A 'Blind Side' Hail Mary pass
Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) offers a little gridiron advice. (Warner Bros.)
The Blind Side
Running time: 128 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13 (one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references)
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The exciting thing about "The Blind Side" is that for the first time since the ensemble drama "Crash" Sandra Bullock molds her persona to fit a character.
More often than not, forgettable cinematic silliness such as the "Miss Congeniality" films and "The Lake House" and, more recently, the awful "All About Steve" have been all about Sandra Bullock, the lovable kook next door.
A bristling family comic sports drama dripping with Southern pride and discomfort, "The Blind Side" throws a Hail Mary pass at the Bullock we rarely see on screen.
John Lee Hancock, the talented filmmaker behind the noble box-office failure "The Alamo" (2004), scores by forming the most genuine sports related project since, well, Hancock's "The Rookie" starring Dennis Quaid in 2002.
This one works to near-perfection primarily because Bullock is all-business instead of kooky-funny for a change.
Of course Bullock retreated into ice queen frostiness for the highly successful romantic-comedy "The Proposal" back in June. But that was just a shell that cracked when the goofiness launched.
"The Blind Side" is based on a real well-to-do Memphis family. They, guided sternly by the Mrs. (Bullock), take in a very large and virtually homeless black high school student (Quinton Aaron). The uplifting tale of a shy big guy with football and a loving safe residence in his future forms the heart of this story.
Bullock's Leigh Anne Tuohy supplies the engine to motivate a troubled young man named Michael Oher without once talking down to him. Hancock, proving once again how astute he can be mixing real life sports sagas into mass-appeal entertainment, lets the comedy of his script (based on Michael Lewis' book) flow naturally.
The funny moments -- and there are quite a few -- never appear forced. Tim McGraw, terrific in the big-screen version of "Friday Night Lights," is very good here as Sean, Bullock's husband. No doubt about it, McGraw could make a very good living as as an actor if he every grows weary of that superstar country singer night job.
And young Jae Head, who has appeared on the TV version of "Friday Night Lights," turns out to be quite a funny little scene stealer as SJ, the precocious Tuohy son.
As Michael, Aaron, a New York based actor ("Be Kind Rewind," "Fighting"), moves into the spotlight with much of the same effectiveness newcomer Gabourey Sidibe brings to the gritty urban drama "Precious."
Shot in Atlanta (doubling for Memphis), "The Blind Side" isn't just one of the finest sports-related movies of '09, it's one of the most entertaining films overall.
The Oscar campaign has already begun for Bullock. From this aisle seat, it would be a well-deserved Academy Award nomination if it comes.
More often than not, forgettable cinematic silliness such as the "Miss Congeniality" films and "The Lake House" and, more recently, the awful "All About Steve" have been all about Sandra Bullock, the lovable kook next door.
A bristling family comic sports drama dripping with Southern pride and discomfort, "The Blind Side" throws a Hail Mary pass at the Bullock we rarely see on screen.
John Lee Hancock, the talented filmmaker behind the noble box-office failure "The Alamo" (2004), scores by forming the most genuine sports related project since, well, Hancock's "The Rookie" starring Dennis Quaid in 2002.
This one works to near-perfection primarily because Bullock is all-business instead of kooky-funny for a change.
Of course Bullock retreated into ice queen frostiness for the highly successful romantic-comedy "The Proposal" back in June. But that was just a shell that cracked when the goofiness launched.
"The Blind Side" is based on a real well-to-do Memphis family. They, guided sternly by the Mrs. (Bullock), take in a very large and virtually homeless black high school student (Quinton Aaron). The uplifting tale of a shy big guy with football and a loving safe residence in his future forms the heart of this story.
Bullock's Leigh Anne Tuohy supplies the engine to motivate a troubled young man named Michael Oher without once talking down to him. Hancock, proving once again how astute he can be mixing real life sports sagas into mass-appeal entertainment, lets the comedy of his script (based on Michael Lewis' book) flow naturally.
The funny moments -- and there are quite a few -- never appear forced. Tim McGraw, terrific in the big-screen version of "Friday Night Lights," is very good here as Sean, Bullock's husband. No doubt about it, McGraw could make a very good living as as an actor if he every grows weary of that superstar country singer night job.
And young Jae Head, who has appeared on the TV version of "Friday Night Lights," turns out to be quite a funny little scene stealer as SJ, the precocious Tuohy son.
As Michael, Aaron, a New York based actor ("Be Kind Rewind," "Fighting"), moves into the spotlight with much of the same effectiveness newcomer Gabourey Sidibe brings to the gritty urban drama "Precious."
Shot in Atlanta (doubling for Memphis), "The Blind Side" isn't just one of the finest sports-related movies of '09, it's one of the most entertaining films overall.
The Oscar campaign has already begun for Bullock. From this aisle seat, it would be a well-deserved Academy Award nomination if it comes.
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