The Blind Side

Run - don't walk but run - to the nearest theater playing the new movie "The Blind Side" starring Sandra Bullock. Just exit out of this blog post right now and go....come back later and read the rest of what I wrote about it. OK?

Last night Ty and I went to the 7:40 showing of The Blind Side at the Hollywood 20 theaters in downtown Sarasota. I had seen advertisements for the movie in the last couple of weeks and it looked like it was going to be a good film. Anything with Sandra Bullock in it has to be. However we weren't prepared for what an emotionally wrenching and emotionally uplifting movie this is. Quite frankly if Sandra Bullock isn't at least nominated for an Oscar for her performance then something is horribly wrong with the way Oscar nominations are made.

You can view trailers for the movie here and here. And you can watch a review of the movie by someone from the Los Angeles Times here.

This synopsis of the movie is lifted from www.imdb.com

"The Blind Side" depicts the remarkable true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle. In the latest chapter of his inspiring story, Oher was a First Round draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, selected by the Baltimore Ravens. The Touhys were there to share the moment with him.

We watched the movie to a packed house - there wasn't an empty seat in the theater. There also wasn't a dry eye there either. Its just simply the best movie you are going to see for a very long time. If you liked "Remember the Titans" you are going to love this film.

Watching it I remembered the day in 1989 when I went to board a Metro bus in downtown Washington DC. There, standing in line ahead of me waiting to board was a young woman with Downs Syndrome. The myopic bus driver wouldn't allow her to board because, as he verbalized, "of the way she is." This was like waving a red flag in front of a bull and I instantly darted by the lady, jumped on the bus, looked down at the driver and said as forcefully as possible "you let this person on this bus RIGHT NOW or I'll have the American Civil Liberties Union down your throat so fast you'll think you were born with them there." The bus driver let the lady on the bus.

Go watch "The Blind Side" and if at times you don't feel like I did for that lady on a bus in Washington DC, then you didn't get the point of the movie.

Now, go right now. ...right now. You have no excuse. Got it?

UPDATE: I returned to the same theater on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was there for the 1:55 p.m. showing. There were no empty seats in the middle of the afternoon and the movie was even better this second time around. Go see it.