Ralph Nelson

Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock star in "The Blind Side."

The Blind Side

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Rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references

Length: 126 minutes

Released: November 20, 2009 Nationwide

Score: 2.0

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Kathy Bates, Tim McGraw, Ray McKinnon, Quinton Aaron

Director: John Lee Hancock
Producer: Gil Netter, Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson
Writer: John Lee Hancock, Michael Lewis
Genre: Drama
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

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By rights, "The Blind Side" shouldn't work. It's a rambling film full of creaky cliches. If it were human, it would be diagnosed with ADHD, if not schizophrenia. And yet, despite its messiness - or perhaps thanks to it - "The Blind Side" turns out to be a big ol' warm fuzzy bulldozer of a movie, a based-on-a-true-story exercise that inspires not with its outcome but with its process. Nominally a sports movie, it's actually a story about family - what it is and what it isn't.

Set in Memphis (but shot in Georgia), "The Blind Side" makes it clear from the start that football is a collection of metaphors for life. Whether we're going for 10, fumbling in the end zone, praying for a Hail Mary, winning one for the Gipper or protecting a quarterback's blind side, we Americans are addicted to the jargon and imagery of the gridiron.

Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) is no exception. With her husband, Sean (Tim McGraw), she is an avid supporter of the football team at Wingate Christian School, which teen daughter Collins (Lily Collins) and precocious young son S.J. (Jae Head) attend.

But football isn't what's on wealthy, white Leigh Anne's mind when she sees black teenager Michael "Big Mike" Oher (Quinton Aaron) trudging along a dark road on a chilly night wearing a dingy polo shirt and shorts. Leigh Anne sees a giant bear of a kid who needs help.

Michael, who rarely speaks and seems indifferent to what's going on around him, has lived in the projects with friends or fosters or on his own for as long as he can remember. His education has been so erratic that he's barely literate. The Wingate football coach (Ray McKinnon) saw the boy's athletic potential and got him into the school, but his grades make him ineligible for sports, and teachers complain that he has no chance to succeed in the classroom. Only the biology instructor (Kim Dickens) takes the time to notice Michael's intelligence.

The Tuohys decide to give Michael a home, and he finally gets the stability and encouragement he needs to handle schoolwork. He even makes the grades to go out for football, though it turns out that his size and strength don't translate into an instant affinity for the game.

Director John Lee Hancock, who adapted the screenplay from Michael Lewis' book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game," doesn't show the polish that he did with his baseball-set "The Rookie." He moves the plot forward as though he were a rookie QB throwing a series of wild yet frequently accurate passes. The film hits extremes of grim reality and trumped-up comedy, with the truth probably lying somewhere in between.

Although cynics may question the Tuohys' motives, one of the appealing things about the film is how Leigh Anne acts on her Christian faith without making a big show of it. She's an interior decorator and savvy businesswoman, and she's practical. It makes sense to help Michael; it doesn't make sense to let him fall through the cracks.

Bullock's attempt at a Southern accent is grating, but her tough veneer and Aaron's stolid wariness make a good combination. McGraw brings warm humor, while Memphis native Kathy Bates injects a wacky energy into her scenes as a tutor, with references to Neyland Stadium that will have Tennessee fans rolling.

There's a strong UT/East Tennessee presence in the film, with Leigh Anne constantly bashing the school (and its "gaudy" orange) and former coach Phillip Fulmer playing himself in recruiting mode. Maryville-based actor David Dwyer livens things up as the father of one of Michael's opponents.

"The Blind Side" wobbles on the edge of sappiness but never falls into it. To paraphrase "A League of Their Own," there's no crying in football. But that doesn't mean it can't touch the heart.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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