The Blind Side - now with pictures

Kind of want to see this, but not sure how I feel about the sugar-coating of the family. I mean did they take Oher in because he was some poor, homeless kid who went to school with their kid, or did they see potential for an Ole Miss recruit? I mean there can't be a shortage of disadvantaged youth in Memphis, so I guess I just wonder if the family's motives were purely altruistic, and does the movie make it seem that way?

 

I actually got a kick out of the cameos by the BCS coaches because I saw that as almost an intentional caricature of the recruiting process, especially with the way they quick cut between all of the coaches during the montages. The recruiting process of a kid that sought after is almost that absurd sometimes, and I thought it was a decently effective way to portray it.

Thought the kid brother's spunk was too much, but I'm overly annoyed by that stock character anyways. Eight-year olds are eight, not devil-spawn, sarcasm-loaded, scenery-chewing sidekicks. I didn't like the kid actor on FNL either.

 

That's the overarching "conflict," peytonsplace.

Foster Mom gets whiny about it. Boy gets mad, feels like a pawn. Little Boy (a character worse than Jar-Jar Binks at his own very worst) cheers everybody up with his precious brand of humor. Boy signs scholarship papers. Roger Goodell makes a cameo. Everybody lives happily ever after.

 

Haven't seen the movie yet but the book is outstanding. Heartily recommend it.

 

Just saw the movie tonight. Bullock was HOT and I thought the film was well-executed. It's a really good story, and I do like how they emphasized how significant the left tackle position has become. The girlfriend loved it and she's not even a football fan. So I guess it accomplished its purpose.

 

Absolutely.

Indisputable.

Very good film, and Bullock is a tour de force, with an accent I have heard PLENTY in the south.

 

That last bit is what struck me, that he was depicted as if he knew nothing about football, which was not accurate. I doubt I will even bother watching this one on cable.

I'm wondering if the player is a tad overrated, too. Looked very good blocking for the run last night, but really struggled in pass protection.

 

It's that Hollywood-ization that hits every sports film.

I think the movie emerges from it pretty well.

 

I saw it this weekend and agree -- great film.

 

Not totally. There's a lot of emphasis in the book on how LT went from just another line position to the home of the biggest, best athletes on the team.

 

Funny, in the movie he had the same trouble. Couldn't pass-block for crap, but was a beast blocking for the run.

 

Somebody noted that the car accident was not in the book when it was.

Lewis' argument is going to be confused, same as it was in "Moneyball." His basic premise is the way the market reacts to certain forces. In this one it was salaries of offensive linemen in response to two forces: free agency and LT. As for those complaining about the feel-good story he jumped on, what, you wanted 300 pages of sports-related financial analysis? Oher's the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down.

The movie was solid, but annoyed me for the same reasons many state here: the dialogue was way over the top and any scene with Tim McGraw seemed of sit-com quality. The kid brother was also quite cartoonish in the book, which lent to his "straight-from-central-casting" feel in the movie.

I think one of the biggest issues with the book and the movie is that Oher appears to be a bad example of the thing Lewis is most talking about. Yes, he's good, but hardly a prodigy in the Ogden or Jones mold.

Oher also said he didn't like the way he was depicted in the book, saying that he wasn't that ignorant. He also suggested that he probably would have been in the NFL (or NBA) with or without the Tuohys, seemingly oblivious to how many people in his situation never do anything with their talent. At the end of the book he comes off as just another 20-year old seemingly oblivious to the advantages he's been handed. It's pretty typical of the age group and an interesting piece of psychology in that even those who should know how blessed they are sometimes just don't get it.