Blindsided by the Blind Side

The hubby and I went to see the new Sandra Bullock film The Blind Side over the weekend.  I did not expect to like this movie.  He wanted to see something uplifting and God knows the previews looked uplifting, so we went.  I wasn't that into it because I was expecting big dumb black kid rescued by the beautiful white people who becomes a pro football player.  It seemed a bit 1965 to me.  I wasn't completely wrong, but in it's execution, The Blind Side rises above.  I'll explain.

The movie is based on the true story of professional football player Michael Oher who was, in fact, adopted by a white family in Memphis.  Oher (Quinton Aaron) is not a big dumb black kid, but rather a boy who had a horrific childhood and closed himself off from the world until Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) took an interest in him and he slowly discovered his intellegence and talents. 

As the story opens, a man (the only positive black character in the film other than Oher) takes his son and "Big Mike" to a tony Christian academy and talks the coach into getting both of these kids into the school.  The man has been allowing Big Mike to sleep on his sofa.  We learn through flashbacks that Big Mike's mother is a crack addict.  The boys are admitted and we never see the man or his son again until high school graduation.  Shortly thereafter, Leigh Ann sees Big Mike walking down the street on a freezing cold night in short sleeves and short pants. She determines that he has no place to stay (what happened to the nice man with the sofa?  We never find out) so she takes him to her huge Republican mansion and let's him stay with her family.  He becomes a part of the family and never leaves.  The Tuohy's adopt him, hire a tudor (Kathy Bates, terrific as always) and he slowly starts to thrive.  Along they way, they learn he hates being called "Big Mike" and prefers Michael.  Leigh Anne's husband is played by Tim McGraw who was actually very good.  Who knew he could act?  Naturally, I wanted him to take his shirt off at some point, but he never did. 

This movie is not flattering to black people.  That's an understatement.  The only other black characters are a bitch-on-wheels who works for the NCAA (in a dramatic twist that feels hyped up and false) and Michael's old crowd from the projects who are a bunch of pimps 'n hos with drugs, guns and quart bottles of malt liquor.  The scene when Michael goes back to the projects (and it was inevitable that he would) feels like some sort of out-of-control Wayans Brothers skit without the humor.  His birth mother, the drug addict, is portrayed with a great deal of humanity by Adrianne Lenox, but she isn't sure who his father was.   Maybe this was the truth of his life, but this movie makes white people feel very good about themselves.   The sold-out matinee crowd was mostly middle-aged white ladies with well-tended hair. 

This is definitely a red state movie and there probably are not a lot of sold-out matinees in New York or LA.  The Tuohys are not in-your-face Christian people.  Leigh Anne likes her red wine and her BMW and you never see them go to church (although a scene at some upscale First Baptist with the large black teenager entering with a white family could have been fun).  But, it's clear that they're Republicans (Kathy Bates has the funniest line in the film regarding their politics), they're rich, and they send their kids to a Christian Academy. 

What keeps this movie from becoming some sort of mawkish Focus on the Family informercial are the performances of Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron.   When reviewers call Bullock Oscar-worthy, they're right.  So is Aaron.  Their performances feel real and honest and make you realize that this is all a true story.  They have great mother-and-son chemistry and you can feel their love and affection grow.  Bullock fully gets the no-nonsense Southern gal she's playing (and I've known so many just like her).  She also gets the accent.  I can detect a fake Southern accent at 90 paces and hers is soft and natural.  I quickly forgot this was Sandra Bullock on screen and stopped expecting her to take a pratfall or give us a goofy laugh.  She became Leigh Anne Tuohy, a woman who talks the talk and walks the walk.   

Sandra Bullock's year feels very much like Julia Roberts' award season in 2000.  Each had a hit romantic comedy that was a sort of comeback followed a serious drama in which she was surprizingly good.  The drama was an unexpected hit based largely on her star power.  Lots of Oscar buzz ensued.  OK, I don't really expect Sandra Bullock to beat out Meryl Streep at the Oscars, but I would be shocked if she didn't get a nomination.