Spike Lee used “Do the Right Thing” for the title of his racially charged 1989 film. But change it to the past tense — “Did the Right Thing” — and it would apply to nearly every character in director John Lee Hancock’s book-based true story “The Blind Side.”

From the administrators of a prestigious private school to interior designer Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her affluent family, it takes a village to raise homeless gentle giant Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) out of poverty and into gridiron stardom.

You can count on two hands the number of times Bullock tilts her head, purses her lips and narrows her eyes when faced with a fork in the road. Should we let Michael spend the night on my $10,000 couch?

Should we give him a bedroom in the house? Should we legally adopt him? All it takes is for Michael to level his sad puppy-dog eyes at her and his good fortune continues. It’s a slippery slope once Michael enters their lives.

But amid all the good Christian decision-making are a few glaring wrongs — one, society’s fault, the other, the movie’s. First, the extent to which a U. S. education system so focused on standardized testing failed Michael is astounding. This 17-year-old child got left behind. Michael shows signs of intellect only when his private school science teacher tries a new tactic and quizzes him orally.

And this is a very important lesson: Everyone learns differently.

Michael is no exception. Some people learn best by seeing, some by hearing and others by doing. Only the Tuohys and their community save him from a life on the streets.

Second, the movie portends to show how the other half lives. Oher, now an NFL rookie drafted by Baltimore, grew up amid the drugs and thugs of the Memphis projects, but the movie tends to gloss over the grittiness of his sad upbringing, relying instead on split-second flashbacks. The story’s racist overtones are also muted. The only glimpse of it comes from Leigh Anne’s inner circle of fellow expensive-salad-eating soccer moms.

This rags-to-riches story — or, more accurately, homeless to Ole Miss — combines the underdog-ness of “Rudy” with the same benevolent helping hand L. A. Times columnist Steve Lopez offered homeless violin virtuoso Nathaniel Ayers in “The Soloist.”

“The Blind Side” is like one of those inspirational Pass It On billboards expanded into a full-length feature film. Michael Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy’s faces on the I-190. I can see it.

Leigh Anne isn’t self-righteous about her charity and that’s what stifles cynical “bah humbugs.” But a story this fuzzy and warm-hearted is bound to be borderline patronizing at times. When Leigh Anne called for Michael to join the family in its annual Christmas card photo I cringed. Why put the boy in such an awkward situation?

There’s the excitement of college recruitment, famous coach cameos and Friday night lights to overcome this drawback.

THE BLIND SIDE

Two and a half stars

STARRING: Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Tim McGraw

DIRECTOR: John Lee Hancock

RUNNING TIME: 126 minutes

RATING: PG-13 for brief violence, drug and sexual references

THE LOWDOWN: True story of homeless African-American teen who become an All-American.