At the Cinema | The Blind Side – White lady saves the day & Sandy scoops a gong

I’m not sure whether Sandra Bullock really deserved her Worst Actress gong at the Razzies for her performance in All About Steve, but if the Razzie folk were a tad uncharitable in giving her the Golden Raspberry then this year’s Oscar voters were remarkably generous in handing her the Best Actress award for The Blind Side.

The film’s based on the true story of a wealthy white Southerner, Leigh Anne Tuohy, who rescued a disadvantaged black teenager, Michael Oher (played by Quinton Aaron), took him into her home, adopted him, and propelled him towards stardom on the American football field.

It’s certainly a heartwarming tale and Bullock delivers a big, ballsy performance as the indomitable Tuohy – but Oscar-worthy? What were they thinking? Sure, Sandy’s a great trooper and much loved, but the $250million the film – a big hit in America’s conservative heartland – has made at the US box-office probably came into the equation too. Perhaps the sight of the white lady saving the day (as this spoof poster has it) also swayed them. If so, is this a case of Hollywood displaying its own blind side?

On general release from 26th March.

Glitz, guilt and shame: what this year’s Oscar race says about America.

To activate the sound in the trailer: hold your cursor over the screen to reveal the control panel and click on the volume control in the bottom right-hand corner.