Our hero is Lem ( Justin Long ) a kid in a shirt just like Marty McFly's who works in the local planetarium and finds himself hard pressed to profes shis love for schoolmate Neera ( Jessica Biel ) who is courted also by rocker Skiff ( Seann William Scott ).  The big deal in town is the coming premier of a science fiction film wherein humanoids invade Planet 51 and eat people's brains turning them into zombies.
 

Lem, Neera and friends now have to thwart the efforts of General Grawl ( Gary Oldman ) and Prof. Kipple ( John Cleese ) to capture Baker and dismantle his spacecraft while the clock ticks away for the deadline to leave orbit and get back to earth.

This is a delightful film for all ages and the people who recognize all the 1950's movie jokes will get the most from it.

Second, it’s a true story. I love true stories. I hate when, with things like "The Perfect Storm," only one percent of the entire film is true and the rest is something somebody made up because they had no facts. Or worse, in films like "Titanic," where when they had the facts concerning real peoples’ lives they would out and out lie about them--defame their characters--simply to make some politically correct point. Do that in fiction all you want, but leave peoples’ reputations alone.

But since none of this is telling you anything about this week’s film, let me get right down to:

The Story: This is the history of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), who now has a wonderful NFL career ahead of him, but at one time was living alone on 
the streets of Memphis. Through the kindness of one man, Michael found himself enrolled in the Wingate Christian School, an expensive private school. His benefactor did this out of the goodness of his heart, but he could do no more, not even food. 

Struggling in school, Michael is befriended by young S.J. Tuohy (Jae Head). Before long, S.J.’s mom, Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) takes pity on Michael, and without a thought to the concerns of her friends and neighbors, takes this very large young black man from the wrong side of town into her upscale white home. He becomes a part of the family along with dad Sean (Tim McGraw ) and sister Collins ( Lily Collins ) and a part of their lives. When he proves to be intelligent, but unable to perform within a normal classroom structure, mom finds ways to help him. When his grades come up high enough where he can go out for sports, she makes that happen. And later, when he proves to be an exceptional football player, she works to make certain he has the chance to go to college as well.

The tale of the Tuohys and their compassion is truly inspiring. It has its dark side as well, of course. Wouldn’t be drama without a little, well ... drama. Society, with its need to suspect every decent human gesture, comes in and tries to destroy all the Tuohys have done. When Michael accepts a scholarship to the Tuohys Alma Mater, official types step in, seeking to prove that the couple brought Michael into their home and did all they did for him, not because they were compassionate and caring, but because they were so in love with college football that they would risk their home and children’s lives.

When you start to think about it, the old "based-on-a-true-story" angle begins to make you wonder. What if this is the typical Hollywood whitewash? What if greedy filmmakers, desperate to grab our cash simply lied about the Tuohy’s motives so their film could have a happy ending? It wouldn’t be the first time.  All I can say to this notion is, director/screenwriter John Lee Hancock ("The Rookie") was wise indeed to fill much of the end credits run with photographs of the real Michael and his adoptive family. Looking at their family moments together should dispel anyone’s fears that they are being suckered by another tinseltown snow job.

Hancock’s screenplay is based on the excellent book, "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game." The book splits it attention between Michael’s story and the development of the importance of the left tackle position in football. The film concentrates on Michael. It’s a good choice. It’s a good film. You don’t need to be a sport’s freak to understand what is going on. You also don’t have to worry about having to sit through a lot of sermons. Yes, the disparity between the haves and the have-nots comes into play in the movie--there’s no way to tell this story without doing so. But, the entire film is told with humor and human emotion, walking a brilliantly deft tightrope between maudlin sentiment and political correctness.

This is, without a doubt, the movie for this upcoming holiday season. Wonderfully acted, superbly written, cleverly directed. What more can I say, but--

Our final word: 5 stars out of 5.

 In an “amour fou,” involving a filmmaker, a young woman who becomes an actress, a rich man used to having his own way, and an older woman who helps the filmmaker and is much more involved as the film plays out, the tale is a 14 year flashback told by the now blind former filmmaker, Mateo Blanco, who uses the playful pseudonym Harry Caine in signing his works, stories, and scripts.