On the surface, “The Blind Side” is a sports film meant to uplift and celebrate the human spirit. Yet, as it plods along, it becomes nothing more than an Oscar-vehicle for Sandra Bullock, who plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, a southern woman whose character is encapsulated in dialogue uttered in the final third of the film: “I’m in a prayer group with the DA, I’m a member of the NRA and I’m always packing.” This is unfortunate, because Bullock’s charm helps lift some of the cliché moments in the film—but her performance alone cannot make up for this paint-by-numbers exercise in filmmaking.

The movie, which is based on the book “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” by Michael Lewis, begins with a voiceover by Bullock’s character informing viewers about the importance of a good left tackle for the success of an American football team. The attributes required of a star left tackle are rare: wide rear and massive thighs, long arms and incredible girth yet impressive speed. Enter Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a laconic young black man whose size is imposing but his character gentle. Tuohy spots Oher, who is wearing a T-shirt despite the cold, walking along a dark road one night. He is on the way to see if he can sleep in the school gym. Her motherly instincts kick in, and she invites him to sleep on her couch, a piece of furniture that we later learn costs US$10,000.

As the film progresses, the Tuohy family, whose wealth comes from a fast food empire that includes Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken, take Oher into their home and cheer him on as he blossoms as a football player. Along the way, Leigh Anne has to confront what it means for a white woman to adopt a black child, but the film skirts the issue, pitting her white character against her privileged peers and a black drug dealer from Oher’s old neighborhood. The film reduces racism to an interpersonal issue, when in reality it is a systemic problem.

Perhaps this would have been a better film if Michael Oher were the protagonist; after all, it is his outlier status that elevates the story. Instead, at the film’s conclusion, we are left to ponder whether we should be celebrating Tuohy’s “accomplishment” of simply being a compassionate human being. In 2010, with a wealth of films that better address contemporary life and race in America, this constitutes a narrative failure.

2/5 Stars by Doretta Lau.

USA. Directed by John Lee Hancock. Starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw and Quinton Aaron. 129 minutes.