‘Blindside’ a captivating movie

In a surprising twist, “Blindside” outpaced Summit Entertainment’s “New Moon” in ticket sales over the weekend. Overcoming initial bad raps of your typical rags-to-riches story, “Blindside” captivated viewers with its true story of how one person can change the people around them.

Micheal Oher is a large, quiet and gentle boy who has been abandoned by his mother and whose father ran off at his birth. He has one shirt, which he washes in a sink at a laundromat every night and he sleeps in the school gym. He oftentimes will pick up the leftover food after high school football games so that he has something to eat.

Michael gets into a Christian school upon the recommendation of the school’s football coach who sees the chance for a really good offensive lineman. Of course, he doesn’t use this approach but instead tells the school they should allow him to attend because it is their “Christian duty.” Micheal, having a grade point average of 0.6, struggles with school and has a hard time fitting in due to his large size and timidity.

Leigh Anne Touhy, a mother of two children in the school, sees Micheal — or Big Mike, as everyone calls him — walking down the street in the cold rain one night and invites him into her house.

At first, Mike is hesitant to stay, due to being unused to kindness, and the next morning tries to leave. Leigh Anne tells him he can stay as long as he likes, much to his surprise, and Mike stays.

What follows is a heartwarming tale of how Big Mike’s entrance to the family immediately changes their lives.

The family originally has some trepidations about Mike’s staying with them but very quickly warm up to him, especially Leigh Anne’s son, S.J. He even saves the son’s life in a car accident and protects the family when burglars try to rob their house.

With the encouragement of the Touhy’s and the help of a personal tutor, Micheal begins earning better grades and soon, his grades are high enough to play football.

However, he struggles with the concept of protecting the quarterback. Leigh Anne, remembering he scored in the 98 percentile in “protective instincts” on the school aptitude test, tells him he has to protect the quarterback just like he protected S.J. in the car accident and the family from the burglars.

“Blindside” is a family-friendly movie that has a good balance of humor, love and the excitement of football.The message: a little bit of love can go a long way.

Rating: A-

—Ethan Hendricks
Staff Writer