| | | In goddess we trust.
In true Hollywood fashion, successful screenwriter Steven Phillips (Albert Brooks) learns his career is ending over lunch. Trying anything to get it back, he meets with an enviously successful friend (Jeff Bridges) who advises the services of an absolute goddess named Sarah Little (Sharon Stone). Sarah's a real-life muse, on of the nine daughter's of the Greek god Zeus, whose earthly task it is to inspire creativity. Divine services do not come cheap, however, and sarah details her extravagant and eccentric needs to Steven as terms for taking him as a client. Despite his wife Laura's (Andie MacDowell) misgivings, Steven accepts the terms. As a result, Sarah charms her way deeper into their personal lives and her quirky and amusing behavior changes Steven and Laura forever.
"The Muse glitters!" John Powers, Vogue
"Sharon Stone is divine indeed!" Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today
"Sharon Stone is a comic firecracker!" Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...one of Brooks' most entertaining films." Janet Maslin, The New Yok Times
"...the sharpest Hollywood comedy in years." Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"...smart, funny--and edgy." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Editor's Note
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.
| Features | Full Frame - 1.33 |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
|  | Studio: Polygram Records |
| Release Date: 8/1/2000 |
| Running Time: 97 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1999 | | Catalog ID: 4400449993 | | UPC: 00044004499934 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Golden Globe (2000) | | | Sharon Stone, Nominee, Best Performance By An Actress In A Motion Picture Comedy/Musical |
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...The script and dialogue are dead-on....[Certain] scenes possess a deliciously knowing air..." 8/16-22/1999 p.28-9Rolling Stone
"...A potently funny lampoon of all things Hollywood..." 09/02/1999 p.125-6 Premiere
"...Credit Stone for a blithe, sexy turn..." -- 3 out of 5 Stars 03/01/2000 pp.96-98 USA Today
"...THE MUSE is amusing..." 08/27/1999 p.9E Los Angeles Times
"...Underneath all its humor, THE MUSE manages to casually deal with some fascinating issues, such as the nature of creativity and inspiration and the important role belief has in making things happen..." 08/27/1999 p.C1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...Smart, funny and edgy. And there's something fascinating about the way Brooks, as an actor, is ingratiating and hostile at the same time..." 08/27/1999 p.31 Box Office Magazine 7 of 10
Being humorists of the more sophisticated variety...Brooks and longtime co-writer Monica Johnson mine their material for its less obvious richness, striking a happy lode of unpredictable twists and wonderfully introspective, offbeat humor... Stone's dizzy Muse...is the film's most delightful surprise, providing an energetic counterpoint to Brooks' neurotic fatalism that reveals a gifted comedienne beneath the glamorous exterior. Wedged between these two extremes is Andie MacDowell in a wonderful turn as Steven's endlessly forbearing wife Laura. - Wade Major
Apollo Guide 6 of 10
Brooks has created another humorous meditation on the insecurities of the American male. He's been having on-screen mid-life crises for a decade and a half, and they're always peppered with intelligent witticisms. - Brian Webster
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