Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

hall895 Lyle Maze is a successful painter and sculptor. But he lives a very lonely life, knowing he will never find love. He has Tourette's syndrome, with some OCD thrown in for good measure, and his affliction pretty much shuts him off from the world. What with the spasms, the tics, the strange noises he emits Lyle assumes nobody would ever love him. Loving him would be too much of a challenge. He really has one friend in the world, Mike, a doctor. Mike provides Lyle with the newest medication which would perhaps better control his symptoms. But Lyle refuses to take the pills. A stubborn man he is. But Mike's pretty stubborn too, not to mention oblivious. He's determined to save the world and flies off to Africa for seven months of humanitarian work. He leaves his pregnant girlfriend Callie behind. To be fair he doesn't know she's pregnant but you get the sense he wouldn't much care. So Mike's gone, Callie's all alone, and Lyle is perpetually alone. Pretty easy to see where this is headed.With Mike out of the picture Lyle and Callie connect. It starts innocently enough with Callie modeling for Lyle. As innocent as nude modeling can be anyway. But the more time they spend together the closer they become. Too close for Lyle's comfort as he doesn't want to betray the absent Mike. But Callie talks him down off the metaphorical ledge and the relationship blooms. He is there for support during her pregnancy. And she draws him out of his shell a bit, opening him up to the possibilities of life and love. She even sets him up on a date with a friend of hers, which his Tourette's causes to go less than well. But at least he tried. Truth is though if there's any woman he's going to love it's Callie herself. Which is obviously problematic.Rob Morrow, who not only played Lyle but directed the film, made a noble effort here. Lyle's battle to overcome his Tourette's and live a full life is a story which is surely worth being told. But the movie doesn't really work. As an actor Morrow works hard to sell Lyle's Tourette's. But as a director perhaps he should have reined himself in a bit. Morrow oversells it to the point the film quickly becomes very uncomfortable viewing. At some point all the tics and shakes and sounds just become a distraction. The movie's pacing is very slow and there's not much inherent drama. Once Mike takes off for Africa the whole thing becomes rather obvious. The relationship between Lyle and Callie evolves slowly, there are really no big moments to hook the viewer. It all leads up to an ending which on first glance seems clever but when you then think about it it's really a cheat. It's an ending the movie hasn't earned. Nothing we've seen beforehand sells the ending, which is jarringly abrupt, as being particularly plausible. This film was obviously a labor of love for Morrow but he didn't quite pull it off. He got a very good performance out of Laura Linney playing Callie. But his own performance left something to be desired. A challenging character to play to be sure but Morrow never seemed to find the best way to get Lyle's symptoms across. He went too far with his portrayal and the movie didn't go far enough with its story. There just aren't enough interesting things going on here. It's a film with a good message, about an affliction which need not destroy a life. But it's a message which deserved a better movie.

ferbs54 I have referred to myself as an "all-American, red-blooded pigdog" in some of these reviews, and just to show you the depths of my pigdogishness, I will reveal now that the main reason for my renting out 2000's "Maze" is because I read that it is the perfect film for those who want to see Laura Linney in the, uh, altogether. As it turns out, though, the picture has much more to offer than just those 10 titillating seconds. In it, director/coproducer/co-writer Rob Morrow plays a very talented NYC artist/sculptor named Lyle Maze, who suffers under the double curse of OCD and Tourette's. When his only friend, Mike (played by Craig Sheffer, a poor man's Matt Damon), goes to Burundi for seven months with Doctors Without Borders, Lyle cares for his pregnant girlfriend, Callie, sympathetically portrayed by Laura Linney. (With her "double L" name, a woman who should probably play herself in the next Superman movie!) Callie poses for Lyle, leading to the aforementioned full frontal, and the two become best friends. Maze even becomes her LaMAZE coach, and, inevitably, romance blossoms. Anyway, this is a very sweet little movie, bolstered by fine performances by all. Morrow is quite believable as the afflicted Maze; his tics and mouth pops are quite convincing. To my surprise, this Tourette's sufferer does not seem to have those uncontrollable foul-mouthed tendencies that the stereotype would lead one to expect. The picture has an upbeat, eclectic soundtrack, and director Morrow does just fine, too, although I could have done without those dubious POV shots through Lyle's eyes. Ultimately, Linney steals this picture, however, with her touching and spunky performance. Oh...an added bonus for all you Losties out there. Look sharp: There's Ken Leung, aka Miles the ghost whisperer, giving Callie sonography almost a full decade before setting foot on the Island!

kaplanj-1 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 TSOf 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!

happy-feet I've seen a lot movies in my life, but I must say Maze is the first one where really everything is exactly like I want it to be. It's so perfect. The story, the actors, the camera, the settings, the music... It's just one big wonderful feeling. I even think it's not necessary to summarize the story here because it's not the story which makes that film so great. It's the thing between Lyle and Callie. My English is not good enough to describe it (I'm from Germany). It's how they treat each other, the way they are with each other, how they look at each other (they almost don't need to talk, you know everything when you look into their faces, especially Lyle's longing for Callie, it's acted so good, you fall in love with her, too) and all these little things between the lines. That's why I can watch it again and again without being bored, because it carries a feeling, a mood, a state of mind, don't know how to tell... Watching this movie is like listening to your favorite music or watching a painting which really caught you, or sitting in the dark and watching the stars, like the feeling, when you come home in the winter and drink a cup of tea and you can feel it running slowly down your throat into your stomach and balley. Art is, what touches your soul. Maze is art. And please, it is not a movie about Tourette! If one reduces it to that, he hasn't understood one little thing. It's just one part. It's about love and how difficult it can be to find it, and especially if you don't serve common sense. I know what I'm talking about, it's always the same, no matter why you stay outside of the crowed. Maze gives hope and courage. Don't know how someone could create such a good movie... Thanks a lot to Rob Morrow and crew! Want more! Now I think I've subbed enough... :-) I love it!