It's feelgood all the way with The Blind Side

There’s nothing better than some feel good factor to kick off the last remaining dregs of sluggishness after a long winter. And The Blind Side has oodles of it.

The film that gave Hollywood oldtimer Sandra Bullock her first Oscar is truly worthy of the praise being heaped on it - who wouldn’t love the story of a kid from a bad neighbourhood being taken in by a Christian family and making it big in the NFL?

We all love stories that are against the odds and happily The Blind Side pulls it off without patronising the audience with overly conspicuous moral lessons on 'doing the right thing'.

Bullock's performance as the uncompromising yet compassionate Leigh Anne Tuohy is captivating, while Quintin Aaron is endearing as Michael Oher - or Big Mike as he is known.

If you’re a real wet blanket then have your hankies ready because there are some moments in this film that will have you choking as more of Big Mike’s tragic background comes to light. Other moments will really have you chuckling.

And aside from the warm performances and touching story, it’s always nice to see positive references to God and Christianity in any Hollywood film. The Tuohy family say grace, Leigh Anne is seen wearing her cross necklace throughout, the camera zooms in on the Christian school's Christian motto long enough for the audience to be able to read it. Refreshing for Christians and yet subtle enough for eye-rolling atheists to bear.

The film deals with a lot of themes that, while challenging the audience in general, will speak clearly to Christians. The Christian school that Big Mike attends was initially reluctant to take him because, on paper, he didn't appear to have the makings of a hotshot student. A Christian couple that had let him sleep on their sofa were in the end willing to turn him out on the streets because he had become a burden to them. And Leigh Anne Tuohy’s friends thought that because Big Mike was black and big and living under the same roof as the family, he posed a threat to her teenage daughter.

Cultural prejudices, social inequality and lingering racism in the Bible Belt are dominant themes in this film and one point of relevance for Christians is that sadly they can be just as prejudiced and un-Christian in their thinking and behaviour as non-Christians. The truth is Michael Oher is a gentle giant who fiercely protects those he loves and defies the teachers who were so quick to write him off.

Going against the cultural flow are the Tuohys who accept Big Mike as one of the family and give him the foot up he needs to realise his full potential. It just doesn’t get much more feel good than that and the best part about it is that it's a true story - even if a little Hollywoodised.