The Blind Side (2009)

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

Director:

John Lee Hancock

Writers:

John Lee Hancock, Michael Lewis (book)

Stars:

Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw

Won 1 Oscar. Another 8 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandra Bullock	...	Leigh Anne Tuohy
Tim McGraw	...	Sean Tuohy
Quinton Aaron	...	Michael Oher
Jae Head	...	S.J. Tuohy
Lily Collins	...	Collins Tuohy
Ray McKinnon	...	Coach Cotton
Kim Dickens	...	Mrs. Boswell
Adriane Lenox	...	Denise Oher
Kathy Bates	...	Miss Sue
Catherine Dyer	...	Mrs. Smith
Andy Stahl	...	Principal Sandstrom
Tom Nowicki	...	Literature Teacher
Libby Whittemore	...	Sarcastic Teacher
Brian Hollan	...	Jay Collis
Melody Weintraub	...	History Teacher

Storyline

Based on the true story of Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy who take in a homeless teenage African-American, Michael Oher. Michael has no idea who his father is and his mother is a drug addict. Michael has had little formal education and few skills to help him learn. Leigh Anne soon takes charge however, as is her nature, ensuring that the young man has every opportunity to succeed. When he expresses an interest in football, she goes all out to help him, including giving the coach a few ideas on how best to use Michael's skills. They not only provide him with a loving home, but hire a tutor to help him improve his grades to the point where he would qualify for an NCAA Division I athletic scholarship. Michael Oher was the first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL draft.

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Plot Keywords:

american football | rapping in a car | singing in a car | football star | high school football | 

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Taglines:

Based on the extraordinary true story

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is Netflix's most-rented DVD of all time.

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Goofs

(at around 25 mins) Answer "B" to question 6: "Which does not involve an oxidation process? reads: Using a "flaslight". Of course it should have been written: "flashlight".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Leigh Anne Touhy: There's a moment of orderly silence before a football play begins. Players are in position, linemen are frozen, and anything is possible. Then, like a traffic accident, stuff begins to randomly collide. From the snap of the ball to the snap of the first bones, closer to 4 seconds than 5.
[video rewinds]
Leigh Anne Touhy: One-mississippi - Joe Theismann, the Redskins quarterback takes the snap and hands-off to his running mate. Two-mississippi - it's a trick play, a flea-flicker. And the running back ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Family, school and sports photographs of the real Michael Oher and of the real Tuohy family are shown during the initial credits.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time/Sex and the City 2/MacGruber (2010)

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Soundtracks

Eric Apologizes
from the motion picture A Walk to Remember (2002)
Composed by Mervyn Warren
Courtesy of Sockeye Music Inc.

User Reviews

Sandra Bullock as Saint Sandra Bullock In A Terrific TV Movie

I must confess I was weeping 5 minutes into the movie and that's unusual for me. I had read the book and in the book nothing is that black or that white for that matter, but this is as movie and as a movie it works. I was expecting commercial interruptions every few minutes, the film felt so much like a TV movie. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. The Michael Oher story had to be told even with the poetic licenses that the film takes, shamelessly. Sandra Bullock plays herself beautifully as always and her character with all her saintly stern, southern modern American woman could not move away too far from "Miss Congeniality". But it works and at the end of the day, after paying the prices one pays at the box office, it's almost enough. Why they had to ruin it with an Oscar nomination? The nomination makes you look for something in her performance that clearly isn't there. If you go to a Sandra Bullock movie, the quality of the movie may vary but she is always terrific, playing that Sandra Bullock character. Good for her.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Blind Side

Filming Locations:

Agnes Scott College - 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$29,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$34,119,372, 22 November 2009

Gross USA:

$255,959,475

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$309,208,309

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcon Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment, Left Tackle Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1