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The Blind Side | 2009 | PG-13 | - 4.4.4
An African-American teen is accepted into an exclusive school based on the promise of his performance in sports. When it is discovered that he is homeless and spends his nights in the gym, a local woman takes it upon herself to welcome him into her home and her family. Based on a true story. Also with Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, Ray McKinnon and Kathy Bates. Directed by John Lee Hancock. [2:08]
SEX/NUDITY 4 - A husband and his wife lie in bed together (they are clothed), he kisses her on the cheek, they kiss, he moves on top of her and appears to be thrusting slightly and the scene ends. A husband and his wife lie in bed together, both wearing pajamas (the woman's negligee reveals cleavage).
► A woman wears low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage and bare shoulders. Teen girls wear cheerleading outfits that reveal bare legs. A man wears a jacket that hangs open to reveal his bare chest.
► A man makes a sexually suggestive remark about a woman and her daughter. A man says that the woman a teen boy lives with is "fine" and asks him, in crude terms, if he has had sex with her. A woman asks another woman if she is concerned about having "a young man, a black young man" in her home with her teenage daughter. A woman says of a man, "I find him extremely handsome" and her husband overhears. A woman talks about a recruiter taking a teen boy to a strip club. We see the phrase "Harem Girls" painted on the side of a building. A woman talks about not knowing who the father of her son is.
► A woman slaps a man (he's a football coach) on the buttock. Several teen boys watch with interest as a woman walks away from them.
VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A teen boy shoves and punches several other teen boys and men, there is yelling and threats are exchanged, gunshots are fired, and a crib is knocked over and a baby falls onto the floor (it cries, we see no injuries).
► A teen boy driving a car crashes into another car, the airbag deploys and we see him with a very bloody arm; his passenger, a young boy, has a bloody nose and face and the car is severely damaged.
► Many football practice and game sequences show hard tackles and a few show apparent injuries to the players involved: We see one player tackled and piled on by several other players and his body is folded at the waist and compressed (he is taken off the field on a stretcher and we hear that he never played again due to his injuries); a football player kicks another player in the head while he is on the ground; a football player shoves another player many yards down the field and flips him over a wall at the end of the field (he's OK); a teen boy grabs a football player and throws him down to the ground hard, and a teen boy picks up and carries a football player around the field. A woman smacks a teen boy on the arm with a spoon while they are studying.
► We hear that a young man died from gang violence. A man calls a woman a crude name and she threatens him by saying that she's a member of the NRA and she's always "packin'." A woman threatens to cut a teen boy's genitals off if he gets a girl pregnant. A woman in the stands at a football game yells at and threatens a man who has been badmouthing a player. A man tells a teen boy that his father died by falling over an overpass. A man and a woman argue about taking responsibility for a teen boy who is not their son. A teen boy says, "Hi" to two young girls on a swing set, and the young girls are startled and run away. A man at a football game makes several disparaging remarks about an African-American player on the opposing team. A football player is verbally abusive and goads another player on the field. A teen boy says, "White people are crazy." A woman talks about a forensic studies program gathering body parts and storing them under a football field.
LANGUAGE 4 - 10 sexual references, 3 scatological terms, 8 anatomical terms, 7 mild obscenities, exclamations (frickin', bull, dang), 6 derogatory terms for African-Americans, name-calling (crazy, dork, marshmallow, oompah-loompah, rednecks, fat, black bear, biggie), 3 religious exclamations.
SUBSTANCE USE - A man talks about a teen boy's mother being "on that crack pipe." People are shown drinking and smoking in an apartment and drug paraphernalia is shown on tables, a teen boy takes a sip from a beer, a woman drinks wine in several scenes, and a glass of red wine is shown on a table (no one drinks from it).
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Racism, poverty, adoption, drug use and abuse, success and failure, sports, family, college sports recruiting practices, politics, courage, honor, doing for others.
MESSAGE - With a little help, it is possible to change your circumstances. Do what is right for you, not what others tell you to do.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.
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We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.