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Movies / On DVD / The Muse
The Muse

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The Muse (1999)

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53 %
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Reviews Counted:75

Fresh:40

Rotten:35

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: Despite quirky and original writing, the subject matter feels too removed to produce laughs.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]

Starring: Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie MacDowell, Jeff Bridges

Starring: Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie MacDowell, Jeff Bridges

Director: Albert Brooks

Director: Albert Brooks
Screenwriter: Albert Brooks, Monica Johnson
Producer: Herb Nanas

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Muse

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81 - 99 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

It's good for some sterling one-liners and a generous handful of sparkling scenes, but after a strong, peppery start, the movie collapses into bland mush for want of anything interesting to say.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rod Dreher
Rod Dreher
New York Post

Smart, funny -- and edgy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though consistently fun in an Albert Brooks kind of way, this film drags its feet with the business of building to a climax.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

Ostensibly a comedy about inspiration and creativity, The Muse is a clunker that's actually painfully lacking in both qualities.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Sandra Ramani
Sandra Ramani
Citysearch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott A. Mantz
Scott A. Mantz
Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews

In The Muse, Brooks makes a mistake he's never made before: he starts with a situation comedy, then never moves beyond the situation.

Full Review Source: Scott Renshaw's Screening Room | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw
Scott Renshaw's Screening Room

One of the more obnoxious movies of the past 200 years.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

More stupefying than entertaining.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com

A writer and comic who's the best when he's the nastiest, Brooks creates for himself a character that's way too accommodating and sweet.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
01/01/00
Stuart Klawans
Stuart Klawans
Nation

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
rec.arts.movies.reviews

There are bits in this movie that are so bright, so amusing and so truly, madly, deeply tied to a life most of us will never know, that you can’t help watching the film with fascination.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

There are lots of punchy lines, but the one-joke movie doesn't have all that much to say.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Wloszczyna
Susan Wloszczyna
USA Today

The film delivers one caustic comic highlight after another.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
01/01/00
Todd Anthony
Todd Anthony
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Typically fresh and idiosyncratic in the writing but often flat directorially.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/01/00
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Muse is not the perfect Albert Brooks film, but it is close.

Full Review Source: Citadel Broadcasting | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tony Toscano
Tony Toscano
Citadel Broadcasting
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Clever, often hilarious.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/01/00
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
 
 
81 - 99 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5
all

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