Saint Maybe (1998)

This a story about second chances. I do not know how faithful it is to Anne Tyler's novel, I have not read it, but I know in real life everyone needs second chances. In this story everyone gets a second chance but Danny, unfortunately. Lucy gets a second chance with Danny. Bee and Doug Beedloe get a second chance to be parents and they do a good job. Ian ruins Lucy's second chance, but redeems himself by taking responsibility for raising the orphaned children as his parents age, and they do a good job raising them. When the other grandmother is finally found years after Danny and Lucy's deaths, Ian realizes that they are better off without that woman in their lives. A second chance with that grandmother would have been a disaster. Finally Ian himself gets his own second chance with Rita. The Church of Second Chances is a metaphor for life. God is always there giving second chances,and even third and fourth ones. Life is filled with second chances, if we only see them and embrace them.

I saw "Saint Maybe" on the Hallmark Channel. I don't know what I was thinking. It's a wonderful cast, including Blythe Danner, Mary-Louise Parker, Edward Herrmann, and Thomas McCarthy. I haven't read the book by Anne Tyler, so I can't comment on the transfer from book to screen.It's the story of a young man named Ian (McCarthy) whose brother Danny (Jeffrey Nordling) marries a flighty young woman named Lucy (Parker) very shortly after meeting her at his post office window, when she wants to mail a bowling ball. Lucy has two children by a previous marriage, and 7 months after marrying Danny, has a third. The baby is said to be premature, but Ian isn't buying it, and is pretty sure the child isn't the deliriously happy Danny's. Constantly called on to babysit, Ian grows more and more suspicious of his sister-in-law over time - she is constantly going out with her girlfriend Dot and coming home with jewelery, scarves, and new clothes, and she seems to need a sitter an awful lot.One night, when his own date is ruined because Lucy doesn't come home as promised, Danny returns first and drives Ian home. Ian loses his temper and tells Danny all of his suspicions. His brother is very upset and, after dropping off Ian at home, crashes into a tree and dies. If that isn't bad enough, Lucy dies not long afterward of a sedative overdose. Now the question is, what to do with the three orphaned children. The elderly grandparents (Danner and Herrmann) do their best, but guilt-ridden Ian stumbles into a church one night and realizes that he has to make a decision.I said I don't know what I was thinking because I became very absorbed in this story and cried through most of it, hating myself every step of the way for watching it. It's a very warm, sentimental story with some lovely scenes. It has Hallmark stamped all over it - it's perfect family entertainment about a man who, in looking for forgiveness, finds that he can't undo what happened, but he can create what happens now.Very good, but have some tissues nearby. Get a bunch ready for an especially poignant scene with Edward Herrmann. Blast him. He's fabulous.

While this movie was a little thin in places and had a less than imaginative ending, it is well worth watching and is a nice contrast to highly unrealistic Hollywood films and soap operas where the dead come back to life and/or people really get second chances.How does a person live with the knowledge that his own actions (although they were well intentioned but misguided at the time)destroyed the lives of those closest and dearest to him and caused years of pain and suffering to others? Many would turn to drugs, alcohol, anger, denial, or suicide. This movie shows how it is possible to reach inside yourself and out to others to heal some of the wrong that was done. I liked how it also had a sub-plot about how the young man succeded in life without going to college or getting married (or atleast not until later in life)and how he wanted to "make things that people won't throw away".While it's not the kind of movie you watch with friends and a beer, it's great for a quiet evening at home alone or with family. It gets you thinking.The only trouble that I have with it is that while it begins very strong and I felt drawn into the characters and their dilemas, the last 1/4 of the film was very weak and the characters became cardboard and cliche almost. ie. the oldest girl became a doctor, the youngest a rebellious misfit. Just try to overlook that part and you'll enjoy it.

A Hallmark movie about a young man who turns to God and church after a family tragedy. Wonderfully written, nice sets, and a terrific cast. Thomas McCarthy was very good in the leading role, and you can spot a pre-"Providence" Melina Kanakaredes in the role of his girlfriend. Also starring Gwyneth Paltrow's mom, Blythe Danner. A very good movie.