I'll tell you why so serious

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM HONESTIn this film a 19 year old college student Ian gets roped into babysitting his brothers kids once again. He gets very mad that his sister in law promises to be home at a certain time and she isn't. This makes IAN very mad because he just missed an important date with his girlfriend who he hardly see's. They both go to desperate colleges. He was kind enough to babysit however he feels disrespected when his sister in law ruins his plans. Once his brother comes home after work he see's that IAN is babysitting. Ian tells his brother things he believes about his wife including the fact that he thinks she is cheating on him. The two brothers have a minor fight and IAN'S brother ends up in an auto accident and dies. A short time later Ian's sister in-laws overdoses and dies. Ian is racked with guilt now because he feels responsible for the deaths of both people. A short time later he drops out of school to become the guardian of his brothers children and step children. I enjoyed this film. The ending was not what I expected because I did want something more elaborate. The acting is fine in this and the pacing of the film is very solid. I really would not calls this "A Christmas Film" but it is about having faith. The message in this film I do support. Its about making amends and saving yourself in the process.

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.

Saint Maybe (1998) (TV) was directed by Michael Pressman and based on the novel by Anne Tyler. Thomas McCarthy plays Ian Bedloe, a teenager who has a fine home, loving family, and lovely girlfriend. For reasons that are complex, and not clear to Ian or to us, Ian initiates a chain of action that leads to tragedy. Naturally, he feels tremendous guilt. The movie is about what you do when you're a good person who has made an irrevocable mistake. Anne Tyler is an excellent author, and the film is faithful to the basic plot of her novel. The acting is uniformly good, and the production has the usual solid strength we expect from the Hallmark Hall of Fame.This film probably won't make your all-time best 100 films list, but it's still worth seeing. Also, Anne Tyler's novel is definitely worth reading. I had read the novel years ago, and just saw the film, so I can't make specific comments about the degree to which the script reflects the novel. Still, my impression is that this is a solid and careful adaptation.

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!!!