Themes: Parenthood, Living With Disability, Crisis of Conscience
Main Cast: Rob Morrow, Laura Linney, Craig Sheffer, Rose Gregorio, Robert Hogan
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
An artist with Tourette's syndrome and an aversion to romance falls for his best friend's girl in this sometimes comic drama. Lyle Maze (Rob Morrow), a successful painter who's also starting to explore sculpture, relies on emotional armor a foot thick to protect him from other people. In addition to suffering from uncontrollable physical tics and loud outbursts, Lyle is also prone to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Afraid that his artistic gifts and his disease spring from the same well, he eschews the well-meaning advice of his doctor pal, Mike (Craig Sheffer), and refuses to try the new drug therapies available. He also rejects any attempt to fix him up with women. But when rebel-without-a-cause Mike decides to tilt at windmills in Africa for seven months as a member of Doctors Without Borders, Lyle finds himself in a precarious position. Callie (Laura Linney), Mike's acerbic ad-exec girlfriend, has confided to him that she's pregnant but unwilling to use her condition as leverage to shore up her troubled relationship. Soon, Lyle is coaching Callie through natural childbirth classes, playing surrogate father-to-be, and falling in love. Inspired by the documentary Twitch and Shout, Maze marked the first trip behind the camera for actor Rob Morrow, who played another man with Tourette's in the film Other Voices. In addition to directing and starring in Maze, the Northern Exposure star co-wrote and co-produced. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
Tourette's syndrome is such a frequent punch line that any film attempting to deal with the subject -- especially with humorous undertones -- runs the risk of seeming cruel and exploitive. But this sensitive, if overly familiar, character study connects thanks to its understated approach and the fine lead performances of Rob Morrow and Laura Linney. Morrow, who also directed and co-wrote the screenplay, plays Lyle Maze not as a collection of tics but as a stoic with a carefully concealed vulnerable streak. The character's long-suffering demeanor, self-deprecating humor, and deep absorption in his art ring as true as the actor's carefully crafted physical performance. As Callie, Lyle's best friend's girlfriend and the object of his unrequited affection, Linney fashions a luminous companion piece to her Oscar-nominated role the same year in You Can Count on Me. The film works because Morrow and co-writer Bradley White devote just as much character development and real-life details to Callie and her heel of a boyfriend as they do to Lyle. Never simply a disease-of-the-week "issue movie," Maze is, instead, a thoughtful exploration of unexpected intimacy and inescapable emotional baggage. The film's occasional attempts at out and out humor -- such as a date-from-hell scenario that seems like a cross between Sleepless in Seattle and Rain Man -- don't always succeed as well as the rest. But for all its romantic comedy trappings, the film has a wry, mournful sensibility that colors even its most feel-good moments. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Frank White III - Art Director, Georgianne Walken - Casting, Sheila Jaffe - Casting, Debbon Ayer - Co-producer, Lemore Syvan - Co-producer, Melissa Toth - Costume Designer, Rob Morrow - Director, Gary Levy - Editor, Phyllis Carlyle - Executive Producer, Joseph Pierson - Executive Producer, Beau Rogers - Executive Producer, David Forrest - Executive Producer, Jill Footlick - Line Producer, Bobby Previte - Composer (Music Score), Jason Hornbeck - Camera Operator, Kalina Ivanov - Production Designer, Wolfgang Held - Cinematographer, Jamie H. Zelermyer - Production Manager, Rob Morrow - Producer, Paul Colichman - Producer, Stephen Jarchow - Producer, Mark R. Harris - Producer, Rob Morrow - Screen Story, Bradley White - Screen Story, Nicole Burdette - Screenwriter, Rob Morrow - Screenwriter, Bradley White - Screenwriter, James Palumbo - Additional Editing, John Nadeau - Gaffer, Glenn Fishel - Grip, Caswell Cooke - Key Grip, Steven Simons - Re-Recording Mixer, Michael Taylor - Script Supervisor, Peter Thorell - Second Assistant Director, Alec Jarnagin - Steadicam Operator, Erica Westheimer - Assistant Costumer Designer, Michael Jortner - Assistant Properties, Shelley Batista - Assistant Sound Editor, Paul Kaye - Best Boy Electric, Jason Kaplan - Dialogue Editor, Quinn Pawlan - Electrician, Jennifer Elise Cox - Production Accountant, Jason Acimovic - Set Dresser, Stan Sztaba - Negative Cutter, Patricia Sztaba - Negative Cutter
