Another poor, massive, uneducated African-American teenager lumbers onto screens this month, two weeks after Precious and obviously timed as a pre-Thanksgiving-dinner lesson in the Golden Rule. But unlike the howling rage of Claireece Precious Jones, The Blind Side's Michael "Big Mike" Oher (Quinton Aaron) is mute, docile, and ever-grateful to the white folks who took him in. Directed by John Lee Hancock and based on a true story recounted in Michael Lewis's 2006 book of the same name, Blind Side the movie peddles the most insidious kind of racism, one in which whiteys are virtuous saviors, coming to the rescue of African-Americans who become superfluous in narratives that are supposed to be about them.
The steel Magnolia who takes pity on homeless Big Mike after she sees him walking in the freezing rain in just a polo shirt and XXX-large denim shorts is Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), a frosted interior decorator, wife of Taco Bell franchise owner Sean (Tim McGraw), and mother of teenage cheerleader Collins (Lily Collins) and hyper half-pint S.J. (Jae Head, giving the year's most excruciatingly muggy performance by a child actor), who attend the same Christian academy that recently accepted the mountainous youth. An officious caretaker, Leigh Anne clears out the guest bedroom for Michael, earning the nervous praise of the Tennessee doyennes with whom she regularly lunches. Though they congratulate their friend's altruism, they're convinced Leigh Anne's new charge will either rob her Memphis McMansion or violate her daughter: "You're changing that boy's life," one applauds. Her response, of course: "No. He's changing mine."
In a way, Oher's story does change Bullock's life, giving her an awards-bait role filled with preachiness and thickly accented speech—"seriousness," after this year's rom-com humiliations The Proposal and All About Steve. But for all the supposed uplift, Bullock's facile Good Christian Materialist Southern Woman is part of The Blind Side's desperate cynicism, succinctly expressed in Sean's comment to his wife: "Michael's gift is his ability to forget."
Viewers, however, are constantly reminded of the pathologies the black gentle giant has escaped: the crack-addicted mother ("I can't even remember who the boy's father is," she weeps to Leigh Anne), the thugs of the country-ghetto housing project who offer him a 40-ouncer. Life with benevolent white people gives Michael the golden opportunity to partake in one of the most patronizing, we-are-the-world scenes imaginable: dueting with S.J. on "Bust a Move." S.J. becomes an unbearable martinet, bossing Michael around during drills for football practice, where the large lad shines as a left tackle at the Christian academy, eventually drafted to Ole Miss (and, as real-life footage of the actual Oher shows during the closing credits, later to the Baltimore Ravens). But Michael is unable to figure out what he actually needs to do on the field—until his white momma explains it to him: "This team is your family. You protect them."
In every scene, Oher is instructed, lectured, comforted, or petted like a big puppy; he is merely a cipher (Aaron has, at most, two pages of dialogue), the vehicle through which the kind-hearted but imperfect whites surrounding him are made saintlier. "Am I a good person?" Leigh Anne asks Sean non-rhetorically—as if every second in this film weren't devoted to canonizing her.
Michael is aggressively courted by SEC football coaches (many playing themselves, an unintentionally grotesque parade of bad orthodonture and worse-fitting suits), and, after an unpleasant run-in with an NCAA official toward the film's end, Leigh Anne soothes Michael by assuring him that "the past is gone, the world's a good place, and it's all gonna be OK." The filmmakers would like to lull you to sleep with this milk of amnesia, hiding behind the fact that this bewilderingly condescending movie is based on an actual person—but one who you end up knowing almost nothing about.
I totally agree with this reviewer. "The Blind Side" was an absolutely atrocious movie. It was so syrupy sweet. Treacle. The message was horrible. The only reason this kid was accepted into the school in the first place was because the coach wanted him for the football team. Nice. His education doesn't seem to matter to anyone. Not really. The coach claims that accepting this kid into the school is "the Christian thing to do." Gag. Is anyone going out and looking for other kids who need help, because it's "the Christian thing to do?" Or is it just the ones who are good for the football team? Education takes a backseat to playing football through the whole movie! Getting Big Mike's GPA over the minimum is only a means to the TRUE end of getting him to play football. What a terrible message! The one teacher who actually has educational standards is made out to be the bad guy who is standing in Big Mike's way! Even the one person who should only be thinking about Big Mike's education, the private tutor, lies to him and tells him scary stories about "body parts under the football field" at the rival college that he is considering. All anybody cares about is football! Here's an idea: Teach him his lessons! The college recruiters are falling all over themselves to get this football player who has not received a basic education. No one questions whether Big Mike is ready for college-level work. We all understand that it really does not matter at all. He can play football. Jesus. The acting (what acting) was ridiculous. Sandra Bullock plays a spunky southern gal!!! Sandra Bullock has played a spunky southern gal in every movie she has ever made. Sandra Bullock IS a spunky southern gal! The actor who plays Big Mike barely evens talks. What has he got, like two pages of dialogue in the entire movie? He's more or less used just as a big prop. He does make a number of sad, dopey faces, at nobody in particular. He's just a prop in the very preachy Sandra-Bullock-is-a-saint movie. This movie is totally condescending and patronizing. Just because it is based on a true story doesn't mean that they were actually faithful to the true story. My understanding is that the real Michael Oher was not totally inept at playing football, that is, until the smiling Christians taught him about "family." Just because it is based on a true story doesn't mean it doesn't have a right-wing, Republican "spin." Just because it is based on a true story doesn't mean that the story isn't told in a really insulting condescending way that celebrates the white lady who helped him, instead of telling the empowering story of the man who actually had the talent to make it to the NFL. Just because it's based on a true story doesn't mean that it doesn't have a racist point of view. White Christianity fixes everything! White mansion people "good." Black ghetto people "scary." This is syrupy white guilt at its worst. And the funny thing is, everything that the investigator, the lady from the NCAA, everything she said was TRUE. These patronizing Christians are rushing in to save a poor black kid with the brilliant football career ahead of him, AND steering him toward their beloved alma mater. (But the only one who is truly and blatantly unscrupulous about it is the self-confessed Democrat.) Are we not supposed to notice that every single member of this family is a rabid football fan? Isn't it funny that they just happened to choose to help the one kid who is a brilliant athlete, and a monster football player? I didn't see them take an interest in helping any other poor black kids. It was the "Magic Negro." This movie was slimy and gross.
