McGraw seems like a very likable and lovable kind of guy. I am quite certain he was typecast for this role. The cast flowed on screen with ease and the portrayals of each character seemed completely believable – which is a rarity in my simple opinion.

Quinton Aaron is a newcomer to the silver screen. His character is quiet and pensive and I believe due to his lack of film experience and exposure, Mr. Aaron is able to execute his role very convincingly.

After seeing this film, I left asking myself what occurred in Michael Oher’s early life, prior to meeting the Tuohy’s, that kept him out of a gang, out of jail, and gave him the desire to better himself? What was it that got him up each morning and motivated him to attend an elite private school where he is described, in the film as the fly in a big glass of white milk? I know if I had the answer to that question I would be an incredibly rich woman, but alas I still have my day job.

So I leave you with these final thoughts. I know there is hope out there for people who are born into dire straits to achieve honor and courage even without a fairy godmother flying into their life. I am hopeful that you will leave the theatre with the desire, the need, of wanting to help someone. No, we all can’t take a stranger into our home and our lives, but we all can do something for someone else. If we would simply look around our personal world and seize the opportunity to help someone less fortunate than ourselves, our world would be such a sweeter place to be.

The Blind Side is a must see!!!