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The Blind Side (John Lee Hancock, 2009)
This mainstream hit is a very entertaining film, so don't let anybody steer you clear from watching a film about true-life good people doing good things and being rewarded. I'll admit that you cannot really compare this film to Precious at all, but on some levels, they are actually about the same thing: parents taking responsibility for their children. Now, I'll admit that the family who "adopts" homeless teenager Michael (Quinton Aaron) are rich Southerners from Memphis, but what's a scriptwriter to do? The dad (Tim McGraw) owns several Taco Bell restaurants (so that's a nice, coincidental tie-in to Sandra's Demolition Man), and my wife Brenda loves Taco Bell, so she says that she would take advantage of all the free food on an almost daily basis (just like Slug would
). The mom (Oscar winner Sandra Bullock) has a big heart and won't back down from anyone or anything when she thinks she's right.
The film follows a relatively-predictable story arc in that a few roadblocks are thrown in the way of the family's eventual dream of getting Michael a football scholarship to a powerful Southern college, but at the same time, it displays an unsuspected level of wit, especially in the relationship of the married couple. Maybe you have to have been in a long-term heterosexual relationship to get it, but this film and couple truly understand the social and political dynamics of a healthy marriage. Another plus for me are the characters of the young son (Jae Head), who basically becomes the "agent" of his "big brother", and the daughter (Lily Collins) who shows that she has true concern for Michael too. For people who like American football, all those scenes are just frosting on the cake. So basically what I'm saying is that this "Hollywood" comedy-drama is one of their best non-F/X releases of recent years and is well worth watching without feeling guilty about it. The end credits show all the actual people who were characterized in the flick. College All-American Michael was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft of 2009 by the Baltimore Ravens.
This mainstream hit is a very entertaining film, so don't let anybody steer you clear from watching a film about true-life good people doing good things and being rewarded. I'll admit that you cannot really compare this film to Precious at all, but on some levels, they are actually about the same thing: parents taking responsibility for their children. Now, I'll admit that the family who "adopts" homeless teenager Michael (Quinton Aaron) are rich Southerners from Memphis, but what's a scriptwriter to do? The dad (Tim McGraw) owns several Taco Bell restaurants (so that's a nice, coincidental tie-in to Sandra's Demolition Man), and my wife Brenda loves Taco Bell, so she says that she would take advantage of all the free food on an almost daily basis (just like Slug would
). The mom (Oscar winner Sandra Bullock) has a big heart and won't back down from anyone or anything when she thinks she's right.The film follows a relatively-predictable story arc in that a few roadblocks are thrown in the way of the family's eventual dream of getting Michael a football scholarship to a powerful Southern college, but at the same time, it displays an unsuspected level of wit, especially in the relationship of the married couple. Maybe you have to have been in a long-term heterosexual relationship to get it, but this film and couple truly understand the social and political dynamics of a healthy marriage. Another plus for me are the characters of the young son (Jae Head), who basically becomes the "agent" of his "big brother", and the daughter (Lily Collins) who shows that she has true concern for Michael too. For people who like American football, all those scenes are just frosting on the cake. So basically what I'm saying is that this "Hollywood" comedy-drama is one of their best non-F/X releases of recent years and is well worth watching without feeling guilty about it. The end credits show all the actual people who were characterized in the flick. College All-American Michael was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft of 2009 by the Baltimore Ravens.