Maze

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!

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.

"Maze" tells of a trio of young adults with one being an artist with Tourette's syndrome, Lyle Maze (Morrow)...oh, and a baby too. Slick, fresh, and a different kind, a better kind of love story, "Maze" integrates Tourette's with the other aspects of the film but the film is not about Tourette's. It's about love. Not romance. Love.

A finely crafted piece, "Maze" spends the whole run time developing the characters and their relationships while explaining nothing, refusing to be a typical Hollywood no-brainer by spelling everything out with sky writing. Rather it assumes the audience is intelligent and empathic enough to understand the thoughts and feelings of the characters...something more often seen in foreign films. The antithesis of schmaltz, this hip and light-hearted drama is easy to get into, runs quick, and has a great ending. Kudos to Morrow for this wonderful film. ("Maze" also has the best birth scene I've seen in a movie.)

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.

MAZE (2001) *** Rob Morrow, Laura Linney, Craig Sheffer, Gia Carides, Rose Gregorio, Robert Hogan. Morrow - who co-wrote with Bradley White and co-produced - makes his big screen debut to boot as a gifted artist afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome who finds himself babysitting his friend Linney while her boyfriend - and his best friend - Sheffer - is working as a doctor in a third world nation, and the two bond closely when she reveals her pregnancy ultimately leading to love like no other. Fine acting by the two protagonists make up for the tricky camera maneuvers (i.e. Morrow's view point as a herky-jerky shake of the unfolding scenes at hand) in this otherwise unique spin on the suffering artist in love comedy/drama genre.