Blind Side Previews up, looks pretty bad

Like any college football fan, particularly those blessed enough to be red and bue, I read and enjoyed Michael Lewis' The Blind Side. It was hard not to pull for Michael Oher to do well after his humble beginnings. When it was announced that there would be a movie adaptation, I was skeptical. Movies are rarely, if ever, up to par with their written counterparts. When it was announced Sandra Bullock was cast as Leanne Touhy, I officially gave up hope. Based on the above preview, that was the right decision.

The Blind Side seamlessly wove Oher's story with the emergence of the high salaries shelled out to left tackles, who's main job is to protect the blind side of the quarterback. When not dealing with the intricacies of the position, it portrayed Big Mike as a gentle giant who was rescued by an affluent family in East Memphis and focused on his (sometimes difficult) adjustment to that lifestyle.

At no point in the book was Leanne Touhy the focus. The trailer seems to portray her as the protagonist and focuses on her story. I understand that she's (for some reason) a popular actress, but Disney-fying the book is bad. Outside of Speed and A Time to Kill, I can't think of a single movie of hers that's even remotely watchable. You can tell from the snippets shown that they screenplay took some liberties with the actual story - Leanne threatening the guy at the table, for example - and made the movie about her, which is an absolute shame. Oher's story is a remarkable one, but apparently not enough so for Hollywood.

While it will be interesting to see Saban in an LSU shirt again and it's always entertaining trying to decipher what Ed Orgeron is saying, I'll wait until the DVD comes out to catch this, if even then.

***Update***
Blutarsky and Hey Jenny Slater share my skepticism, though Ghost at Red Cup Rebellion holds a more favorable view.