Article:
Looking into “The Blind Side”

I like to watch Sandra Bullock movies every now and then. Why? Because she’s got one of the cutest and prettiest faces in Hollywood; and she can act, of course. That is why I watched her recent movie, The Blind Side, a drama/sports film that features the story of Michael Oher (pronounced oar), the offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). The film follows Oher from his upbringing, through his years at the Wingate Christian School (a fictional representation of Briarcrest Christian School), his adoption by Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy, on to his position as one of the most highly coveted prospects in college football.

Michael Oher was played by Quinton Aaron; and his adoptive parents, Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy, were played by Tim McGraw (yes, the country singer) and Bullock. It was a good movie, rather, a feel-good movie. And that’s that. I honestly was a bit disappointed about the film. Or maybe, being a fan of football movies “The Replacements” (which starred Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, and one of my favorites Rhys Ifans), “Invincible” (which starred Mark Wahlberg), and “Any Given Sunday” (with Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, and Jamie Foxx), I was just expecting more.

But then again, maybe I was just disappointed because the film was “written” in such a way that the focus, subconsciously, was on Bullock’s character (I don’t hate Sandra Bullock, I love her!). I didn’t read Michael Lewis’s book, just the adapted article published in the New York Times titled “The Ballad of Big Mike”, which, as the title implies, mainly focused on Big Mike Oher. Well, okay, the film showed Oher’s impoverished background, until he was picked up in the street by the Tuohys (one night when he was on his way to the gym because it’s got heat in there); how he struggled at school; how he struggled at practice because he just doesn’t seem to know what he is doing; and when finally he knew how to play football, how he struggled to be able to get into a college because of his grades. But it is mostly Bullock who’s having one of her greatest performances in this film (her Best Actress nominations for this film include that from the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, Broadcast Film Critics Association, and Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, to name a few).