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The Muse (1999)
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Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:10
Rotten:12
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: Despite quirky and original writing, the subject matter feels too removed to produce laughs.
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Albert Brooks is Steven Phillips, a veteran screenwriter of 17 films who is told he has lost his edge. A fellow writer with a string of successes under his belt (Jeff Bridges) refers Phillips to... Albert Brooks is Steven Phillips, a veteran screenwriter of 17 films who is told he has lost his edge. A fellow writer with a string of successes under his belt (Jeff Bridges) refers Phillips to Sarah (Sharon Stone), a professional muse (see Greek mythology). In exchange for the royal treatment and a showering of expensive gifts, she will grace writers with her presence, which seems to magically spark profitable ideas from the client's mind. Is her power real or is it all in her clients' heads? Why does Jack's wife develop a delicious and profitable cookie recipe in Sarah's company? Brooks uses his usual biting wit and thoroughly neurotic sensibility to lampoon the Hollywood lifestyle. As in THE PLAYER, many personalities appear as themselves to take a shot--most especially a hilariously jacked-up Martin Scorsese and a desperate James Cameron. Sharon Stone is unexpectedly funny as the capricious, avaricious muse who turns Phillips's life upside down. Brooks is his usual dry, hilarious self. [More]
Starring: Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie MacDowell, Jeff Bridges
Starring: Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie MacDowell, Jeff Bridges
Director: Albert Brooks
Director: Albert Brooks
Screenwriter: Albert Brooks, Monica Johnson
Producer: Herb Nanas
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Reviews for The Muse
The central conflicts are either creepingly unengaging, unpalatable or so muted as to be nonexistent.
The Muse might have worked better if it didn't presume that we're all as interested in the machinations of Hollywood as Brooks is.
What's most surprising about The Muse is how derivative, cliche-ridden and old-hat it is.
The screenplay, despite containing a number of droll one-liners and a pair of deliciously funny scenes, possesses a turgid, directionless feel.
Albert Brooks pulls off a deft satire of Hollywood that benefits greatly from the clever casting of Sharon Stone.
The Muse is sketch-comedy thin and features an overdone comic performance from Sharon Stone, making it Brooks' least satisfying film in quite a while.
It's imaginative enough to provide a reliable, pleasurable stream of chuckles and midsized laughs.
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