Yeah, okay, this seems a little stupid. I mean the movie has become a smash hit, grossed over $200M and was nominated for an Academy Award. Is it really something I need to talk about or is everyone who is going to be convinced already planning on seeing it? Well, since it just came out onvideo I guess I might as well say it:
SEE THIS FILM.
Now, yes, the movie is about everything you would except -- a little too cute, a little too cheesy, and it does hit some corny beats, and Sandra Bullock is constantly sassy -- but what it does well, it does really, really well.
The best part comes early. We meet Michael Oher, a giant of a young black man from the projects who gets into a Christian school because the coach thinks he will be great for football, but he doesn't seem ready for the academics. Everything is piled on Michael as we see him quietly struggle. He isn't angry, he doesn't lash out -- he is just a fish out water who doesn't know what to do. He's never had anyone who would be there for him and now he is even more alone. Then one night while driving home, a family sees him walking along the side of the road in the freezing cold. They are the Collins, led by the fiesty matriarch, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock). They take him in and become his family. We also see the first couple hints of what will make him special on the football field (aside from his size!) and that's his protective nature for the people he loves. They help him with school and, well, everything.
Then he begins to play football. At first he struggles. Not because he can't play but because he doesn't seem to want to. He doesn't want to slam people to the ground. It is only when the fiesty Leigh Anne storms onto the field during a practice and explains to him that he should think of the football team as his family (the Collins) and protect them. Now we see him start to excell in football...and well, you get it.
The interesting thing about the movie probably isn't what it does, but what it doesn't do. First, we spend the first half of the film focusing on Michael and the Tuohy's taking him in. There's also no big game, no final play to win the championship, no other sports cliche that I can't think of right now. And that's because this movie isn't really about football -- it's about family.
It's not a perfect movie. I liked the first half a lot more than the second half. And there were some story beats (mainly in the second half) that felt a little cliche. A few too many witty lines. And the whole little kid who says funny things was a bit overdone for me. Things also set up a little too well, so there were definitely places where it was too pat. (Like they tell us that Michael scored poorly in all his evaluations except in his protective instincts that were 98%. Really? They test for that???) Life has a little more choas in it and it wouldn't helped the movie to feel a little less slick. The other problem is that while Bullock gets him to play well by telling him the football team is his family, we never see him bond with the team. In fact, I don't think we ever really meet anyone else on the team. This, and the fact that he doesn't seem to particularly like football, kind of undercuts what he eventually accomplishes on the football field.
Still, like I said, this isn't really a movie about football. It's about family. And if you are looking for a fun, good hearted movie about family this is a pick I can completely recommend
--Paul
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