'Blind Side' a winning combination of grit, idealism

Posted November 19, 2009 10:00 pm

Dann Gire

I dreaded the press screening of "The Blind Side," because all the TV commercials and theatrical trailers made it look like just another fact-based white savior movie like "Glory," "Men of Honor" and "Glory Road."

You know the genre, where noble white characters help and protect downtrodden minority characters who can only develop self-esteem, dignity and a sense of purpose thanks to their generous, selfless white benefactors?

No surprise, John Lee Hancock's "The Blind Side" is exactly that kind of movie.

It's about a white, well-off Memphis family who take in a homeless black teenager, feed him, clothe him, buy him a nice set of wheels and maneuver him into becoming a high-school football star with excellent college prospects.

The teenager, "Big Mike" Oher, is played by Quinton Aaron as a gentle giant with a profound sense of sadness in his eyes. He is taken in by the Tuohy family, ruled by steel magnolia Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock), a successful interior decorator married to the extremely patient Sean (Tim McGraw), a fast-food restaurant magnate.

Early on, Big Mike - who becomes Michael after he tells Leigh Anne he hates being called "Big" - explores the Tuohy's palatial house, he comes across a coffee table picture book of Norman Rockwell paintings, and sees Rockwell's famous Thanksgiving Day feast, an idealized portrait of Americana.

Hancock recreates this painting in the Tuohy's dining room, where the family goes to sit with Mike instead of lounging around in the den watching TV.

This is Hancock's announcement that "The Blind Side" is a Rockwellian movie, detached from the gritty, harrowing realism of "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

As he did in his fact-based baseball fantasy-fulfillment drama "The Rookie," Hancock, who also wrote the screenplay, takes a well-worn genre and works it into something fresh, funny and touching.

"The Blind Side" turns a blind eye to all the clichés we might expect. There are no paralyzing psychological barriers to overcome, no tacked-on criminal or romantic subplots, no silly sibling rivalry from the Tuohys' son and daughter (played with cute and ample personality by Jae Head and Lily Collins).

In fact, "The Blind Side" barely contains any dramatic conflict at all, save for minor confrontations between Leigh Anne and some unsavory elements at Mike's home in the Memphis projects, and a college sports investigator who accuses the Tuohys of forcing Mike to accept a scholarship at their alma mater, Ole Miss.

What "The Blind Side" projects is an honest, old-fashioned sense of idealism, a testimonial that the American family can be cohesive, happy and confident enough to think beyond its own needs, and strong enough to withstand the glancing blows of bigotry and narrow minds.

Hancock gives fading rom-com queen Bullock the best role of her 21st century career as the headstrong Leigh Anne, an appealing balance of self-willed Southern grit and raw empathy. With her blonded tresses, Bullock resembles a 1970s Nancy Sinatra armed with a pitch-perfect accent.

As Michael, the well-cast Aaron suggests intelligence and kindness hidden under his hulking, intimidating exterior. (Stick around at the film's end to see the real Oher, who went on to play pro ball for the Baltimore Ravens.)

Kathy Bates turns a supporting role into a humorous, stellar turn as Miss Sue, a tutor hired to help Mike in school, despite the fact she is an admitted Democrat.

"The Blind Side" is smart, engaging entertainment. I suppose if a filmmaker wants to shoot a white savior movie, this is how it should be done.

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