The Muse

Brooks is the West-Coast doppelganger of Woody Allen, despite the fact that he's about twenty years younger & takes on characters decidedly white-bread Middle American Gentile. All of Brooks' movies are about him entering a critical transition period of life (or death). Like Allen's films, his variations on this familiar theme range in quality. 'The Muse' is a solid effort. Most Brooks films have funny zingers; this one has a whole filmful plus a clever story to boot, and a big-budget cast. The more you know about Hollywood and the motion picture industry (I recommend 'The Big Picture' by Epstein), the more true-to-life you understand the film to be, and thus the funnier the jokes become.

I'm not sure why it did poorly, and reading others' comments yields little insight. All I can say is that Brooks is never a fully sympathetic character--he is always at least partly to blame for his predicament--never quite the "aw-shucks" underdog. At least this time he and Johnson introduce other characters who are even more sympathetic to generate audience goodwill. Not to mention that the two leading ladies are both stunningly good-looking. Plus the whole Hollywood self-referencing is a lot of fun. Bottom line is, I believe that this is among the best of Albert Brooks' films. It has many winning qualities which permit it to transcend the Brooks formula. It shares a certain affinity with another wry comedy, "Being There"; both are stories about people being drawn in by the mysterious among us.

I know that most people are very demanding of the movies they watch. That being said, I guess I'm not one of them. I have owned "The Muse" for about three years, and I usually watch it about once a year, after being reminded of its existence on cable/HBO. I always enjoy it every time I watch it. I think Sharon Stone portrays her character with class and humor; not to mention that she is one of the most stunning women ever to be in motion pictures. While I do think that by the end of this movie, you'll probably have had enough of Albert Brooks' whiney, monotonous voice, some of his lines and "sound effects" are rather funny. Andie MacDowell is a beautiful woman, and while her characters are never really memorable, I feel she is a good actress, and entertaining to watch in movies.

This movie is a light-hearted, film of mindless entertainment. Certainly, it is not one for the "Hall of Fame", but if you're looking for an amusing story, with attractive scenery (who doesn't like looking at Hollywood mansions), and a plot you don't have to race to keep up with, "The Muse might be for you.

Albert Brooks has long been one of the most underappreciated filmmakers working in the movie industry today. Less acerbic, but often just as funny as Woody Allen, Brooks looks at the world through a slightly askew, charmingly off beat prism, invariably placing himself in the center of his films as the average Joe persona put-upon by the daily frustrations and absurdities we all face as we struggle to make it though our often harried modern lives.

His latest charmer, "The Muse," provides even more of a fantasy insider's view of Hollywood than Steve Martin's recent "Bowfinger." Brooks portrays a fairly successful screenwriter who is suddenly experiencing steady rejection of his most recent script as studio after studio turns thumbs down on the project. Driven by desperation, he enlists the aid of a tempermental Muse, played winningly by Sharon Stone, an actual descendant of Zeus who moves her way around the Hollywood bigwigs, inspiring hit movies as she goes - or so her many devotees think. Part of the fun of the film comes in the latter portion of the film when doubt is cast on the validity of her credentials, which speaks humorous volumes about the state of mental health in that crazy land known as Hollywood.

In fact, the film is at its freshest in scenes in which Brooks gently skewers the crass insensitivity, lack of creativity and general madness of the movie industry itself - and he has enlisted quite a number of major Hollywood big shots to appear in amusing cameo roles that mock their own self-importance and that of the business they are involved in. Despite the occasional thudding one-liner, Brooks' script floats along much like a muse itself, fluffy, amiable and charming. The lovely Andie MacDowell, as Brooks' understanding and supportive wife, adds immensely to this air of breezy likability.

"The Muse," unlike so many modern comedies, manages to captivate and entertain without working itself up into a frenetic frenzy and without breaking into a sweat. This is a film, rather, to relax into and simply let the author take you where he wants you to go. The journey, luckily, is a fun one.

Brooks, once a prominent screenwriter who's now neurotic and struggling after everyone starts telling him he's losing his edge, resorts to desperate means and acquires the services of a benevolent but bizarre and demanding muse (Stone) to try and recapture the essence of his onetime brilliance. However, his life is soon turned upside down by all of her awkward, off-the-wall methods of improvement. There's plenty of crisp dialogue, laugh-out loud moments, and amusing cameos to hold your attention, but the film is marred by too many comic gaps in the script. Still, it's a good way to pass the time, and their are some sharp observations of the Hollywood movie process. **½

Albert Brooks is funny. He has an interesting and unique way of telling story with humor, wit and sincerity. He is not afraid of appearing to be 'un-hip'. Actually that is the charm of most of his work. He has been compared to Woody Allen but I

think that his work is much more universal. Woody's giant persona gets in the way of his stories whereas Brooks actually becomes a character. He does not

play himself and does not comment of things. He 'plays' characters like a real actor. The Muse is just as brilliant as Defending Your Life and Across America. Andie MacDowell is good when a good script guides her. Sharon Stone was

made for the role of the Muse. Her energy is sexy, ditzy as well as forceful. There are some cameos in this movie that are priceless and lend an air of

authenticity to the side of Hollywood that most people have no access to. I have seen this movie a hundred times and it never fails to make me laugh.