The Blind Side

I should hate this movie with every ounce of my being (and that's alot of ounces). Yet, it has a certain charm that draws you in like the girl next door, when she has her hair up in a pony tail and smiles at you like you're George Clooney, Robert Pattinson and Zac Efron all rolled into one.

Based on a true story, Sandra Bullock stars as Leigh Anne Touhy - a type-A personality, go-getter interior designer and southern mother who doesn't take any baloney from anyone. She is a pushy, stubborn bull who crushes whatever is in her way and would make Donald Trump shake a little bit when caught in her glare.

One night, she and her family run across Michael (Quinton Aaron), who has been admitted to their children's exclusive school in hopes he will become a football star, but the young man is not doing well with his studies and has troubles fitting in with the rest of the student body (which happens when your student has the body of a 300 pound guy). Worse than that, Michael comes from a broken home and lives a practically homeless existence.

Leigh Anne, who is known for taking on all sorts of charitable projects, can't stand to see this lost young man wandering around in the cold and rain, so she invites him to spend the night in their home. As she gets to know the kid, Leigh Anne starts to become involved in his life to get him on the right track, and enlists an army to help.

Will Michael be able to turn his life around?

Will he start to do better in school?

Will he play football?

I should be ranting and raving about how formulaic, preposterous and corny this movie is as every element of the story begs for us to mock it (which is what I do best). We have the smart aleck, sassy little kid with the snappy one-liners. We have the brassy, almost cartoonish, straight out of a 1980's sit-com Leigh Anne chewing up every obstacle in her way with a Southern drawl inspired by Foghorn Leghorn and Hannah Montana, and a plot about how this kind, rich white family is going to help this poor, unfortunate African-American kid who comes from the kind of impoverished, crime-ridden neighborhood portrayed in rap videos and Republican campaign ads.

The Blind Side should be on the Lifetime network starring Tori Spelling, not contending for an Oscar. Yet, writer/director John Lee Hancock (based on the book by Michael Lewis) brings out an intangible charm to The Blind Side that makes it fun, touching and entertaining.

Most of this charm comes from Bullock and Aaron. Bullock is hell on heels as a caricature of a southern belle. However, in the quiet moments, she humanizes Leigh Anne. Bullock finds a way to show us the horror Leigh Anne feels as she finds out more about Michael's life, the sadness she experiences thinking about what the kid has gone through and the honest love that develops for him as both open up and get to know each other's golden hearts. Yep, Bullock might get an Oscar nomination for this one.

Then, Aaron makes Michael more than a stereotype. As mentioned before, he gives the football star wannabe a heart of gold, but also gives him a playful love for those who embrace him and shows an intelligence and awareness in the character even as others write him off as stupid or a lost cause bound for failure. Aaron slowly shows more and more depth in the character as the story progresses, which keeps you interested in his plight, even if you know what is going to happen next.

I wish Hancock had avoided tossing in one last obstacle for the family to overcome, since that plot twist didn't prove anything we already didn't know about how the characters relate to each other. However, the rest of the movie, while a tad obvious, is lighthearted and full of laughter, even as we see a very serious story playing out in between the jokes.

The Blind Side might be one of the biggest surprises of the year.

The Blind Side is rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references.