AMB Reviews

The Blind Side: 9.5/10 Stars

Release Date: November 20, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references. A brief car crash (a boy is seen with some blood covering his shirt). A brief lived fight with no blood, but lots of pushing, shoving, punching, and a gun shot (no one shot). A married couple make out and sex is implied. The main character's mother is said to be a drug addict.

Review:

Let me just say that I was quite a happy camper when I received a free ticket for an early screening to this film (seeing that Sandra Bullock is my favorite actress)...

In Short:

"The Blind Side" is marketed as a sports movie. Let me just tell you that it's so much more than that, with the sports aspect put off to the side. This movie tells the tender, true story of a homeless teen, "Big Mike," who is taken in by a loving family. The mother of the family, Leigh Anne, slowly helps him raise his grades and try out for spring football. Of course, he ends up becoming an all-star player, but that's later on. The movie really focuses on Mike's heartbreaking past and how Leigh Anne helps him come to terms with it and move on with his future. It had me engrossed me from the start, and left me feeling uplifted. Sandra Bullock turns in one of the best performances of his career, as well as the downright best movie of her career.

In Full:

Michael Oher didn't start off as an all-star offensive left tackle. In fact, he started off with a drug addict for a mother, and after he was taken from her, it was only a matter of so many new schools before he just stopped trying. That all changes when Leigh Anne Touhy and her family take him in for "just one night." However, as their family grows closer to him, he slowly becomes a bigger part of their family. Though his GPA sits at 0.6, the Touhys help him raise it up to try out for football. From then on, it's just a matter of time before he learns the skills of the game and takes off from there. Though it's labeled as a sports movie... don't be fooled. There's only one football game in the whole movie. Me, not a huge fan of sports movies, found that quite refreshing, as the director chose to focus more on the characters and their relationships, rather than more football games.

Sandra Bullock is my absolute favorite actress of all time. Though I had thought her best performance came in "Hope Floats," after viewing this, I have to reconsider. Here, she plays a strong, independent and did I mention strong character. Her role, based on a real woman, is fierce and not afraid to tackle a challenge. She looks fear right in the eye, learning from the best (aka Amelia Earhart). Tim McGraw turns in a solid performance as her husband. Though he's really not given much to do here, he perfects what he's given. Quinton Aaron turns in his sophomore performance here as Oher, and though he isn't given many speaking parts, he was just the right person for the part. Kathy Bates rounds up the wonderful supporting cast.

This is a simple movie, visual-wise. This film was shot in Georgia, and there's nothing much to it. This isn't a huge budget, mind blowing visuals type film. The director cared more to dive into human emotions rather than show off an impressive budget. The movie had an underlying message of how much we take for granted. Once scene involves a lady complaining about an $18 salad, while Leigh Anne slowly learns that Big Mike never even had his own bed before. In the end, though she changes Mike's life for the better, he also changes her's in many good ways. It's an uplifting type movie that, though might make you cry in several spots, will leave you with a feeling that what you just watched was worthwile and inspiring.

If I was to find something negative about this film, it would take all day. There was simply nothing that stuck out to me that brought the film down. I'm a critic... I pick up on these things quickly, but I can honestly say that "The Blind Side" is a movie that is pure, fresh, funny, heartwarming, and at times, heartbreaking. The director captured the emotion perfectly for the film. The cast was spot-on, and the story inspiring. The script was well-written and though the movie did clock in around 2 hours, it is completely worth it. The only problem that some may find with it, is that it doesn't spend too much time focused on sports. For me, that was a pro, but it could be taken as a con for others.

In the end, "The Blind Side" has ended up as my third favorite movie of all time (following behind "The Dark Knight" and "Rachel Getting Married"). That's big. Though I love Sandra Bullock, and adored the trailer, I wasn't expecting to like it this much. The film is rated PG-13, but a PG would've sufficed. Don't let it stop you from buying tickets. I was lucky enough to view it two weeks early, and though I know that "New Moon" will crush it at the box office, I dearly hope that someone out there will get their butts off their computer chairs and buy tickets for this. It will truy uplift, inspire, and just put you in a good mood. Rarely does a movie come along that I feel like re-watching immediately after I finish it. I can now "The Blind Side" to that list.