'The Blind Side'

(I must preface this opinion by warning you that I have bad taste in movies. A lot of my favorites are loaded with cheeze. I have seen 'Fools Rush In' probably 100 times, and it stars Matthew Perry. So take this with a grain of salt.)

We met some friends downtown yesterday to go see 'The Blind Side.' Someone else picked it, and I went along because I wanted to hang out with everyone, not because the movie looked at all compelling. If I had my way, we would have gone to 'New Moon.' This is because the first Twilight movie was so phenomenally terrible, I still have tears in my eyes from laughing through it along with every other person in the theater. A good example of how something doesn't have to be quality to entertain.

But none of my friends yesterday could appreciate why I wanted to spend $7 to see a movie that I knew was going to suck (haha, vampire pun!) They preferred to gamble on the probable mediocrity of the latest Sandra Bullock vehicle.

And I'm glad they did.

Because I liked it. Even though it starred Sandra (who apparently can act - who knew?); even though it was a little bit about football (but less than I'd thought it would be, thank goodness); and even though it was based on a true story (which usually means BOR-ing).

The movie had all of these things working against it, and it was still good. I laughed at a line or two in probably every scene, and I wasn't even laughing at the movie, but with it. It was endearing, and funny, and had a happy ending. And in my head, this is the Holy Trinity of what makes a movie lovable. I don't need suspense or drama. As long as each scene is interesting and there's some coherent plot-line, I'm happy.

Plus, it has Tim McGraw, who is completely adorable even with the goofy haircut they gave him.

And while I do cringe at the pathetically stereotypical poor-black-kid-turns-his-life-around-and-finds-salvation-through-his-athletic-prowess storyline, you can't come down too hard on this version of the story, because it actually happened in real life.

But I'm still waiting on a movie about an inner city kid who goes from the projects to NASA, instead of professional sports.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. But I am still looking for someone to go see 'New Moon' with me and not take it seriously.

Love, J

PS ~ After I posted this, I remembered that I did like Sandra Bullock in 'While You Were Sleeping,' 'Practical Magic,' and she was an awesome Harper Lee in 'Infamous.' For some reason when I think of her, I just always fixate on 'Miss Congeniality,' and 'The Proposal,' which I haven't seen, but just the trailer for it makes me shudder.