The Muse (1999)

It would appear Albert and his writing partner (RIP) have a knack of producing original, freshly entertaining gems that are a joy to engage over and over again. Well done! The main protagonists were superb; Sharon Stone as the eccentric, lovely but spoiled Muse, Andie MacDowell as the temporarily frustrated but soon self-actualized spouse, Jeff Bridges as the successful screen writer who is challenged simply to get a tennis ball over a net but who hooks Albert's character up with the Muse, and of course angst filled Albert's character who teeters on the edge of disaster but somehow pulls it together with some help from the Muse cum studio executive. It's a lovely movie, good clean fun designed to provide escape from our own angst filled existences! Thank you Albert!

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.

The Muse is a good example of a feel-good comedy/drama. The cast is big named with stars Al Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie, etc.Great film about Hollywood. Loved the scene with the guy who couldn't speak English - brilliant.Also, shows the fraternity of Hollywood which is not good. We need more diversity.Loved the crisp writing.Loved the acting, especially Brooks.Overall the movie is a good feel-good comedy and I enjoyed it. Look for the boy in the window. the ghost. Rating 9 out of 10.

I remember going to the cinema to see this film back in 2000, being mildly entertained but underwhelmed by the end result, especially coming from someone who made one of the best comedies of the 1980s in 'Lost in America'.I had the chance to watch it again on cable today, and if anything, I was even less impressed with it the second time around. This is an occasionally amusing but generally uninspired and sometimes even dreary film. Its main downfall is that Brooks (as both actor, writer and director), has nothing new to say, and is still relying on the same stale old persona and situations that he used much more effectively back in 1985.There are some saving graces in the film: Sharon Stone is excellent in a tricky role, she avoids the easy trap of playing her role for laughs and in light of the revelation about her character at the end, her performance rings true.And the ending - where we learn that Stone isn't a muse but actually a person with mental issues who has been based in a sanitoraium - is an apt comment on the gullibility of Hollywood types who are so distanced from reality that they would actually seriously believe she was a muse. Jeff Bridges is also fine in his small role.Having said that, up until that revelation this is a very toothless satire on Hollywood. Brooks' character is also hard to take. He's doing his usual whiny persona but there's nothing in this film to suggest he has anything to whine about.Also, Andie McDowell fails to make much of an impression with her character. She's not helped by the relationship between her and Brooks being weakly written and not adding up to much.Probably most disappointing is how weak it is as a comedy. As an earlier reviewer noted, the scene where Brooks (as a punchline) ends up with a Waldorf salad all over his face is a very lazy and sitcomish moment that one expected Brooks had the talent to avoid. Another sign that the passion and purpose is ebbing away in his work.Another weak comic moment is towards the end where the Doctor and Nurse visibly crack up when they learn Brooks/MacDowell seriously believed that Stone was a muse. It's another lazy, unrealistic 'sitcom' attempt at humour - it's just not believable that a doctor would behave in such a manner. Something more subtle was required to be effective.While an OK timepasser, in the context of Brooks career trajectory this was a dispiriting disappointment.