The Muse Review
by Jamey Hughton (bhughton AT sk DOT sympatico DOT ca)September 10th, 1999
THE MUSE
*** (out of five stars)
A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone,
Andie MacDowell and Jeff Bridges
Director-Albert Brooks
Rated PG
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The Muse is 3/4 of a great film. For the majority of Albert Brooks’
newest satire, the comedy is vibrant and funny, the situation is
amusing, and the stars are immensely likable. And then, without warning,
the film abruptly switches gears into sheer stupidity.
I suppose the 80 minutes of running time before it tumbles over into
idiocy is worth giving The Muse a (very) minor recommendation. But I
just can’t help wondering what the film could have been if the formula
hadn’t derailed in the last dying minutes. To be sure, there are some
big laughs and clever moments to be found. Unfortunately, the few
crucial twists toward the end leave a sour taste in your mouth.
Brooks, directing himself once again, plays screenwriter Steven
Phillips. As the movie opens, Steven is receiving a Humanitarian award
for his contribution of over 17 Hollywood scripts (one of which was
nominated for an Oscar). He ends his speech by stating “I’m the King of
the room!”, a punch line that no one finds amusing. Steven’s co-workers
and friends agree, even though the talent is still there, that he has
“lost his edge”. This is when good friend and fellow writer Jack (Jeff
Bridges) tells him the secret of his success: a muse. As the story goes,
they are daughters of Zeus, and are able to inspire creativity. Steven,
of course, doesn’t believe it at first. So he coaxes Jack into setting
up a meeting with his so-called “muse”, and he can judge for himself
whether she is for real.
Sarah (Sharon Stone) is this goddess of creativity. She has worked with
such directors as James Cameron, Rob Reiner and Martin Scorcese, and can
claim responsibility for The American President and The Truman Show. She
requests a room at the Four Seasons hotel, where she is open to
unlimited room service, and for a limousine to transport her everywhere
she goes. Steven doesn’t know quite what to think of this, but figures
all this incessant spending is worth it if he is able to regain “his
edge”. He laughably attempts to describe the situation to his wife Laura
(Andie MacDowell), especially when Sarah calls at midnight requesting a
salad and bobby pins to be delivered to her hotel room.
Part of the fun in The Muse is seeing what lengths Steven will go to,
even if Sarah only claims to be what she is. Is she actually able to
inspire her clients, or is she just masterminding an incredible hoax?
There is proof of the first query, presented in a nice subplot about
Sarah helping Laura to realize her dream of becoming the next “Mrs.
Fields” (translation: a masterful cookie queen). And Steven does start
to write a screenplay involving Jim Carrey and an aquarium, but he
insists that was his idea. Sarah continues to milk him for every penny,
Laura begins to enjoy her company and inspiration, and so basically
Steven is in hell.
Fans of Brooks’ low-key humor will likely enjoy his latest effort. There
are a couple of great gags - one involving Steven’s conversation with a
man who can hardly understand the English language - and some nicely
placed Hollywood humor. And in the center of it all, there is Sharon
Stone’s wonderful performance as the snotty title character. Lord knows
what Brooks was thinking when he capped off this otherwise engaging
comedy with an ending straight out of the Twilight Zone.
Up until everything goes awry, I really enjoyed myself. To be fair, I
did a large amount of smiling, perhaps... even chuckling. So I was
personally pretty bummed out after watching all of these amusing events
transpire, only to see them discarded in favor of a hopefully “clever”
twist. If I were writing Brooks himself, it would go something like
this: “Albert: I quite enjoyed your latest offering. But, WHY??”
(C) 1999, Jamey Hughton
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