The Blind Side (2009)

Image credit: Ralph Nelson

The Blind Side

STARRING Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY John Lee Hancock

It would be hard to find a sunnier slice of life than this adaptation of Michael Lewis' nonfiction best-seller, in which a wealthy Memphis couple (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw) take in a burly home-less teen named Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) just because he needs a place to stay. Oher goes on to become a football prodigy (now playing for the Baltimore Ravens). Hancock (The Alamo) zeroed in on Bullock early on, knowing he had to make his heroine believable. ''Sandy's been underappreciated as a dramatic actress,'' says Hancock, who sold Bullock on the role by arranging a meeting with the no-nonsense do-gooder she'd portray. ''Afterward, Sandy said, 'Playing her terrifies me, but in a good way. She's not any stereotype of a Southern steel magnolia. She's a one-off deal.''' It takes one to know one.