Year of release: 2009
Director: John Lee Hancock
Stars: Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, Jae Head, Tim McGraw, Ray McKinnon, Kathy Bates, Kim Dickens
Genre: Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Synopsis:John Lee Hancock follows his previous directing effort, "The Alamo", with another drama based on a true story. "The Blind Side" follows the story of Michael Oher, a gentle giant of a teenager, who had a terrible childhood, due to his mother being a drug addict and his father never being around to provide support. Michael has a low IQ, no family support and ends up in a catholic school due to his remarkable athletic skills. With no place to sleep and live, Michael gets picked up by a wealthy family, led by Leigh Anne Tuohy, the matriarch, who has a lively personality and who fights to have Michael be a successful athlete.
This film is obviously tackling a story that has been seen and done before, with the inspirational and motivational grip being the poor kid from the slums who becomes a success due to sheer effort and the support of a nice family. The film doesn't really showcase anything beyond what it's modest ambitions are: a nicely done made for TV movie. Where the film does score is the performance of Sandra Bullock. She channels the southern charm and spunk that hasn't been seen since "Steel Magnolias", but still is hardly enough to justify seeing this film. This is a case where a more interesting director could have brought something grittier and more alive from a story like this. A missed opportunity.
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