The Tic Code (2000)

The Tic Code (also known as Lessons in the Tic Code) is a drama film directed by Gary Winick and written by Polly Draper. It tells of a single mother, the relationship she forms with a jazz musician who has Tourette syndrome, and her young son—a jazz piano prodigy—also with the disorder. The musician and the boy form a friendship, and the film is loosely based upon the experiences of Draper's jazz musician husband Michael Wolff, who provided the film's score. Draper, star of Thirtysomething, portrays the mother and Gregory Hines plays the musician with Christopher George Marquette as the boy.

Principal photography took place in 1997 in New York City. The Tic Code appeared at several film festivals in 1998 and 1999, where it won a number of awards. It received a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 4, 2000, and a DVD release in February 2001. Critical response to the film was generally favorable.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of a young boy, Miles Caraday (Marquette), a jazz piano prodigy who has Tourette syndrome, and his divorced mother Laura Caraday (Draper). Miles has a school friend, Todd (Desmond Robertson) who seems not to be bothered by Miles' condition. Miles wants to become a jazz pianist against the wishes of his classical-oriented instructor Miss Gimpole (Carol Kane). At a local nightspot, Miles becomes friends with a jazz saxophonist, Tyrone Pike (Hines), who also has Tourette's but has learned ways to cover up his condition.

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