# The Blind Side (Movie) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126 "2009-11-27T14:41:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/21 "2010-04-05T20:26:08Z")
Yes, the Tuehy’s were Old Miss fans living in Memphis, which made the families hatred of UTenn even funnier. The tutor was also a die hard Old Miss fan which is why she was pulling the “dead Bodies” stunt when he was conidering Tenneesee as his first choice. The one interesting thing I have heard is the Michael Oher was upset at how he was portrayed as he was a fairly accomplished football player before he went to the private school. Does anyone know if the accident was based on a real event? I know it was put in to highlight the “protective instincts” and to demonstrate his reaction speed as he put arm between the air bag and SJ as it went off. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/22 "2010-04-05T21:05:36Z")
I liked the movie but hated Bullock’s accent. I don’t see anyway that she deserved best actress for it. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/23 "2010-04-05T22:27:07Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > Yes, the Tuehy’s were Old Miss fans living in Memphis, which made the families hatred of UTenn even funnier. The tutor was also a die hard Old Miss fan which is why she was pulling the “dead Bodies” stunt when he was conidering Tenneesee as his first choice. > > The one interesting thing I have heard is the Michael Oher was upset at how he was portrayed as he was a fairly accomplished football player before he went to the private school. > > Does anyone know if the accident was based on a real event? I know it was put in to highlight the “protective instincts” and to demonstrate his reaction speed as he put arm between the air bag and SJ as it went off. AS I said, I haven’t seen the movie. But there is kind of a funny scene in the book when the Tuehy’s are using the online education facilities of the Church of Latter Day Saints to help Oher get enough credits for college. One of them says “the Mormons are going to hell for their wrong religious beliefs, but they sure have a good educational system online”. There is also a scene in the book where they send our Christmas cards with the family and Michaael Oher is included. A few months later, they get a response from someone who got the card “I give up trying to figure it out. Just who is the n\*\*\*\*\* in the photo with you?” There is also in the book a good history on how left guards (The Blind Side) ended up as the second highest paid players in the NFL. Think Joe Theisman/Lawrence Taylor on Monday Night Football. But since the book is by Michael Lewis who did a shoddy job with “Moneyball” (little mention of steroids, Hudson, Muldur and Zito as the real reasons for the A’s success), I have wondered about the book’s veracity. ---
**Author:** ![Petey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/24 "2010-04-06T01:04:53Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > AS I said, I haven’t seen the movie. But there is kind of a funny scene in the book when the Tuehy’s are using the online education facilities of the Church of Latter Day Saints to help Oher get enough credits for college. One of them says “the Mormons are going to hell for their wrong religious beliefs, but they sure have a good educational system online”. Not in the movie. > [@](#): > > There is also a scene in the book where they send our Christmas cards with the family and Michaael Oher is included. A few months later, they get a response from someone who got the card “I give up trying to figure it out. Just who is the n\*\*\*\*\* in the photo with you?” In the movie, but they substitute “Black man” for the n-word. > [@](#): > > There is also in the book a good history on how left guards (The Blind Side) ended up as the second highest paid players in the NFL. Think Joe Theisman/Lawrence Taylor on Monday Night Football. But since the book is by Michael Lewis who did a shoddy job with “Moneyball” (little mention of steroids, Hudson, Muldur and Zito as the real reasons for the A’s success), I have wondered about the book’s veracity. Sandra Bullock has a voice over at the beginning of the movie that talks about left guards, over footage of the Theisman injury. ---
**Author:** ![Petey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/25 "2010-04-06T01:13:08Z")
> [@Rucksinator](#): > > I just watched it, and had a lot of problems with it. The biggest was the previously mentioned “protective instincts” section of his aptitude test. Also, what an incompetent yet conniving idiot the HS football coach was. The sappiness of how she had to teach the coach how to teach Michael how to play. The teacher who was incredulous that a test could be given orally. > > The first game incorporated every cliche done in football movies. The ridiculously biased referee who allowed a blatant kick to a downed players head, but flagged the coach for complaining. The racist fan/father in the stands who was shut up by our hero’s performance. There was an exaggerated version of the cliche about how a football player starts off horribly (eg. Friday Night Lights), but becomes an expert an just a few series. And then, after a horrible start, he turned into a superstar and they won the game in a huge blowout. I agree with all of this. What is it about sports movies, that they have to portray the sports to us as we’re idiots? Even if most people can’t tell what a good block is, do they have to show it so over the top as carrying the player over a fence. And instead of showing him instantly becoming good because of the magic words from Bullock, couldn’t they show him working hard to become better? ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Goliath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rex\_Goliath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Goliath)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/26 "2010-04-06T05:07:48Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > There was only one thing I didn’t like, and it made me so mad I almost walked out of the theater. When the tutor (Kathy Bates) was talking to Michael about the University of Tennessee and > > tried to scare him about dead bodies and body parts being buried under the football field. First of all, she was talking about the [Body Farm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Farm), a very important scientific project that has done so much to help forensics. It should be lauded, not used as a fear tactic. Second, she was outright lying to Michael about the football field, trying to scare him. Third, she was taking advantage of Michael’s innocence and trust, a horrible thing to do. Bitch should have been fired right then and there. Oh I wanted to slap the shit out of her! See, this is why I hate Tennessee. Can’t take a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/27 "2010-04-28T22:26:08Z")
