THE TIC CODE

2000

Hopefully, the Labor Day Weekend marks the end of this summer's drought of terrible, stupid, adolescent movies, and signals the beginning of a Fall Season of adult, thought-provoking and moving Oscar hopefuls. If "The Tic Code" is any indication of things to come, then we're in for an exciting season of film-going. This beautifully crafted film tells the story of a young boy with the humiliating affliction known as Tourette's Syndrome. Polly Draper, the writer and the movie's leading lady has written a love story to her husband, who is a jazz musician with Tourette's. In the story, young Miles must balance his life as an only child in a single parent home, his humiliation because of the embarassment caused by his "affliction," and his genius as a budding jazz pianist. The young actor Christopher George Marquette does a brilliant job in a very difficult role. It's a tribute to the actor and to the writer that there's more humor than tragedy in this story. Gregory Hines does a fine job portraying the jazz musician who comes into Miles' life as a love interest for his mother. He also has Tourette's Syndrome, but he's in denial. This strange, often cruel story moves along at its own pace, sometimes too slowly, but never uninterestingly. Its humanity is always at the forefront.

4 Stars

NJB