“Another Chance” is a wonderful and inspiring film for anyone who has ever needed a second chance, which pretty much covers all us! Jon Hoffman is excellent as Peter Martin, the mayor of Wake Forest whose past is about to catch up to him. Martin is running for reelection but his priorities are focused on his job and campaign, not his wife and two daughters.
He abandoned his girlfriend, Angela, when she became pregnant with his daughter Maria (Ailyn Andino). He has ignored his daughter over the years who, like her mother, winds up pregnant. Joey (Wesley Elder), Maria’s boyfriend, wants to do the right thing despite them being young; Maria is just 16. He wants to land a job and marry her. When Peter Martin shows up at a local employment agency for a soundbite to show he cares about jobs, he interviews Joey, not realizing he is the young man who has gotten his daughter pregnant. Martin’s brother David (Jesse Janowsky) is a pastor and has been there for Maria through the years, and soon Peter and David are butting heads over Peter’s lack of involvement in his daughter’s life.
It should be noted that although the movie is serious for the most part, it has moments of comic relief. In one scene, the mayor tells his assistant to tell a woman on the phone that he won’t be able to meet with her on a certain date. The assistant tells the woman the mayor is getting a haircut that day, though the mayor is clearly bald! He points at his head to remind his assistant of this fact; it is a funny moment for sure.
It takes a near tragedy to finally wake up Peter Martin to realize how blessed he is. He wants “another chance” to be a different man. Will he get it? We are delighted to award “Another Chance” our “Faith-Friendly” Seal for ages 12 and up. The film does a good job showing what can happen when a person trusts God, asks forgiveness from those he has wronged, and begins with a fresh start.
