The Blind Side (2009) review

Hulking (but mostly non-verbal) Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), whose biological mother is an addict, his father is nowhere to be found and his grades are horrible, gets "adopted" by wealthy Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and Sean Tuohy (country music star Tim McGraw) who buy him new clothes, place him in a private school along with their other children "S.J." (Jae Head) and Collins (Lily Collins, in her film debut), hire Miss Sue (Kathy Bates) to tutor him and then encourage him to play football, where he's a slow learner but develops nicely as an offensive tackle.  Although this has been a popular movie since its release (it was supposedly the most rented DVD from Netflix) and features a stand-out performance by Tiger Momma Ms. Bullock (she won the Best Actress Oscar for her role), one of the major criticisms tossed at it (which does get brought up during a lunch meeting with the rich ladies) is how it's about White Saviors helping a Poor Black Kid, and shows a society divided cleanly in half between the Privileged Caucasians and the African-Americans either working lowly jobs or sitting around the projects ready to start trouble (reality is quite a bit more complex).  This adaptation of Michael Lewis' book is trying to "prove" the Tuohy clan took this young man in because of their "Christian Values" - and not just coerce him to playing ball for their alma mater Ole Miss - but then there's that August 2023 lawsuit filed by the real Oher (who was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens) in which he claimed the Tuohys made millions in royalties off of him.  So were they parasites or is this another example of "no good deed goes unpunished?"  Welcome to America.