Bump. Watched this on DVD last night and generally liked it. I agree Sandra Bullock gave a good performance (Oscar worthy? Eh… too qualitative a matter I suppose.) My main beef was that they hired a full-time private tutor for this kid not so that he could progress in school (one he never should have been allowed into to begin with if he had a 0.16 GPA) but so that he could pull his GPA up enough to play on the football team. The implication, right or wrong, was that if he’d been a 98 pound weakling kid from the projects they’d have said “to hell with it, it’s not like he’s going to get a job conjugating sentences or talking about Napoleon somewhere- D’s as good as a C”. There must be kids in the projects who do well in school and would love to have the opportunity of going to a private school but who don’t play sports. Sean probably wouldn’t have to look any further than the families of some of his fast food employees to find them. Then they hire his tutor to move to Ole Miss with him and even rent her an apartment. I found that a disgusting statement on the emphasis on sports in SEC schools- this guy doesn’t have a prayer without a full-time tutor, so why’s he in college? Plus I didn’t see SJ so much as a spunky mischievous kid as a little spoiled entitled brat I wanted to slap. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/28 "2023-08-14T19:00:53Z")
Hate to bump a thread this old, but it seems the most appropriate. > **['Blind Side' subject Oher alleges adoption was lie](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38190720/blind-side-subject-michael-oher-alleges-adoption-was-lie-family-took-all-film-proceeds)** > > In a 14-page court petition, the former NFL star alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy never adopted him, instead tricking him into signing a document that gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name. Surprise, surprise (not really) … ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/29 "2023-08-14T20:09:50Z")
The lawsuit is new, but he has balked at the depictions in the movie since it was out. This is my first time seeing him speak badly of the Tuohys, though. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/30 "2023-08-14T20:21:35Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Surprise, surprise (not really) … I caught the movie on TV a few months ago. I remember watching the scene where the _evil_ investigator breaks down all the reasons why they think Oher was adopted just to get sent to the Tuohy’s college. All I could think was “Wow, this breaks it down really well. They are definitely guilty.” ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/31 "2023-08-14T20:41:03Z")
Michael Oher wrote a book, or ghost writers did, “_When Your Back’s Against the Wall_,” released last week. That is all it really is, selling his new book. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/32 "2023-08-15T01:07:58Z")
Are you suggesting that he’s lying about these claims? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/33 "2023-08-15T01:34:33Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Michael Oher wrote a book, or ghost writers did, “_When Your Back’s Against the Wall_, _It Replaces The Blind Side!_ ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/34 "2023-08-15T01:51:53Z")
> [@planetcory](#): > > This is my first time seeing him speak badly of the Tuohys, though. From what I saw today, he just discovered in February that the conservatorship he agreed to when he turned 18 never made him a part of the family. I guess he was led to believe it constituted an adoption of sorts. > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > That is all it really is, selling his new book. Oher is reputedly _suing_ the family for an accounting of the money they made off of him; if they were operating a conservatorship, they were supposed to do it in his best interests. He’s claiming he saw no royalties from this movie. > **[Michael Oher, former NFL tackle known for 'The Blind Side,' sues to end...](https://apnews.com/article/nfl-movie-blind-side-michael-oher-tuohys-c2593f08f8788db5ee267b9a23007c6d)** > > Former NFL tackle Michael Oher has filed a petition in a Tennessee probate court saying the couple he thought adopted him actually remain his conservators. Oher accuses Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of lying to him nearly two decades ago by having him... ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/35 "2023-08-15T02:05:05Z")
I thought the conservatorship was supposed to automatically end when he turned 25? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/36 "2023-08-15T04:43:34Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Oher is reputedly _suing_ the family for an accounting of the money they made off of him; if they were operating a conservatorship, they were supposed to do it in his best interests. He’s claiming he saw no royalties from this movie. I’m only vaguely familiar with this story, but is Oher entitled to any royalties from the movie? I certainly hope he was paid for playing football, or anything else he took an active role in. Did he participate in creating the movie in any way, other than living the original story? If someone writes a true story of events that I took part in, do I automatically get royalties from it? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2023, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/37 "2023-08-15T10:56:15Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > One of the things I liked about it is that it portrays Christians acting in a way that does Christianity proud, which is refreshing in today’s climate of hate and fear-mongering. This aged well. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/38 "2023-08-16T05:35:15Z")
This seems to be the definition of A Shit Show. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/39 "2023-08-16T17:25:53Z")
Some people on Twitter are calling for Sandra Bullock to lose the Best Actress Oscar she earned for _The Blind Side._ I call B.S. > **[Twitter Wants Sandra Bullock to Lose Her 'The Blind Side' Oscar After Oher Drama](https://www.tmz.com/2023/08/15/sandra-bullock-twitter-the-blind-side-oscar-pulled-lose/?adid=social-fb&fbclid=IwAR11ejV04QbvBZ8kM57JGfbsPxYeaDN6wk0yTk6LCqbZ8O9eVH8e6hOuxbY)** > > Twitter is home to a lot of ridiculous opinions, but the latest trend involving Sandra Bullock might be the app's worst ... users are calling for her to lose her Oscar on the heels of "The Blind Side" controversy. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126/40 "2023-08-16T19:44:31Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Are you suggesting that he’s lying about these claims? I am observing that 15 years after the movie came out, and 2 weeks after his new book came out, he is currently on a book tour to promote said book, that it looks like a money grab. We will see if his accusations are found to have merit in time. Right now I see a book promotion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-blind-side-movie/519126.md?page=3)