Oher's rise from the mean streets of Memphis to the bright lights of football stardom was first captured in the 2006 book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" by Michael Lewis, in which the author ties Oher's story with the evolution of the left tackle position thanks to a new breed of defensive linebackers. The film version opens with star Sandra Bullock narrating one of the most gruesome NFL plays ever caught on film -- Lawrence Taylor snapping Joe Theismann's leg on Monday Night Football in 1985.
Filmmaker John Lee Hancock then steers the movie away from Lewis' focus on the O-line and places the spotlight squarely on Bullock, who naturally steals the show as Leigh Anne Tuohy, a no-nonsense Tennessee woman whose family opened their home to a homeless African-American high school student.
Thanks to a drug-addicted mother, Oher (Quinton Aaron) bounced from school to school as a youngster before he found his way into an upscale Christian institution thanks to his presumed ability to play football. When it becomes apparent that he has nowhere else to stay, Tuohy and her husband (Tim McGraw) invite him into their home.
While previous teachers focused on his low GPA and single-digit scores on aptitude tests, the Tuohys zero in on his incredible capacity for protective instincts, making him an optimum candidate to protect the quarterback's blind side as a left tackle. His football skills progress slowly, but once Oher gets the hang of the game, he starts drawing interest from college scouts.
As with any Hollywood film, creative liberties are taken to enhance the story for the big screen. One notable difference from excerpts of the book seems to be the Tuohy patriarch's role in approaching Oher and bringing him into the household. More emphasis and focus were given to Bullock's character in the film so that the white mother-black son dynamic could more effectively pull at the viewer's heart strings.
Yet you are too wrapped up this young man's incredible story to care. Even Aaron's somewhat bland portrayal of Oher seems forgivable given the fact that Oher is obviously an introvert who doesn't speak much and shies away from confrontation. A little research into the personality of the real-life Oher makes Aaron's impersonation seem dead-on.
Of course, every good film needs comedic relief as well, with the majority of funny remarks in this film coming from the mouth of Jae Head, who plays the youngest Tuohy son, Sean Jr. S.J. takes an immediate liking to Oher and proves to be the perfect diminutive sidekick. One can't help but laugh when he sits across from the likes of Nick Saban and Lou Holtz (played by themselves) and asks them, "What are you going to do for me?"
The power of a real-life story can overcome things that purely scripted dramas cannot. We yawn at the predictability of pedestrian sports movies and just when it seems like every underdog story has been done, a family from the Volunteer State helps make Michael Oher's life story the latest sports narrative to remind us why we love sports in the first place.
The football action is minimal, but the story of the football player is a joy to watch. It's the same formula that made "Rudy" such a hit with sports fans of all ages in the early 90s. "The Blind Side" may never be held in as high regard as that classic, but it showed us a side of sports that we need to see from time to time.
Sometimes the underdog in a sports movie comes from behind to win the game, but sometimes the underdog's victory lies in getting on the field in the first place. -- LeeAlan Weddel