I think it's funny that most of these reviewers rally don't see the racism in all this. "It's a true story" so what? do we really need to see another movie like this? There have been so may, it sickens me. The white hope comes and saves the poor black people. Why not be original and make a movie the other way around, OR just stop making these movies all together! The people that are saying they don't see the world as black and white (or any other skin color) are just fooling themselves. "I don't see color" get real.
What a mean spirited, ugly review. Like almost everyone commenting here I'm appalled by this reviewer's comments. I'm not a football fan and I didn't even know it was a true story until the end. And I loved it. Not sure it merits an Oscar, but I found it thoroughly engaging. And because of your nasty review it gets a "zero" rating on Metacritic. What a joke.
Brilliant Review. Absolutely spot on.
Get serious everyone, there is no way that a Village Voice critic would ever like a movie that portrayed a southern, white, christian, republican family in a positive light. Add to that the fact that they helped a young African-American man and it destroys their entire paradigm.
Melissa, you have no bloody idea what you are talking about. You suck as a movie critic, a social critic, and any other kind of critic. And regarding your charge that this movie is racist - YOU ARE WRONG. That's par for the course for left-wingers, though. "The Blind Side" was a fabulously uplifting movie. No doubt about it. And it's a true story. Wow, that must really eat away at you that a rich white family made a difference in somebody's life, and that somebody happened to be of color. Seriously, don't you see the idiocy of what you are trying to argue? - "Don't help about a black person, and we will call you a racist. Do help out a black person, and we will call you a racist." Well, screw that "logic". You make no sense.
The racism seems to be in your article and the way you are viewing this true story. Not every thing is about "Racism", its about people caring about other people. Kindness, Caring, Love...I choose to focus on the positive . PEACE
How is it racist when it's a TRUE STORY? You're the one who sounds racist with your review talking about "whiteys" and poor African-Americans that need saving. This is a pathetic excuse for a review. Having your opinion is fine and simply writing that you disliked the movie is fine, but coming out saying that it's racist garbage makes you sound stereotypical and unintelligent. I would say that I've lost all respect for you, but that's not possible seeing as how I've never even fucking heard of you. Maybe if you educate yourself on the story behind the movie and realize they based it off of actual events, not just racist conspired thoughts pulled out of the fucking clouds, you could write a decent review telling everyone you just didn't like the movie. Instead, you point to a race card that makes you out to be a stereotypical, narrow-minded idiot. Coming out saying things like "whiteys" and making stereotypes about African-Americans makes you sound a bit racist, don't you think?
You have got to be black or dealing with a lot of white quilt. I thought this was a movie review not a op ed page on race. I love being white now---- where we are damned if we do and damned if we don't. I would not walk across the street to piss on a black if they were on fire. So I could care less about your little ideas in a paper that was once a proud place to work and you had to pay money to get it. Now this rag is free. No wonder.
The movie is heartwarming. The acting is strong, particularly Tim McGraw, who has very little training and experience. Race was frankly not a huge focus of the movie. Newsflash - everything is not always about race. The reviewer, on the other hand, is racist. And pathetic. And shallow. And demographically thin-skinned. Hopefully she will find a politically correct movie to admire, because that seems to be her primary criteria. I expected more from the Village Voice. It appears I was wrong.
I am so for sure that if you are walking aimlessly in a cold rain and someone stops, offers you a warm place to sleep, your last thought is some socialogical mumble jumble about a White savior. All you want is a savior. How many homeless Black kids, with crack addicted mamas and unknown daddies are there out there? A whole hell of a lot. As much as I would like for all Black families to be Cosbyesque or at least loving and climbing, the reality is that there are far too many Michael Ohers on the street and far too many Black folks who have arrived who just keep on driving by, so until you stop, pick up the next cold wet unwanted child, don't go all racially indignant on the White person who does.
I get the point you are trying to make Ms. Anderson but the manner in which you presented it explains more about you, as a person, than it does this movie. While this picture appears to be just another stereotypical Hollywood feel-goody, it IS (unfortunately for you) based on a true story, which provides a perfect example for all of those other unenlightened individuals who may have actually enjoyed this movie. From the replies I read, most people came away from this movie feeling good about society and its promise. I, on the other hand, come away from reading your review like I should be ashamed for being white.
Don't help me. Let them suffer, what a bunch of ignorant elitists who only see the world through liberal, racist eyes. These are the same people say we need universal health care to help people. Which is it, you hypocrites.Tell Michael Oher what you think and he'd probably knock you on your butt. By the way the author of this article is a clown.
I'm sorry you see the world through black and white glasses.
Are you writing a review about the movie or commenting on the white / black issues it addresses. Get off your soapbox and review movies. If you want to address political problems, run for office. They must not let you write real stories for this paper or you'd have a byline and be writing real columns instead of movie reviews.
you're an idiot. i cant imagine a more vindictive and ignorant review about such an inspiring and uplifting story. you must have really failed your own life to be that pissed off and blind.
