The Blind Side

I'm never sure what to expect from a non-fiction book. But this one was excellent. Even though I am not familiar with the nuances of football, Michael Lewis did not go over my head in describing the different positions, plays, etc. I found the evolution of the game portion of the book as interesting as the story of Michael Ohr.

The movie took some liberties with the actual story, but there were also scenes directly from the book. In reality, Michael did not graduate with the needed GPA, but used correspondence courses to replace low grades. (what a crock that is) But he did write an essay on "The Light Brigade", and he was interested in the poem.

The fight where Michael supposedly harms a child is in a different setting. He actually gets into this fight (after an insult to his "mama and sister") in college. (he delays the fight "because he doesn't want to get blood on this shirt") In the movie, the fight is in the ghetto. This makes some sense, since the movie is written to end as the Tuohys are dropping him off at college. It irked me that there was no more mention of the child though. (in actuality, the 3-year-old is fine)

There are several amusing scenes with Leigh Ann in the movie. Although this type of fight is implied through the book, most of these seem to be fabricated for the audience's amusement. (nothing wrong with that) Sean Tuohy (played by Tim McGraw) is a pretty flat character in the movie. He seems to be there just to be amused by Leigh Ann. He does a nice job with that, though, and with his scene regarding "The Light Brigade."

The movie also shows Leigh Ann fleeing whenever she is emotional. I don't remember this from the book, but it may have been mentioned briefly. This leads to the final scene, where Michael comes after her and tells her "I need a proper hug."

I know Sandra Bullock won much acclaim for this movie. She did a good job with the fightsy scenes. But when Michael's past is supposedly tearing her up, I found her acting a bit too melodramatic. But what do I know?