Maze

As a person with TS my whole life, this movie was quite refreshing to see. The Tic Code was actually a little better overall because it was about a child and the stuff he faces with TS - it hit close to home for me.

But this one was a pretty accurate portrayal. I loved the acting and for the first time in my life actually liked Laura Linney. She's a good actress but I usually hate her. Not here.

The refreshing part about this movie is that it portrayed the following things:

-People with TS can be successful -People with TS have normal human feeling like the rest of humanity -People with TS can have friends and relate to others - the TS is the only thing that's "off" -Being casted out as young child by all who think you're a freak (especially your parents)and not being guided through it is what leads to low self esteem and isolation - not the disorder itself -That not all people with TS are these sweet and nice people that others dump all over - in other words, I thought Lyle Maze was an a-hole - that came with him being an eccentric artist - not really the TS

Of course as a TS person I gotta look at the only 2 things they didn't get right.....

-They just had to stick in the swearing right? When will there be a movie about TS that doesn't deal with the swearing? It's only 15% of all TS sufferers - I've never had that problem

-Doing his tics while he was painting - and while he was in the sexual tension moments with Laura Linney and on his date with her friend.

When you're in the moment - your tics pretty much disappear. If that were me on the date, my tics would be barely noticeable because the uneasiness is what overtakes you. During sex - forget it - it's as if TS was never a problem. As I sit here and write - no tics.

But alas, I know this nitpicky stuff really isn't the central theme of the movie. The acting and the story were stupendous. Good show!

An artist suffering from Tourette's Syndrome falls in love with the pregnant girlfriend of his best friend while the latter's away. Morrow is a pretty good actor, but the film is undone by his pedestrian efforts as director and writer. The script is meant to be inspirational, but the execution is dull and eventually sappy. The direction is hackneyed. The symptoms of the disease are on display so often that it's a distraction; one waits for the next attack to manifest itself rather than focusing on the story. The only good thing about this tedious and clichéd film is Linney, who is terrific in just about anything she does.

We also liked this film very much. Morrow works hard, as an actor AND as a director, to help you see the world thru Lyle Maze's eyes. It's fascinating to watch him work -- when he's sketching, he becomes totally engrossed as an artist & his spasms stop. Then the "real world" intervenes. & his behavior gets worse & worse the more he tries to control it.

But the name of this film is totally wrong. Maybe it's based on a true story (the credits have a reference to National Public Radio but don't provide any detail), nevertheless, calling it MAZE is very misleading & won't help people find it. So if YOU saw it & YOU liked it, do your part to spread the word!

I kind of liked this movie, but I feel it is not quite as good as the reviews indicate. Good points: Excellent acting all around, good writing and decent direction. Bad points: Very slow pacing (too many dead spots), weak editing, and an annoying cinematography technique of switching to a first person view (and a blurry one at that) when Lyle is having a Tourette's attack. Overall: Good, but not great, 6/10.

I watched this movie with a great deal of interest as I have TS, as do both my sons. Rob Morrow gives a chilling performance - I thought he actually had Tourette's Syndrome. The frustration at not being able to do things the way he wants to because of his tics, the cruel comments from "normal people", the social ramifications and lack of self-worth were all portrayed exceptionally. I highly recommend this movie to anyone, but especially to those who know someone with TS. It gives a great deal of insight into the reality of life with TS. If you liked this movie you might want to see "The Tic Code" with Gregory Hines and Polly Draper.