I just saw a television interview with the family that adopted the homeless young man. The husband, wife, and two kids seemed like garden-variety middle-class Americans who try to live out the tenets of their faith. Because I work in a public school and sometimes become privy to the difficult circumstances under which some of my students must live, I can attest to the fact that many Americans almost routinely extend compassion, mercy, and generosity to families in crisis and children in need. The mother of one of my girls became addicted to heroin and could no longer fulfill her responsibilities to her teenage daughter. The parents of one of this girl's friends took her in and provided her with the requisite guidance and TLC until she graduated from high school. If one family becomes homeless, another family provides them with a place to live until they can get back on their feet financially. Parents who have more money pay the field trip fees of students whose parents have less money. Christianity happens. The Body of Believers is extending arms and legs and time and talent and bank accounts 24/7 all over the world. The only aspect that forced the Tuoy family out from under the radar is the fact that the young man they adopted happened to become a professional football player. My colleague and his wife have two biological children and five adopted children, all of whom have varying degrees of special needs, and two of whom happen to be African-American. As far as I know, Hollywood screenwriters are not beating down his door to tell his story to the world. That's because, as remarkable and commendable as his story is, it is not all that unusual. Not in America, anyway. It may be difficult for a self-styled wordly-wise urban sophisticate to comprehend this, but most Americans are earnest and well-meaning rather than cynical, compassionate and kind rather than racist, and generous and self-sacrificing rather than selfish and materialistic. And I dare say that many Americans will flock to the movie theaters to see "The Blind Side" and will leave those theaters inspired to strive to be even more Christ-like in their day-to-day lives. "I am come that ye might have life, and have it more abundantly." Melissa, may the joy of The Savior's birthday permeate your life and empower you to be a blessing to everyone you meet. Abundant living is yours just for the asking.
Great White Dope. I ACCIDENTALLY saw this movie. I bought tickets to see Avatar in 3d and got there when it started(opening night) so it was too packed. Instead of getting my money back and leaving, I opted for trying out this horrible movie instead. What a waste! This movie review is DEAD ON. This is a hallmark interpretation of a true story that makes you want to projectile vomit every 20 seconds or so. The script is so blatantly preconceived that the characters can only remain 1 dimensional puppet like automatons. What scares me the most were the people in the audience who laughed at the Lifetime/Disney like humor that was set up as crutches for this disasterous movie( every 20 seconds, hence the nausea for vomiting). What freaks me out even more are the overwhelming amount of positive reviews on this comment board. You people are missing the overall idea!! Its not about the story in the end! YES! It IS a TRUE story and ,yes, these rich white people helped this poor black kid, but the SCRIPT and EVERY scene is so saccharine, hallmark, Macy's Catalogue, that you can't possibly feel anything for these characters. I loved the way they tried to jerk you for tears with the slow sequences of this big frankenstein/shrek/hunchback of notredame like character, hunched over, with that sad look in his eyes. AAAwwwee..Then the SAD violin music on top. Classic melodramatic bull that is sadly prominent in Hollywood, and probably brainwashing younger generations who don't have access to better movies(yes even today with the internet) and rely on mainstream marketing for their entertainment. You can evoke sadness without being so literal! YES! Its a only a movie(But this is a TRUE story! Its artificial in the end, but this movie made me never want to go to the movies again(I walked out of the theater 60% of the way through.) My conclusion is that, in fact, WE THE PEOPLE, The AUDIENCE members , are actually the embodiment of this dopey character. Hollywood needs its own great white hope(or great black hope, whomever! Someone help!!) to save itself out of mediocrity and banality. I wouldn't even suggest this movie to children for its "golden rule" message.
This review would make perfect sense except for one problem -- the movie is based on a true story. I think it would have been more condescending for the filmmakers to add in a made up "black savior" to pacify the easily offended than for them to do what they did, which was present the story as it actually happened. Life doesn't always happen neatly, or within the boundaries of political correctness.
Here's the movie I want to see. It's about a Gothamite hipster who writes for a radical alt/weekly and would never be caught dead in "ill-fitting clothes". She passes by a homeless black child in the rain, but remembers enough Fraz Fannon from the ethnic studies classes she took at an expensive east coast private school to know that directly helping that child is enables the worst post-colonial myths about white people not being totally evil and uncool. So she passes the child by, on her way to a East-side poetry slam featuring the works Zizek, and Chomsky set to an African tribal beat.
White people did the saving in the movie because that is what happened in real life. You are the one polarizing the opinions like its your God given right. Watch a movie objectively. Can't be compared to Precious in any fashion. The movies are going two entirely different tones, not to mention they are two entirely differenet stories. Damn the whities. You're right, we should villify them for doing good. Right? Don't you hate white people? They suck.
I think its just amazing how your brain works. How you can live in this day and age and still be that ignorant. Its because of people like you that we are still fighting to get rid of racism. I think when you watched this movie, you forgot that it was a TRUE story. Not one that a writer sat down and said “oh I am going to write a movie about a black kid and make a white family take him in.” When she saw him on the street, I’m sure she didn’t say, “ I better not give him a place to stay warm tonight, He’s black, people might think I’m trying to be superior over him.” And thinking like you do, you would have left him walking down the street. I cant believe you actually get paid to think this stupid.
OK,those of you that condescended to enlighten and educate us bad old WHITE people-Im waiting for the upcoming 'feelgood' movie about the insanely wealthy BLACK gangsta-rappa or idiotically misbehaving BLACK sports star that takes in a homeless,down on his luck BLACK kid-uses some of that phaT money for good and completely turns that BLACK kid's life around....Surely all you fine,high minded northern liberal Intellectuals know of dozens and dozens of such cases....ummm...Wow,Is there an echo In here...its mighty quiet...
Not having read other reviews by Melissa Anderson, I can't say if her writing style here is a trend, so I can only suggest that the level of disgust and sarcasm used to describe The Blind Side is only an equal and opposite reaction to the level of tripe and cliche-ridden characterizations by the movie-makers. On one level, the Anderson haters fail to recognize her criticisms are aimed at the tired, cookie-cutter presentation of the story, fact-based notwithstanding. Yes, the outline is true but the fleshing out of the characters is so sacharrine laden that it's no wonder Anderson felt compelled to spew out her distaste for film. So the indignation of Christians and white people here on this thread are misguided: Anderson never mocks their good intentions and acts - she only warns filmgoers possessing three digit IQs and the ability to recognize paint-by-number treatments to stay away from The Blind Side and venture elsewhere for enlghtened storytelling. Those that choose to see this film and enjoy it, well, good for you and I wish you not too many more viewings of similar made for the masses, run of the mill, second year film study, dim bulb, non-challenging, Oscar-baiting star vehicle, heart-strings manipulating, Type II diabetic, fast food, self-congratulatory, conscience clearing, soon-to-be Walmart $5 bin level, "nice" movies like The Blind Side before realizing where Melissa Anderson was coming from. (But hey, a lot of people are happy with fast food hamburgers and choose not to seek out filet mignon. Not stuffy, just more experienced.)
