The real Leigh Anne Tuohy worked as an interior designer. You may have caught on that in the film, Leigh Anne mentioned Patrick Ramsey as one of her clients. If you were wondering what these two facts have to do with one another, read on. Leigh Anne Tuohy worked for the Washington Redskins quarterback. While this isn’t mentioned in the film, the reference she made about Patrick Ramsey wasn’t for nothing. It was a mention that only football fans would be able to figure out, and of course, those who are up to date on players’ home improvement plans.
In reality, when it came time to dress the 300+ pound Michael, Leigh Anne contacted Patrick Ramsey. She gave Ramsey Michael’s measurements and he called her back a few days later telling her she got the measurements wrong. When she told him that she had taken the measurements herself and maybe Patrick got them wrong, Patrick read them back to her. Nope, he had them right. “There’s no one on our team as big as he is,” Ramsey said.
Life Before the Tuohy Family
The film is very explicit with Michael Oher’s troubled childhood. In the film, Michael was homeless and didn’t have a stable family structure. This is the shortened version of a very long and difficult childhood. Of course, the film had to cut it down because there’s only so much that can be covered in a two-hour film.
Oher did really have a difficult upbringing. He was neglected by his mother, Oher shared in an interview about his mother that "She wasn't really around too much, I took care of myself most of the time." He was one of twelve children. They grew up in a broken home in Hurt Village, a housing project located in crime-filled North Memphis. Oher's father was in prison, where he ended up getting murdered. Michael didn't learn of his father's death until three months after it happened, in part because it took time for his father to be identified.
When Oher Met the Tuohy Family
In the movie, the Tuohy family first meets Michael when he’s outside in the rain, soaking wet and freezing. They quickly form a relationship and Oher moves in with the family, quickly getting the opportunity for a fresh start. However, the real story wasn't as easy as that. The Tuohy family did in fact see Michael Oher on the side of the road (in reality, this happened on a cold morning during Thanksgiving break and not at night like the movie shows). Leigh Anne and her husband saw Michael get off a bus in the snow dressed in cutoff jeans and a t-shirt. The day after seeing Michael outside in a t-shirt, Leigh Anne picked him up at Briarcrest and took him shopping. She later commented in an interview "I just think Michael needed somebody, and it was so evident that there was nobody in his life. It just broke my heart."
So, in reality, Leigh Anne didn't offer Michael a place to stay right away and actually, it took months before the Tuohys welcome Michael into their home. During that time, Michael continued to stay with Tony Henderson (Big Tony) and at least five other families provided him with a place to stay when his coaches realized he didn't have a home. But, t he relationship with the Tuohy family took time to develop, and didn’t happen at the pace of a two-hour film. Michael Oher said, "When I moved in with Leigh Anne and Sean, I felt loved, like part of a family. In the other houses I didn't feel like part of the family. I didn't feel like they wanted me there."
Tension
In the movie, race was referenced a few times; once by Sean Tuohy when he confesses that he can’t believe he has a black son, and a second time when a player jokes with Oher during a game. But, during the film, Oher's struggle with race inequality is not given the importance that is deserved and Oher felt like the film didn't show even the half of it.
In real life, Michael Oher and the Tuohy family sacrificed a lot because of the choices they made. While the Touhy family did enjoy having Oher around and were happy to give him a home, Leigh Anne understood that people in the community might not be so happy with the decision. In The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, the book, Leigh Anne explained, “We knew people were going to have issues because we had a daughter exactly the same age.” It turns out that she received questions from people all over town, in shops, restaurants, and school events. Being the boss lady that she is, Leigh Ann eventually started to hand out a single piece of advice to people who confronted her: “You just need to mind your own business. You worry about your own life and I’ll worry about mine.” Nonetheless, Oher and his adoptive family got along quite well, although the differences between them were unmistakable.
Not Exactly Home Sweet Home
Again, the film's need to condense Oher's life resulted in a skewed version of the football star's story. In the film, it seems that Michael Oher integrates into the Tuohy family right away, with the Tuohys grateful that he’s the perfect son and sibling and Oher respectively, grateful for the warm parents he never had. But, don’t let the Hollywood Embellishment get to your head, things are not as the film made it seem, which is only natural, given the circumstances.
Both Oher and the Tuohys had their doubts. There was friction between the two parties, which perhaps never completely dissipated. Still, the relationship between them wasn’t horrible. Oher still thinks very highly of the family who took him in. Plus, he did bond well with S.J. and Collins Tuohy. However, it was a relationship that took time to nurture, and not one which developed over night. The illusion that the director created in the film is heart-warming, there's no denying that. And, they sure did a good job at drawing people into the film. But, it wasn’t quite like this in reality.