Redundant and unnecessary.

I'll tell you why so serious

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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.

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.

I just recently discovered this wonderful movie. I love movies that make me laugh and cry.Rob Morrow was so believable in his role. I will probably watch this movie over and over. We need more movies like this-people movies.I was so impressed with the storyline, the acting was terrific, I can't believe I haven't found it until now, but it made my whole day and I'll be passing it on to everyone I know who likes good movies. I also loved the soundtrack and have looked all over for it, and I cannot find it anywhere. If someone knows where I can get it or have one to sell, please contact me. I collect soundtracks and would like to add this one to my collection. Thanks.

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!