"It needs to be the wonderful thing a caucasion has done, because then a caucasion with huge box office appeal can attach their name to the project." Maybe you don't remember a recent feel-good-true-story movie called Pursuit of Happiness. You don't think Will Smith or Denzel Washington or Halle Berry or Tyler Perry or etc., etc. can't open a movie with their name attached to it? The problem isn't that the ONLY acceptible narrative is that white people are saintly. Actually, most of the time the narrative is that white people are the devil. This is the first movie in a long time which is willing to admit any amount of virtue to white people. But of course, it's just one family. The white community as a whole is portrayed as racist: the teachers that don't care, the women who say offensive things to Leigh Ann at lunch. All of Tennessee is basically portrayed as racist. But because ONE LITTLE FAMILY does the right thing, this movie is about how all white people are saints. Come on.
"the past is gone, the world's a good place, and it's all gonna be OK." Uh, Leigh Ann doesn't say that to Michael. Michael says that what his biological mom used to say. Next time, before you write a review of a movie... watch the movie.
"the past is gone, the world's a good place, and it's all gonna be OK." Uh, Leigh Ann doesn't say that to Michael. Michael says that what's his biological mom used to say. Next time, before you write a review of a movie... watch the movie.
OK, I am black and I think this is ridiculous. Talk about crying wolf, no wonder people are tired of the race card. Look, if this were a movie made up by a white person you would have a point. But it's not. It's a TRUE STORY. How can facts be racist?
I didn't find the movie racist at all. It's stupid people like you that only pay attention to the color of people's skin in the movie instead of paying attention to the actual story. What was portrayed on screen was accurate and true, and it could hav just as easily been a rich black family taking a poor white kid. You are a dumb ignorant bitch who draws nothing but racism out of everything that has to do with a poor black man. The story is true so i don't think its racist. In fact i think you are the person that is racist
To all of you "I'm conservative, Christian, and wanna feel good about it" numbnuts, you're missing an important point as you scramble to defend this "blacks: needy, whites: saintly" narrative. The point isn't that it's a true story. There are literally millions of true stories happening every day. There are acts of kindness and acts of selflessness going on all around you. What Hollywood doesn't care about, for the most part, is if those acts of kindness are the acts of african americans, or asian americans or hispanic americans, etc. Think about the stories Hollywood *chooses* to tell - that's the real racism. It needs to be the wonderful thing a caucasion has done, because then a caucasion with huge box office appeal can attach their name to the project, it will have a serious budget and serious distribution and then you get to see it and feel all warm and crumbly inside. It's not how the story is told, it's *what* stories *get* told.
I always like it when an east coast lib rips a movie like this. If she read the book she would know that this is a true story adn that the awful white family really did care about Michael and for the most part adopted him. The role of Lea Ann was expanded in the film, Sean really did have quite a role as well ini his development and helping him to earn passing grades so he could go to college. Why is it necessary to take what is clearly intended to be a positive film and define it by race. I saw nothing but respect for diveristy in the film and the idea that an child left on the streets could be taken in by this family should be uplifting. Instead we are beaten aroudn the head by someone who voted for Obama (I'm sure) and felt pride in the first black president, but finds this kind of situation where a white family helps a poor balck child to be something to be made fun of. It really happened and it is a nice story. That's all and I find your slant on it to be typical of why I don't read your publication regularly. I bet you have never been involved in this kind of thing and if you have, youi are now too big tiime to leave the "village" and your band of sycophants to see anything but your own bitter liberal view.
melissa anderson is clearly threatened by this movie - maybe because she realizes that rich republican christians in the south actually care about black people more than she does. what has she done for poor black people? or for anyone? i'm a liberal big-city democrat who thought it was a great and inspiring movie. critics unfortunately tend to be a bitter and cynical lot and i know most of them didn't love this film. but to call it "the most insidious type of racism"?? this reviewer seems to yearn for a world in which white people never help black people. hmm, i wonder who the real racist is....?
BRAVO! Melissa, this article presents the type of clarity that is so needed in culture writings. So easily do we dismiss obvious shortcomings of our world for the sake of "artistic expression", that it seriously undermines social progress. Yes, racism still exists. The common notion is that we've made ENOUGH progress in the realm of civil rights so that we don't really have to take a close look at issues like race. But subtle racism is still racism, folks. And arguably even worse.
There have been many movies about BLACK crusading individuals who have made a difference in their community (Stand by Me, the football movie where Denzel Washington was the Head Coach of a just-integrated team). And there are true stories of Mexican or White individuals who by want of circumstances or their peculiar characters chose to sacrifice their time and energies to help someone else or many someones (in the case of a school or team or band.) This is a TRUE STORY of a white, hard-headed, socialite (and not exactly the ideal heroine) who never-the-less took a very introverted, cowed, headed-for-nowhere, neglected boy and turned his life around through sheer willpower and compassion and a certain amount of arrogant stubborness. OMG What if other self-satisfied white socialites are prompted to get out of their comfort zones and do something that really makes an impact? What vile film-makers to promote such a notion! Your review is the worst kind of reverse-racism, and snobbism. Some do-gooders do good despite their trappings or vanities or social status. Deal with it!
Actually, I liked your review Melissa- screw what everyone else says!!! When I first saw the trailer everything you wrote- I thought! Being an African American, - from my experience, I don't know about anyone elses- I feel as if whenever something in a movie is about a black person, or any other minority member, they usually have the "saintly" white person who saves their life (Gran Turino, Freedom Writers)-- And usually, we're always depicted as the ones in the gangs, living in the slums, or beating our kids. and no offence, even though the movie (and I think the 2 others I listed) was based on a true story, I feel as if whenever another Black or Latino or even Asian does something good for their own community, they never get the credit or attention that the otherwise Cauasian do gooder will recieve. So there's a shortage of stories like this that feature us helping our communities.
