I have just returned from seeing the blind side. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, particularly it's more poignant moments. Yes, this is a sports story, yes this is a biopic, but it is also in large part an interpersonal drama. It is rare to see a movie these days that relies on drama to carry it-not special effects, lush historically accurate wardrobe, or astounding make up- just a story that resonates with the viewer. That this story is based on contemporary facts makes it all the more resonant. Events that might have been handled superficially, predictably or exploited for dramatic purposes were instead presented in a nuanced and profound manner. Michael's biological mother was portrayed with dignity and compassion. In short, the aspects of Michael's story that make it moving and inspiring were captured with skill and integrity. As for the negative feedback regarding this movie that began when the only the trailers were available - I think the comments might be more a reflection of the world view of the authors rather than a reflection of the quality of the movie or the reality of Michael's story. Some people think the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" was a story about racism in the south, or that "The Crying Game" was a movie about the IRA - to me those were the settings for the drama, and not the drama itself. John Lee Hancock really bit off a lot when he took on this project-but as it turned out, it was not more than he could chew. Remember when Attorney General Eric Holder commented on how we were a nation of cowards when it came to openly discussing race? With this movie, Hancock has demonstrated he is not one of those cowards. He did not ignore the racial or class differences of the characters in this movie, and he avoided using the movie to make a social statement with the movie. He allowed these character attributes to be what they were in reality, and told the human drama in an effective and sensitive manner.

This is definitely a great "feel good movie" with a great cast and great acting, and if it were based on a fictional character, I'd have no qualms with it whatsoever. However, this movie is not based on a fictional character, it's based on a real man who was lied to for all of his adult life by individuals who profited from him thinking they were "family". Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy (portrayed wonderfully in the film by Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock, respectively) tricked Michael Oher into signing a conservatorship - granting them financial control over his earnings and allowing them to use his likeness for this film and their numerous books - when he thought he was signing adoption papers making him part of the family. The saddest part that makes this one of the worst white savior scams ever is that they and their two biological children were paid $250,000 + 2.5% of net profits EACH from the $300,000,000+ grossing film (about $4.6M each), while Michael himself received nothing for the movie about HIS life, and Oher had to find this out himself after hiring a lawyer to get to the bottom of this. There is no way I could ever watch this movie again and enjoy it any bit knowing that the main character got swindled by people who claimed to love him only to profit from his success story.

This must be embarrassing for Mr. Oher to see. A movie that takes away his accomplishments and credits them all to his adoptive family.

Michael has said himself that the movie Mis-portrayed how much he knew about football. By his account, he was already playing football when he met his adoptive family. While movies will understandably take certain liberties for the sake of telling a story fit for the theaters, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth knowing that Oher's own hard work is minimized in this movie. After all, this is based on Oher's life, and those who watch this movie will likely believe the story is as close to reality as the filmmakers could get.

When you look at how near impossible it is for most people to become a pro athlete, and when you start to under the intense training, dieting, and studying of the game an athlete will have undergone to even be noticed by a league like the nfl, then taking that accomplishment away from the athlete is a tragedy. I enjoyed this movie as a kid for the underdog sports drama theme, but as an adult, can't help but think Oher deserved a much better movie about his life.