The Muse

The Muse

D: Albert Brooks (1999); with Sharon Stone, Albert Brooks, Andie MacDowell, Jeff Bridges. The usually clever Brooks seems to falter a bit in this effort. Of course, the premise itself is pretty dumb, but you'd expect more from the man whose past efforts include the witty Real Life and Lost in America. Here, Brooks plays Steven Phillips, a washed-up screenwriter with no fresh ideas. Anything he comes up with is deemed unhip by the studios. Desperate to get back on track, he's referred to a real-life muse by fellow scribe Jack (Bridges). He's sure that such inspirational sirens are the stuff of myth. Then again, Jack is riding high on blockbusters, so what the heck? The muse, Sarah (Stone), is an alluring, attractive, bohemian spendthrift, who demands lavish gifts as well as a suite at the Four Seasons. Soon Steven is up to his ears in hotel bills and still hasn't come up with a good movie idea. Meanwhile, everyone else is benefiting from Sarah's charms, particularly wife Laura (MacDowell), whose cookie business is taking off. As Steven, Brooks is the usual beaten-down sap, wandering incredulously through an asinine upper-class environment. Lots of West Coast satire. Lots of cameos from movie muckety mucks (James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Rob Reiner). And lots of scenes of the meek Brooks in futile conflict with Stone's spoiled character. There are scattered doses of humor but not enough to inspire big laughs, nor keep the viewer remotely interested.