Wow, and you say the movie is racist? How about you go take a hard long look in the mirror. The Village Voice should be ashamed to have you employed. Honestly, ive never read a more biased, politically motivated, racist review in my life. You are a pathetic. Please choke on your review.
You know, maybe someone didn't tell you, but this is in fact a TRUE story. Tension was definitely expressed both in the game by the awful opposition, and also by the white women lunching with Leigh Anne. Politics and religion aside, the story itself is about beautiful selflessness that this family had to help someone else. I know you are probably upset because all the most recent movies attack republicans and christians, but this movie had a wonderful story, good values, and DONT DISS S.J. He was actually playing a NORMAL kid. (That's how kids act in case you don't have any ;) )God Bless you and Merry Christmas!!
Anderson this is a horrible review. It's fine if you dislike the movie, but your reasoning is horrific.
Anderson this is a horrible review. It's fine if you dislike the movie, but your reasoning is horrific.
I get the point of your diatribe. You wanted the Oher character to be foreground center and the Touhy family to be as far to the back as possible...like blacks used to have to be. OK, it's not structured the way you want so it's racist. Guess what? At the time of these events the Touhy's WERE at the center of the story. It was THEIR actions that made Oher's success possible. Do you remotely believe that he would be where he is now without their help??? If you do then you're a complete fool. If the emphasis is on them it's because they DESERVE it! They are "Saviors" and they are "White" and Oher's talent would have gone totally into the crapper without them. I don't know that I have ever encountered someone so racially self loathing. The political correctness of the extreme Left is just as Fascist as any ideology on the extreme Right, and I am heartily...thoroughly...profoundly sick of having it pounded into my head by white apologists like yourself as well as by a huge segment of the African American face of the media that to be white is to be something shameful. That I should feel some need to apologize for being white. That all white people are indeed "white devils", evil, the scum of the earth while all black people are noble, stainless, and approaching divinity. I can imagine the hue and cry if a white comedian were to dare say anything about blacks equivalent to things routinely said by black comedians about whites, and how can the "N" word possibly be the "worst" word anyone can say if black people aren't above everyone else? I would have thought that ANY expression of bigotry was equal in ugliness to any other. No race is above or below any other and no apologia is ever needed by any member of any race so to you, Dear Lady, and to all others like you I can only say FUCK YOU!!! I'M WHITE. DEAL WITH IT!!!
Whoaaa!-Tone down your 'white hot' self-loathing,Ms.Anderson-Maybe the movie IS a little hokey but I guess being 'white' makes the selfless and truly life-changing actions of these fine people somehow less noble and simply Good in a crappy selfish society.This TRUE story just flies in the face of the northern Liberal Myth of the evil white devils of the south,doesnt it?So just adjust your trendy little horn rimmed glasses,buy yourself a latte with your pinky raised and shut your hateful little mouth.
i am so glad all of the people commenting are saying what i was thinking. this reviewer is a joke. i'm sure she loves the attention but i promise i will not read anything else with her name on it. it's jealousy, it's cynicism, it's mean-spirited, it's even racist to an extent which is ironic as hell. what a moron. people like you who stir the pot for NO apparent reason do nothing to advance our country. we have come so far when it comes to the race issue and i am extremely proud of that and then to have an idiot like you trying to instigate only sets us back two steps. you strike me as one of those people who just loves to hear herself talk so please find a new career and keep your ridiculous opinions to yourself.
dannnng Melissa, you are one over the top cynical Christian hating looney lib.....funny how you lib atheists only talk the talk but never help anyone
I just saw the film and did get very teary eyed and inspired. I did walk away feeling that Hollywood did not put ONE person of color in that childs life who was a positive person. This film is based on a true story; they have to improvise the rest. It is typical of Hollywood to portray people of color entirely in this light. I am thankful to this reviewer for looking at this film from all angles. Kudos to the real life benevolent family who made a difference in this boys life.
Oh, and Kale. Did you not get the fact Michael helped to change a small culture? This is not an epic film by any means...but it certainly points out that racial harmony needs little steps, and can cross boundaries with big leaps when the opportunity arises and people open their minds. This was and is about a black kid helping ignorant people realize the value of potential in any human being.
Wow, you really did not watch the movie, or simply did not pay attention. It was Michael's birth mother that he recalls telling him "the past is gone, the world's a good place, and it's all gonna be OK" Why are you reviewing films you have not really...ummm, reviewed? Don't do that.
The problem is not that a white family saved a black kid. That is a kind and generous thing and should be applauded. But HOW MANY of these same movies have we seen over the years where some white teacher/family comes in and saves some poor disadvantaged black kid from a life of drugs and violence. We have seen this same theme time and time again. Whites love being seen as saviors. How many movies can you name where the theme was the exact opposite, a rich/well to do black family saving some poor disadvantaged white kids. I cant name one. THAT is my problem with the MOVIE, not with the people themselves.
To those who say he isn't a real critic for putting opinion into a review, you need to read the review again, or watch the movie. There isn't anything in here that someone who isn't completely naive wouldn't have noticed. The movie is more based around how awesome the white people who helped the black kid are instead of the guy who the movie is supposed to be about. There is no opinion in this review, only blatant fact. If you choose to ignore the facts, then that's your own fault.
While I respect Ms. Anderson's right to her opinion of the film, there is, to me, a fatal flaw in her review. She says that Michael is essentially mute through the movie and in one of the last scenes, Leigh Anne tells him 'the past is gone, the world's a good place and it's all gonna be okay." SHE NEVER SAID THAT. HE DID. TO HER. This was, to me, one of the most powerful points in the story, that the boy who (in reality as well as the film) had little to say ultimately has the most to say. He has become the teacher to Leigh Anne, who always has plenty to say and is, in the last shot of the movie, completely silent and content, thanks to his lesson to her. Anderson has attributed dialogue incorrectly to make her point, which of course destroys her argument.
The reviewer may well be a lifeless sad cynical individual who dares not see the sunlight of optimisim and goodness.
