The Blind Side

Director: John Lee Hancock.

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Tim McGraw.

Reviewed By Clint Morris.

Lower the casket down, flick some daisies on top, and shovel the soil...Sandra Bullock’s career is dead.

It’s a pity, the woman gave us some darn fine entertaining films (Speed, Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, A Time to Kill, While You Were Sleeping...even Demolition Man was a fun time), but the ageing former big-screen ‘it girl’s’ latest bunch of films (the best of the bunch being Miss Congeniality and The Proposal  -  and that’s saying something!) have been about as lifeless as the piles of dry dust under the sleeve of the Two if By Sea video.

Bullock’s latest, though a commendable effort (if only because she’s trying something new  -  and I’m not referring to her hair colour), might’ve been better served on a Wikipedia page than the big screen. It’s one of those flicks that, though baring a sweet ‘true’ story, just doesn’t embody the emotional punch, or relatable characters, needed to draw an audience in. It’s like attending a work party other than your own  -  you don’t feel as those you belong there, it takes you forever (if at all) to get to know people, and seeing as those you likely don’t have much in common with those sharing the punch, are likely just to stare at your watch for most of the evening.  

Not to say that films that feature characters we can’t relate to, or stories that we haven’t personally experienced, can’t be affecting  -  we know they can, especially with the aid of Hollywood button pressing. But everyone must’ve had blistered fingers, because there’s no indication that those in-front of and behind the camera are even trying to press any buttons here  -  and maybe they should’ve, it might’ve woken us all up from our slumber. Good on Bullock for just letting the story play out, but bad idea not to inject it with a bit of oomph and rouse.

The Blind Side tells the story of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless, traumatised and very tall young man, who, in later years, became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring but filthy-rich woman (Sandra Bullock) and her family.

Bullock’s reasonable enough in the lead role (There’s some Oscar buzz surrounding her performance; don’t see it), newcomer Aaron does an apt enough job in the key role of Big Mike, and crooner cum actor Tim McGraw convinces us he can make a decent cinematic nice guy, playing Bullock’s accommodating on-screen husband, but nobody is particularly awe-inspiring here...and there’s not a character here that you won’t forget ten minutes after exiting the theatre. And that’s a pity, considering the rather sweet story they’re telling here.

Writer/Director John Lee Hancock (who helmed the equally disappointing wannabe feel-good sports drama The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid, a couple of years back) didn’t leave his dish in the oven long enough  -  it’s undercooked, pasty plain, and not that satisfying. What could’ve been the next Rudy instead plays like a twist on John Hughes’ Curly Sue with Bullock playing the snooty Kelly Lynch character, and Aaron playing the underprivileged youngster who pot-boils her heart. Blah!

The Blind Side in cinemas now.

ENDS