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 In cinemas Thursday [PG]
Director: John Lee Hancock
Runtime: 128 mins
Everything about Sandra Bullock’s new film The Blind Side screams, Cheese! You know – the kind of unashamed, sentimental, “Ah luv you, Jenny” fromage that involves poor, downtrodden, simple Southern folk being lifted out of their hardship and propelled on to greatness. Unlike Forrest Gump, the heroes of this film are based on real people: one a hulking teenaged fellow from the wrong side of the tracks; the other a pristine, somewhat plastic Southern Barbie belle. And if there’s ever a Hollywood movie based on Barbie, then surely Sandra Bullock will be in line for the lead role, or at least Barbie’s Mum.
Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, the epitome of the successful middle-American ‘hockey mom’, except in this case, we’re talking dyed-in-the-Astroturf ‘football mom’. Married to highly successful ex-sports star, Sean (Tim McGraw), raising two very white children, supremely Republican, packing heat and a member of the NRA, the idea of this woman interacting with anyone not her own colour is unthinkable. Not that Leigh Anne doesn’t enthusiastically raise money for The Projects or any other worthy charities, but the right kind of fundraising keeps the great unwashed at a suitable distance from her own immaculate world.
But when her children’s white-bred high school suddenly sponsors the aforementioned hulking Big Mike (Quinton Aaron) for a sports scholarship, and her painfully cute son S.J. (Jae Head) makes a special new friend, Leigh Anne finds her life changing dramatically. Big Mike, or Michael, as he prefers to be called, has had a troubled life involving abuse, drugs, and poor performance at school. But he also has a unique talent for sport, and certain people have recognised that he shows all the potential of becoming a great football player. Against all her instincts, and the reservations of her husband – a man well aware of who wears the pants in the Tuohy family – Leigh Anne welcomes Michael into her family, and life for Michael, the Tuohys and the high school will never be the same.
Yes, it’s a cheesy, real-life, midday movie kind of story, but The Blind Side actually works, drawing us into a sweet, refreshing fairytale of redemption and hope. Bullock is simply excellent as the single-minded matriarch, just as Aaron’s gentle giant Michael is simultaneously fragile and invulnerable. And their supporting cast – including an entire retinue of real-life professional football identities charged with trying to recruit Michael – is engaging and entertaining. The Blind Side is a pleasant, rewarding surprise.
****
TIM MILFULL
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