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.

This is a very poor attempt to translate a marvelous book to the screen. Hallmark should have made this a multi-parter, and definitely should have left elements of the book alone. "Saint Maybe" is a very long book, and may well be Tyler's masterpiece. Condensing it into a "movie of the week" format dilutes the vivid images painted by her. "The Accidental Tourist" was much better and kept as faithful to the book as possible. If you haven't read "Saint Maybe" you should. Once you do you'll love it and ask "why did Hallmark change so much?!?" I was very disappointed. The actors try very hard to win us over, but the script is just too weak. Perhaps someone will attempt to make another of her books into a movie with better results.

I had to watch this movie again, while I agree it may be thin in places, the overall plot made me want to see the end, I admired the dignity that Tom McCarthy displayed and I was pleased to see that there were good solid morals portrayed. It took courage for Ian to sacrifice his youth (to atone for his mistake) and while he could have gone off the rails as someone suggested it was quite noble of him to draw strength from God and raise the kids like his own and never divulge the terrible secret of their mothers' past to them. It is quite simply a nice but realistic movie, people are faced with choices like these everyday, most people actually chicken out!!!Real Men & Women are those who do not need to shout to be heard but live with dignity and strength!!!