The Blind Side- *+ out of ****

Sandra Bullock had a fascinating year. Upon winning the Razzie for Worst Actress for All About Steve, she received two Golden Globe nominations for Drama and Comedy in The Blind Side (won) and The Proposal respectively, then went on to take home the Oscar for The Blind Side, beating out past winners Meryl Streep (Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer, nominated this year for Julie & Julia) and Helen Mirren (The Queen with another nomination for Gosford Park, nominated this year for The Last Station) and newcomers Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) and Carey Mulligan (An Education). How did this happen especially when she was the weakest nominee of all?
Let's start with the story. In The Blind Side, Bullock plays a woman married to a wealthy man who notices a poor, black student ('Big Mike,' Quinton Aaron) walking alone in the rain. The student has no place to go and is looking to sleep on the floor of the gym, or something melodramatic. I kept waiting for him to whip out a goldfish in a plastic bag named 'Hope' or 'Sparky' or something so the script could kill him off later. Anyway, I'm sure everyone who watched a single preview of the movie knows that Bullock takes him in, gives him a room, and gradually begins to give him hope and education.
Yeah, this would normally be quite an amazing feel-good story with a strong message about stepping out of your comfort zone to help someone in need, but I have a problem with dishonesty in storytelling. The very wealthy Tuohys were written without a single flaw except for one scene towards the beginning where Leigh Anne (Bullock) asks Sean (Tim McGraw) if she's doing the right thing. That's it. No other flaws were present in the family. They're nice, kind, conservative, rich white people without a single problem except for Leigh Anne's occasional abrasiveness, but that's used for comedy so it doesn't count. Their daughter, Collins (Lily Collins), isn't important enough to remember. The other son, S.J. (Jae Head), is supposed to be comic relief in this drama without conflict, but there are some problems; 1. Let's face it- the kid can't act, 2. the movie takes the "little kid bossing around adults" and "little kid training higher up" motifs and mushes them into a fine paste then crams them in our faces until we can't taste or smell anything else, and 3. it just doesn't work and becomes tedious and awkward.
I have no problem at all with feel-good stories. I enjoyed Erin Brockovich (tidbit- Julia Roberts was offered the role before Bullock but turned it down. Wonder if the role would have still won the Oscar if Roberts accepted...), but this movie made me feel like i just swallowed a tall glass of over-sugared iced tea. Every single character based on a real person has no flaws- not even the students in the school. I don't care if it is a Christian Academy; someone is going to make fun of him. It's just in the nature of Junior High and High School kids to attempt to dominate over those they view as weaker. Not wanting to defame the school Michael Oher attended, the movie continues...
I mentioned the Tuohys, but what about Big Mike's mom? She was an alcoholic, addicted to drugs, and didn't provide him as much as a place to sleep at night. Surely she has at least one flaw present, right? Wrong. You feel sympathy, and if the movie stayed on that scene, you probably would have forgiven her. Not a single flaw there either. Actually, I think that scene is the part where you're supposed to cry and/or get emotional.
Here's where the movie realizes that it must present some flaws to somebody while still remaining fair: Leigh Anne is having a $30 salad lunch with her friends, and they begin to ask if she's afraid that Big Mike will steal or rape her daughter. She says, "Shame on you."
Big Mike goes back to his black, drug dealing friends. They hear about what's he's doing, and one continues to make comments about going over there and screwing Leigh Anne, so Mike beats a bunch of them up and throws them through breakable things to defend her honor. How the hell is that even? There isn't even a single mention of Leigh Anne refusing to talk to her snot-nosed friends again, but her "shame on you" was enough to change them. I guess rich white people are more human than drug dealers.

Alright, obviously the movie isn't perfect since the characters aren't anywhere close to three-dimensional, the plot has virtually no conflict, the movie is uneven and a little bit racist, and nothing really profound happens, so why did I bother giving it *+ stars? Well, there are two reasons. Quinton Aaron can act. His role was badly written, and he successfully avoids cutting corners and stereotyping his character. I could have lived with an Oscar nomination for him.
Some scenes were funny and worked. The main scene was where Leigh Anne explains to Mike in terms that he can understand what his role on the football team was. I laughed and found it to be interesting. And the movie earns its *+.
I enjoy seeing Sandra Bullock play real characters (as in 3-dimensional; I don't care whether they're real or fictional), and this role was not it. The best acting I have seen Bullock do to date would be in her supporting role in Crash- her characterization cut no corners. Why don't you watch that instead of this?
Even if you don't agree with the majority of what I've written, at least give me the fact that S.J. was overused. That being said, it should be concluded that The Blind Side should have not been nominated for Best Picture. What about In the Loop (nominated for Adapted Screenplay), The Messenger (nominated for Best Supporting Actor- Woody Harrelson and Original Screenplay), The Hangover (Golden Globe winner for Best Picture- Comedy or Musical...also, it's the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time) or even the update of Star Trek (winner of Best Makeup, nominated for a bunch of technical awards)? All received praise from both critics and audiences, and all were better films than The Blind Side in my eyes. The only way I can muster its nomination is that the Academy wanted justification for giving Bullock the Oscar. I, of course, ask why it had to be her, especially given the fact that as I mentioned before, Crash is her best acting to date.
Feel-good stories are difficult to write, direct, and act, but that's no excuse; so is sci-fi. Although I really dislike giving movies bad reviews, I have to share that I found The Blind Side to be the year's biggest disappointment as well as the year's biggest cheap-shot. When The Blind Side turned a blind eye to good, honest writing, I wished John Lee Hancock (Director and Writer of the Adapted Screenplay) would hang his head in shame. This Oscar bait deserved much less.

Rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references.
Buy it here.