The Blind Side - Uplifting and Entertaining

Today in St. Peters, MO: Partly sunny, high 60 degrees.

Saturday evening I did something I hadn't done in a long time--went out to dinner and a movie.

Walt and Michael were out at our country place deer hunting, so Cari and I went with one of her friends and her friend's mother to see The Blind Side. Good thing we got the the show early because there wasn't an empty seat in the house, which was filled with people of all ages and races.

The Blind Side movie is based on a true story about Michael Oher, a homeless African-American teenager from a broken home, who eventually becomes a professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens. Because of his large size everyone calls him "Big Mike," which he does not like. He is bounced through foster care until the Touys, an affluent family who owns a string of Taco Bells, take him in, and his life turns around--but not without difficulty.

Quinton Aaron plays the role of Michael Oher. Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw play Leigh Ann and Sean Touhy. Kathy Bates plays "Miss Sue," who is a delight. Sandra Bullock is convincing and moving as Leigh Ann, who stands up for her new "son." Her other son, the actor who played SJ, is definitely a scene stealer and gave a lot of comic relief.

The actors who played parts of folks living on "the other side of the tracks" in Memphis, are very realistic in their roles. Adriane Lenox shows sorrow, shame, and love as Michael's birth mother. The actors who play the "thugs" show menace and hostility--even vulnerability. The actor who plays the football quarterback who dropped out of school and joined a gang gave an especially moving performance.

I found The Blind Side to have the right balance of being heartwarming, uplifting, and entertaining. The ending came off as a bit schmaltzy, but schmaltz is good in small doses. At our theater, when the movie was finished, just about everyone remained in their seats to watch the final clips and read about the true-life Michael Oher.

Oh, and neither Walt nor Michael got a deer this weekend. But while they were out in the woods hunting for deer, I saw a large doe romp across Mid Rivers Mall Drive onto the campus of St. Charles Community College as I drove home from Target on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, traffic stopped in both directions to let the deer cross the road.