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Wow Melissa, lighten up. This ain't great cinema by any stretch, but scoring a movie a zero means that you're trying to do a little offsetting of more positive reviews. Sorry that this had the disadvantage of being a true story. A better argument on your part would have been that the movie shouldn't have been made, but once it got made I think you have the obligation to write an objective review of what's on the screen. I found your review to possess all the characteristics you sighted in the movie.
It seems none of the commentators actually read or even remotely comprehended the review at all.
Ms. Anderson: Don't be such a regionalist snob! Commenting on real-life coaches who provide "an unintentionally grotesque parade of bad orthodonture and worse-fitting suits" is so condesendingly sophmoric that it belies any accurate criticisms you have about the film. You are not as liberally open-minded as you think you are. C-
Melissa - you are truly pathetic. It's actually comical reading your review, what a joke. Do they teach you to peddle this type of crap in J-school? Awful. Leave your guilt at the door and recognize that the move is based on a book, a book that is written about a TRUE story. Have you even read the book? I honestly cant even imagine the cold and ugly insides of a person who wouldn't be at least a bit warmed by this story of triumph and accomplishment. I'm blown away by your review. I feel awful for the people in your life who have to deal with your empty soul.
Wow. Well of course if someone points out a racial tone in a movie, folks come out to say "but it's TRUE"! As if that absolves the tone of the movie. Did you all read the book? I read the book, and don't you wonder if the Touhy's would have taken in this kid if he wasn't huge and looked strong? Do they have a history of plucking young kids out of bad situations? No, they didn't. the book was about how it is hard to find an athletic left tackle, how the combination of skill, size, and strength are rare. In finding that skill - like finding 7 foot centers who can move in basketball - there is value. For a family invested in their prep school that has a good football team, there is value. I'm not saying that what the family did wasn't ALSO altruistic, but they wouldn't have done it for a skinny 5 foot 8 kid with bad asthma. The review rightly points out that there is a subtle racism here - EVEN IF THAT RACISM HAPPENED. I think the book does a good job of showing Oher and the people he left behind, and those people are left behind because they have nothing to offer. It's foolish to think that's not true. I wouldn't expect better because sports movies aren't made for people who are looking for nuanced characters - think of Glory Road, Remember the Titans, where there are "good" guys and "bad" guys. They are heavy handed movies. Some simplistic people love that stuff, and good for them.
LOL. Kill yourself, you dumb bitch!
Ok this review by far in a way is the biggest piece of liberal horse shit i have read in a long time. The movie is not writen from a racist point of view rather the author of this reviem is the racist. The author of this review is the one seeing color. But what do I know, Im just your average day American who opposses the president and all his communist crooks so I guess that means im rascist. You liberals should really listen the shit that comes out of your mouth, its really sad.
I personally would have prefered that they give the characters (both black and white) more dimensions. Just because it is based on a true story does not a good movie make. Even if it is a story about incredible people, you still have to put in the effort. There are lots of people that do amazing things, but this does not (to me) mean that it will make a good movie. It's not a documentary, so I don't think it should be judged such. Also, I am not sure why the commenters are harping on the reviewer to read the book. What does that have to do with reviewing the movie? The book might be amazing, but that doesn't excuse this film.
If a benevolent white couple actually did take in this black teen, and enable him to become a success, why it racist to make a film about this? Would you have preferred if the filmmakers made the adoptive couple black, even though in real life that couple was white? I'm not sure what your objection is here.
Melissa, well said. I totally agree that this movie took a beautiful, touching and true story and made it into racist sap. It's unfortunate because it is a wonderful tale about people helping people. However, the delivery of this movie was not only overly self-congratulatory, but to me it felt like a drawn out PSA. Thank you for the astute and honest review.
Wow. So many of the commenters here are missing the point of the review. Too bad I'm not surprised.
Wow, Melissa. Would it have made you feel better if, in real life, Leigh Ann Tuohy had rolled down the window and handed him the spare change in her purse before driving off? Or better yet, called the Memphis PD to investigate a black man wandering her white neighborhood? Which stereotypically southern racist behavior would you rather have been portrayed? Because obviously, what acutally did happen is a threat to your established world view. The reality is that racism exists in Memphis, and it clearly also exists in Greenwich Village. But what obviously galls you is that in The Blind Side, Hollywood actually made a movie which shows the efforts of a faith-driven individual rescuing a human being from the world of the Mommy State, which left Michael Oher virtually illiterate and with little hope of escaping the bleakness of his roots. In reality, it amazes me that Hollywood actually made it. A movie that does not depict southern Christians as stupid, racist, or holier-than-thou? I am sure that somebody in Hollywood is going to be fired over it. But glad that you wrote the predictably left wing review. I don't think this was the greatest movie of all time, but I walked away from it challenged to find a way to help someone who needs it. You walked away, I'm sure, thinking about how to raise my taxes and redistribute it to "oppressed groups".
This comment thread (*not* the review) is a pretty good demonstration of the insanity and tendentiousness of a lot of thinking about race amongst white folk these days. Melissa Anderson says that this movie is representative of an insidious form of racism in that it takes a story ostensibly about a black character overcoming a background of poverty and abandonment and makes it a story about the white character who, in helping him, achieves a form of self-realization. So, in other words, Oher's story is treated as important only insofar as it serves as the occasion for a white character's self-realization. (Think about all the movies that fit this basic pattern--google "magical negro," and you'll find pretty extensive lists.) It's not enough to respond by saying that the story is "true"--it's about the way the story is told, and in this case, the story as told as if what's of primary importance is the white character self-realization.
I think it would have been more realistic had sandras husband not owned a taco bell.... but lets say he built choppers and was embroiled in trying to get custody of his kid who was being raised by his x porn star wife....Who am I kidding nobody would believe that..
this is some left-winged bullshit lol, i'm pretty sure "positive racism", as in this review, is equally harmful as what we refer to as racism. saying this movie is racist in the sense that it shows whitey as the saviour to the blacks or whatever the hell is a retarded thing to say, since considering race in this standpoint is ignorant as hell anyways. stop writing reviews. you're done.
