“The Blind Side” is a newly released
movie based on the true
story of Baltimore Ravens rookie
offensive lineman Michael Oher.
Like most sport movies, “The
Blind Side” has the generic
themes of failure, constant practice,
and eventual triumph. Director
John Lee Hancock does a
tremendous job of combining
strong family values and beliefs
into the movie’s overall feeling,
which really created more of family-
drama type of movie that just
so happened to center around an
adopted football star.
The movie begins with a young
Michael Oher, played by Quinton
Aaron, drifting in and out of various
school systems and not having
a guaranteed roof over his
head every night. On one rainy
evening, Leigh and Sean Tuohy,
played by Sandra Bullock and
Tim McGraw, are heading home
to their upscale Memphis home
with their two young children
when they pass by Oher or “Big
Mike” wandering the streets.
Leigh is a sincere and helpful
person with somewhat controlling
tendencies and her heart immediately
goes out to Oher. She invites
him into her family’s home for
what they propose as a one-night
deal that evolves into weeks,
months, and eventually years.
As the movie continues, the
viewers are slowly given a
glimpse of what Oher’s life was
like before the Tuohys welcomed
him into their home. Throughout
“The Blind Side,” Oher continues
to be very shy and quiet; however
he has short flashbacks to his
younger days when he was living
in the projects with his mother,
who was addicted to drugs.
During these flashbacks, the audience
can see that at a young age
Oher was taken from his mother’s
custody and passed from foster
home to foster home. It’s clear
that his mother’s past drug use
and growing up in violent areas
had deep psychological effects on
Oher.
In one of the most telling scenes
he shares with Leigh how he was
able to overcome these challenges.
He tells Leigh that whenever
there was drug use or fights
in their apartment building that his
birthmother always had him
“close his eyes and count to
three. and then slowly open
them, and everything would be
right with the world.”
This scene sheds a tremendous
amount of light on the social issues
facing not only Oher, but the
entire community of Memphis.
Director Hancock, along with the
cast of “The Blind Side,” do a
great job of addressing these issues
and showing everyone that
there is hope and a way out of bad
situations with hard work and determination.
Along with the Tuohy’s generosity
and the social issues that
are addressed in “The Blind Side,”
this movie also has many scenes
that any die-hard football fan will
love.
In the opening scene there is a
clip of former New York Giants
linebacker Lawrence Taylor sacking
former Washington Redskins
quarterback Joe Theismann. Taylor
broke Theismann’s leg in the
process, and this clip was used to
show why big strong offensive
linemen have become such a hot
commodity. Taylor might have
never touched Theismann had a
bigger offensive lineman stood in
his way.
Oher fits this description perfectly
as he is 6 foot 4 and 310
pounds, and, as shown in the
movie, freakishly strong. The
other scenes that football fans will
truly enjoy are when the college
coaches begin recruiting Oher.
There are several cameos from
high-profile current and former
college coaches such as Lou
Holtz, Nick Saban, Phillip Fulmer
and Tommy Tuberville.
The entire college football recruiting
process is perfectly explained
and shows all of the backand-
forth talks between coaches,
until Oher eventually decides to
attend Ole Miss on a football
scholarship. He achieved this
after working relentlessly to raise
his GPA to meet their requirements.
Hancock does an amazing job at
laying out Oher’s struggles and
showing how he never ran from
them. The challenges he faced regarding
his upbringing and homelessness
as a teenager are
presented clearly and in a respectful
way.
Hancock also showcases Oher’s
determination and honor because
he never succumbed to the peerpressure
that was present in his
community of drug dealing and
violence. All that Oher really
needed was strong family support,
love and guidance. Thankfully
the Tuohys were able to be that for
him.
“The Blind Side” is a perfect
family film and is great for all
ages. The entire audience in the
movie theatre was full of fatherand-
sons and mothers-and-sons
but this movie is great for anyone.
This is not simply a football
movie like “Varsity Blues” or
“Any Given Sunday,” instead
“The Blind Side” helps the viewer
realize how much of a change we
can have in a person’s life by a
simple act of kindness.
I believe the main message in
“The Blind Side” was to show
how much lending a helping hand
can truly help change the course
of another person’s life for the better.
With great performances from
Bullock, McGraw and Aaron, the
film has been a success in box-offices
nationwide, grossing $34
million the opening weekend and
$102 million since its premiere.
Because of the motivational and
inspirational factors this movie is
a must see, and the football
scenes just make it that much
more enjoyable.