Ambivalence

“Blind Side” would be better if so much of it weren’t so bad.

Overall, the scales still tip to worthwhile viewing. The movie easily has more strong scenes than squishy ones, but it would be foolhardy to overlook completely the squish factor.

The film is based on a true story, but unless Michael Oher’s life has been nothing but a parade of Hollywood clichés, the filmmakers have imposed a formulaic structure on it. The result is an enjoyable movie, but one in which everything is predictable and nothing is a surprise.

Oher, played not without affect by Quinton Aaron, is an enormous teen with an equally enormous heart. But he has never had a break -- he grew up in poverty (he never even had a bed), the son of a drug-addict mother and an absent father. Shifted from foster parent to foster parent and school to school, he lands at a wealthy private school, largely because the coach wants him on the football team.

As practically the only black student on campus, and showing no apparent ability to read, he is shunned by the students and teachers alike. But one mother of a student shows him a kindness, giving him a place to sleep on a cold night. Moved by his gentle nature, she begins to show him more kindness on a truly remarkable level.

For the entire film, we expect to be put off by the sight of a well-off white woman swooping in to turn around the life of a disadvantaged black youth, but it never feels condescending. And that is the movie’s greatest success.

In one of her most emotionally true roles, Sandra Bullock plays the woman -- very blonde, very rich and with a heart as big as Oher’s. She’s a no-nonsense, type-A, Memphis gal who is determined to get what she wants, particularly when she is doing the right thing. Her husband is played by Tim McGraw, a likable enough performance of a likable enough character, but he is overshadowed by Bullock.

But the supporting characters tend to trip up the film. The worst offender is the ridiculously precocious young son of Bullock’s character; he’s like a sitcom kid, witty and wise and glib. In an atrocious idea that is carried on too long, it is this boy, at perhaps 10 years old, who helps serves as Oher’s conditioning coach and teaches him the fundamentals of football. Kathy Bates has one great moments as a tutor but is otherwise awash in cliché, and the filmmakers trot out a series of college coaches to play themselves.

One of the unconvincing acting performances you will ever see is Nick Saban playing himself.

John Lee Hancock writes and directs, and the film is uneven exactly where he is uneven. Many lines are funny, a tribute to the wit with which he embellished the script. But all of the oppressively predictable parts are due to his script, too. And while the emotionally satisfying scenes resonate because of his direction, it is this same bald, unnuanced direction that makes the movie feel immature.

Of course, part of the problem stems from real life. In high school, Oher played offensive left tackle. They may try awfully hard -- a little too hard, maybe -- but it is impossible to make football footage seem exciting when focusing on an offensive lineman. Yes, they’re critical to a team’s success, but no, what they do is not dramatic.

“Blind Side” is remarkably ambitious, and it does score. But it’s just a field goal.