What a bunch of cynical tripe. I know this is the village voice and anything remotely flattering to Christianity has to be vilified by default, but I'm surprised that such a liberal publication would be so against a film that represents rich American's actually trying to do their part to help care for the poor in their community... The story is true and the Touhy's did something that should be praised by those who claim to care about real justice. Clearly, it's easier to pretend to care than to watch the your arch enemies actually do it.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did read the book (which was excellent) I'm not quite sure how you can claim it's "racist" when its based on a true story. "Racism," by this articles definition, is life in many areas of the country. It's not to be marginalized, or conversely, celebrated -- it simply is what it is. And it's changing. Stories like Michael Oher's are the reason for it and that's why it's great to see a hollywood movie come out of it. So tell me, do these thoughts make me a racist?
I haven't seen the Movie, but...Why is it racist for a movie to be made about a true story? Would it be different if the boy was white and the family who took him in were black? Would you be saying that this is a Racist caricature which smears all white people? Would it be different if the family was in NYC or LA instead of Tennessee? I can read between the lines of this review and hear what you're really saying: White Christians from Tennessee are just a bunch of ignorant hicks. Next time you review a movie, critique the movie and don't insert your own political leanings. There are better vehicles for that sentiment.
This reviewer's psyche is obviously a cold and rocky place. What useless tripe.
Ever been south of the Mason-Dixon line, or spent any time in Memphis? Your review is just as pedictable (Village Voice) as any sappy sports movie. But, at least you ought to know how the system works. High school kids are not drafted. They are recruited and lucky to have an opportunity to attend a big time college football program, and have a shot at an education. Michael Oher would tell you that without the "whitey's" who helped him, he would be in a far different place today. The Touhy family provides a pretty good primer for the kinds of acts that many more Americans could do. It is always amazing to me that critics love to point out the faith affiliation as though that is some kind of curse. I suppose in a perfect world the "government we are building now in Washington" will take over for regular Americans doing good, and insure that every kid like Michael Oher achieves his potential. Right!! Guess that would make a better story for the Village Voice.
Melissa Anderson is a moron. She needs to clean those dirty, hippie glasses of hers and start actually watching movies. So, if "whitey" helps a black person, they're racist? How do you know things with Michael Oher didn't happen the way they were portrayed in the movie? It sounds to me like you just don't want to admit that people from the projects...black or any other race typically ARE much more uneducated, in need of help, etc. His schooling growing up (when he was even attending) shows that. He repeated the first two grades twice. So because this woman wanted to help, she's racist? I'd say all her coaching on the sidelines helped, too. Look at Oher now. He's started every game for Baltimore this season. GO WHITEY. WELL DONE. I'm so freakin tired of people like you who try their hardest to find a way to bring race, politics, feminism, etc., blah, blah, crap....into EVERYTHING. Just shut your dirty little veggie hole (you seem like you'd be a damn vegetarian) and go away. Fact is, black people are much more racist as a whole than "whitey," these days. They act like we owe them something because of slavery...give me a freakin break. Shut up and get a job. Melissa, you suck as a writer, a critic, and a person. Get a life, and contacts...hippie...you're the racist.
Your title and review is so blatantly racist, offensive, and comment baiting that you should be ashamed of yourself. Yeah, I'm sure the acting is terrible, I'm sure that there are super cheesy moments, but you didn't critique those. That is because this isn't a review of a movie, it is some biased political commentary. They aren't WHITE saviors. They are saviors. Oher isn't a poor BLACK. He is a poor human. The racial divide only makes their actions that much more unlikely. But I guess you wouldn't know that because you have never been south of Jersey and only think you understand what racism is.
I understand that there is freedom of speech in our country which is fantastic,but I couldn't help to notice the total unfair use of unpolitical correct racial reference. You took the time to use the proper ethic term African-American in your review, but then use the word "whiteys" when referring to the Caucasian characters. In all fairness it's a two way street when is comes to derogatory racial labeling. Is it possible that you wrote this review with some personal bias or negative baggage? I really don't know what you were trying to achieve in the end, just realize that it may come off as rude or even I dare say.... racist.
Oh please..."awards-bait performance?? Maybe the Razzies if anything. Bullock's MILF-y white caricature with her honey-grippin' accent is (another) new low-point in her downwardly-spiralling career!
Melissa, It is a true story. How else can you tell the story. It is opinions like yours that make telling these stories without having deal with unnecessary angst. It's like if a white cop pulls a black man over for speeding. But what if we was speeding. He wasn't pulled over for being black, he was pulled over for speeding Ease up on the rascism connotations of white people saving the day. Enjoy it for the great movie it was. If you want to read a review devoid of this garbage check out this link. http://themoviebanter.com/2009/11/18/snap-review-of-the-blind-side/
Lame review, the moive probably sucks but all I got from you was that you were mad the "good guys" were white.
This review actually made me laugh, not because it was funny, but because the author obviously has no clue what life (or this man’s story for that matter) is truly about, and also because it is white guilt at its finest. Shame on someone with the necessary resources for giving of themselves to help another fellow human in need and providing them with an avenue to succeed for which they would not have had otherwise! What a terrible thing to do, especially if their skin is of a different color!! I wish Ms. Anderson had the opportunity to speak with Michael Oher about what HIS FAMILY did for him and how appreciative he really is and how much he loves them. I suppose Ms. Anderson would have preferred if Michael had remained homeless, most likely never had a chance to make a fine living for himself, and I’m also sure that Michael would say the same. Is this movie going to be a little “corny”?? Of course it is, it’s a true story that I’m sure is embellished to make it a better MOVIE, but the fact remains the same… This actually happened and Melissa Anderson is somehow upset that this family made a major difference in one man’s life. I also love the fact that The Blind Side is somehow perpetuating racist ideals in Melissa Anderson’s mind… While I have not seen Precious, the trailers I have seen for what she refers to as a “howling rage” perpetuate racist ideals much more than anything in The Blind Side. Yes Ms. Anderson, a black female teenager with a child (maybe two??) out of wedlock is definitely a “howling rage”. Maybe we will be blessed with a sequel to Precious and one of her children will be adopted by a well to do family and put on a path to success, then you can critique that film with the vitriol you did The Blind Side.
