Lean On Pete - Blog Posts
Hope in all it’s agony
The Blindside
2009 was the YEAR for Sandra Bullock movie-wise. All About Steve was hysterical and the immigration scene at the end of The Proposal was brilliant even thou the rest of the movie is a bit cliché but of course the main movie of that year was The Blind Side. While some controversy exists from real-life Michael Oar’s feeling that the book and film placed too much emphasis on the Touhy’s efforts and not enough understanding of his own (along with dumbing him down), this was still a great movie that portrayed fostering’s ups and downs both for families and children in the system, racism, adoption, family-values, Christian values, love and acceptance all in ways that didn’t come off cliché or too happily-ever-after even thou it was a real story and we got a seemingly unrealistic, but true ending.
The campiest part of this story is how Michael is able to bring his grades up in order to get into college. While true, it is a unique situation that reminds us not everything real in life comes of real in a story. But campy and true, this small part is the overall story of Michael Oher: keep trying, find your way in and ask for help. A good overall lesson for those who feel they have fallen behind or lost their way. But if I were to pick one thing to take away from this is the scene where “Big Mike” gets called Michael, because he doesn’t actually like to be called Big Mike. A short scene, just a few lines but with a big impact and understanding if you (like Leigh Anne) are willing to be open-minded and pay attention.
Lean on Pete
Lean on Pete is another story about family and loss and heartache but—oof--does it have a different feel. While during The Blind Side we see Michael Oher slowly rise up, Charley falls, falls and falls catching every heartbreak that can occur, and how life can slowly becoming crushing, especially when it seems someone has no one.
While overall the movie crushed me and its dark it is important to look at the idea of the film and for Charley was a focus on hope. He leaned on the horse Pete and by the end, we are left with the idea that things will be alright. Now, those I saw the film with had different opinions than I did about this, to them he really will be okay while I think he’ll survive but be severely traumatized, but maybe they’re right and we're supposed to believe regardless of all the missteps and bad fortune that things can turn around if we keep believing and striving for good and how if we don’t need those people to help us up, we should be those people to help others up