Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless black teen, has drifted in and out of the school system for years. But with the help of a caring woman and her family, he became an All time American football player.
Quite how Sandra Bullock deserved an Oscar for her one-note turn as bleached supermum Leigh-Anne is a mystery, since it transforms a potentially worthwhile character study into a grandstanding star vehicle.
Football may the thread that runs throughout, but the movie is much more interested in the tale of how Oher left behind a life of poverty, violence and foster-home despair to become a champ on the gridiron.
Oherâ(TM)s life is meant to make us feel good, and it mostly does. But how good we feel about his story is proportional to how blind weâ(TM)re willing to be about how itâ(TM)s told.
It's certainly a heartwarming tale and Bullock delivers a big, ballsy performance as the indomitable Tuohy - but Oscar-worthy? What were they thinking?
The movie is done with crispness, vigor, down-home humor, and an over-all tang of good feeling, but the pushing of buttons is the work of extraordinary calculation.