Interesting to know that Melissa Anderson served as NYFF moderator for Precious press conference. Biased? Possibly. I don't know. It's just something that crossed my mind. TIME OUT NY fired Anderson in January. Anyone out there knows why? Did it have something to do with her review style? Like how she trashed this one and referred to the main character as a big puppy? Even if the Touhys had acted upon their white guilt as you may claim, they did walk the talk. For you, the reviewer, perhaps, only white with no guilt or compassion, and that is even more insidious.
Here's your big, sarcastic round of applause, Ms. Anderson. What a compelling, in-tune view of the film! (continued sarcasm) Next time I see a black person in need of some kind of help, I will make sure to avoid them and stick to helping white people. I just read an article about the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation donating $40 million to a Pittsburgh City Schools teachers initiative, made up of a high percentage of blacks. You might want to look into that. I think it's racist. HELLO! THIS IS A TRUE STORY, and the producers decided to make it because it's an amazing story. I'm sorry Michael Oher isn't white and the family that took him in black, because then I guess you would have thought it Oscar-worthy, and I'm sorry you can't get past your own obsession with race and review the movie as a piece of art like most all of your colleagues.
@ Melissa Anderson, Did you even read the book to establish any context for your critique? Michael Oher is actually an extremely introverted individual (the book goes to great length explaining this). A compassionate, wealthy white family helped this young black man. Would your opinion of this story be different if a government striving for social justice had (miraculously) provided for Oher? And a side note: high school football players aren't "drafted" to play college football.
For the record - you, the reviewer, refered to the young man in the story as "a big puppy". There is much subtle racism in such a statement.
For you, the better movie would be for the Bullock character to be walking towards the young man on the same sidewalk and, as she is about to pass him she pulls her purse close to her chest and jogs by him, breathing heavily. He senses her discomfort, looks over his shoulder at her and has tears in his eyes. She realizes what she has just done-and is ashamed. Your latent desire for that scene is precisely why this film is a movie for the rest of us. Your reality is yours alone. And it sucks.
Try to take race out of this and think that a family helped out a kid. The movie is a true story anderson, you shouldn't have so much anger because they are white.
reading this review, it is inconceivable that you read the book
Melissa, you sound jealous. Resentful that honest, average, white people from a fly-over state could actually do something of value without a liberal handout.
It's a TRUE STORY, sorry that a white family helped somebody. Seriously, what were they thinking? Perhaps this should be a review of the movie, not your negative feelings about a family helping an abandoned child.
Well, doucher, saintly white people DID help save the kid. I’m not a Christian, I actually lean towards atheism. But I’ve discovered Christians are generally a hell of a f*ckin’ lot kinder than the amblyopic relativists who would trash a movie like this, but fall all over themselves for a truly over the top movie like Crash. Go ahead and rely on your Jon Stewart derived caricature. But trust me, I’d trade away a typical sanctimonious liberal from Massachusetts for a Christian here in the ATL any day. Not. Even. Close. When it comes to areas like adoption, volunteerism, and charitable giving, conservative Christians, like the family in this film, do much more day to day for those in need than any New York film critic busily patting herself on the back for her brave witticisms that parrot popular culture, not challenge it. Your kind will advocate generosity without practicing it unless there is a PR advantage to be had. The Christians I’ve come to respect will actually adopt children, take them in, feed them, and look out for them WITHOUT cameras being around. Heaven forfend, then, that one of their sort be put on camera. What shall we ever do then? The hang up with race is yours and your friends. Not most people, regardless of what your college professor tells you - and you, in a circle - repeat to each other.
The movie may be hokey and counter-productive to the narratives of today's PC nannies, but--as Michael Lewis makes clear in his book--it's a TRUE story. Maybe leave your stultifying white guilt out of the review next time.
I just read the book - loved the story - last night i watched the NFL Ravens game, keeping an eye out for #74 Michael Oher. Like I imagined from the book, he bounced up after every play, but seemed to keep to himself. I felt a tinge of pride for him, his team and his family - the Tuoys. He is only 23, was homeless until age 15, his mother unable to care for her 13 kids because of addiction, and a bruttally murdered father. This review seems to be excessively politicized - saying the film peddles sinister racism. Ms. Anderson obviously is overwrought with "white guilt" which explains her difficulty in understanding the relationships in the film - in fact in real life. Oher's life in Hurt Village, Memphis and the Christian School he attended are completely alien to the her own high life experiences in NYC. I feel sorry for her in being so insolated from the real world outside of the bubble she lives in.
Exquisite review. Funny and spot-on. My feelings exactly.
I will never read anything Melissa Anderson writes again, as simple as that. So much anger, so much hatred, without an ounce of intelligence.
Finally, a review that gets it. I saw the trailer for this and I literally wanted to throw up. I'm not into sentimentality unless it's earned and serves a purpose to the story. The trailer for "The Blind Side" showed everything that looks so bad in inspirational films and there seems to be a sense of vanity in Sandra Bullock wanting to go for an Oscar. I like her films but lately, I've been disgusted with her choices but after seeing the trailer for this and what it was going for. I decided that I'm done with her. I will not see this. Even for all of its heavy-handed bullshit message.
First of all, giving a review based on your own vindictiveness and not on the merits of the movie, is not only childish, but negates your legitimacy as a critic. Secondly, you act as if many of the social issues presented in this movie aren't true. Thirdly, giving the movie a 0 score further indicates your pathetic inability to look at movies objectively.
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Scott 02/09/2010 9:00:51 AM
So Melissa I take it that if you are white you should never try and help someone that is not white and if you are black you should do the same! we all should just live in our own little walled off world and keep up all the racial barriers instead of being "color blind" and just do the right thing....I think even if it had been a homeless white or hispanic this family would have done the same thing....your mentality on trying to find the bad and racism in everything is a large part of what is wrong with our society and why so many can't climb above it. Great Movie...Great Message...but I think Melissa Anderson would prefer it if there were some gang violence and drugs like so many of the ATL type movies that do so much for improving the view of the inner cities.