Maze (2001)

The Worst Film Ever

Charming and brutal

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

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!

I discovered this movie totally by accident one night when it was on cable and I couldn't sleep - as it was, I didn't end up sleeping until it was over and even then I couldn't stop thinking about it. Laura Linney is, to use a dramatic cliché, and I apologise, magical, but then again she is in almost every role she takes. The title didn't stick in my head and after watching it and loving it so much, I actually couldn't remember what the damn thing was called and have missed out! But now I've rediscovered it and intend to hunt it down at the local video shop and watch it again, four years on! Highly recommend this movie to everyone!

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.

Spoilers herein.I have a hobby of carefully selecting films to see back to back. The very best experience is when you find two films that are imperfect by themselves, but when merged in one's mind become complete and powerful.This worked for me with `Maze' and `Immortality.' Both are about diseased, talented men who fall in love in an unwanted fashion. One involves birth, the other death. In perfect symmetry, one involves creative artifacts as art looking at bodies, the other art as actually being produced by bodies.One is a vampire movie. Vampire movies NEED redheads. The other film has the redhead, in almost irresistible, lovely, perfect openness. The vampire film eschews the compulsion and involuntary action usually found in the genre, where the other one embraces it.You really need to see both to see how perfectly these merge, how the impossibly sweet love of `Maze' fixes the problem with `Immortality' that the power of the love just isn't there. And similarly in `Maze,' the curse of the blood is always present, but never MEANS anything beyond a few comedic moments. Conflate the two and you have something constructed like Lynch's `Blue Velvet,' where darkness and light, love and curse, are played out as the battle between two film genres. `Velvet' had those two genres in the same film, but you as an intelligent viewer need not be so limited.You can even use the hooks each already provides: `Maze' shifts to shaky POV when the Tourette spasm strikes. Insert there, parts of `Immortality.' `Immortality,' on the other hand - following the French tradition - introduces the viewer (the policeman) into the story. He `creates' the vampire by watching: insert Lyle Maze's artistic process here, which in his home film is equated to the literal creation of a human (which is then introduced at an exhibit).Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.