Product Details

• Actors: Albert Brooks, Sharon Stone, Andie McDowell, Jeff Bridges, Skip O'Brien
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.0)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Polygram USA Video
• DVD Release Date: February 15, 2000
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305717001
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,268 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Albert Brooks

• For more information about "The Muse" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Comic writer-director Albert Brooks (Lost in America, Defending Your Life, Mother) specializes in difficult characters. Not characters who are neurotic in a fumbling but endearing Woody Allen kind of way; Brooks creates characters who would be a pain in the ass to know and are sometimes kind of excruciating to even watch--which is not to say that they're not also extremely funny. However, The Muse manages to soften the edges of his persona while sustaining the humor. Steven (Brooks), a screenwriter, can't get anyone interested in his scripts. An extremely successful friend recommends that he talk to Sarah (Sharon Stone), who is--according the friend--a muse, one of the daughters of the Greek god Zeus who inspire creativity. The only problem is that Sarah not only gives, she takes: She demands gifts of diamond necklaces, expensive hotel rooms, late-night trips to expensive restaurants, and virtual servitude from whomever she's taken under her wing. This initially arouses suspicion in Steven's wife, Laura (Andie MacDowell), but soon Laura is asking for her own inspiration and it's Steven who starts to get jealous. Stone runs wild with her capricious character and an abundance of tart cameos (from Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Rob Reiner, Jennifer Tilly, Cybill Shepherd, and Wolfgang Puck) add juice to the proceedings. --Bret Fetzer

From The New Yorker

The writer-director-actor Albert Brooks, caught in a limbo of his own making. Brooks plays a Hollywood screenwriter who has lost his way and who applies for help from a daughter of Zeus-a Muse (Sharon Stone) who supplies lucrative suggestions to established writers and directors. The Muse, however, turns out to be a demanding and flighty broad who moves in on the screenwriter and displaces him from his own bed, and her suggestions for movies are banal. In this elaborate conceit, there is the potential for a good spoof of Hollywood success, which seems at times to operate by mystique or by chance, but Brooks doesn't find the momentum or bite in the idea. The movie itself lacks inspiration-it's sluggish and old-Hollywoodish in the worst way, and Brooks's character is a sad sack whose self-pity becomes repellent. There are some sharp scenes about Hollywood ruthlessness, and a few amusing cameos from such luminaries as Martin Scorsese and James Cameron, who apply to the Muse for help. With Andie MacDowell and Jeff Bridges. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Take, August 26, 2002

By	Koko de Selavy (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

Maybe it's because I had just started reading Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art" when I saw The Muse, but I had a different take on it. Others have already synopsized the film, so I'll just say: try watching it and thinking of the Muse (Sharon Stone) as, literally, an artist's creativity. What happens? It makes extravagant demands at inopportune times. It wakes you up at three in the morning because that's when it feels like working. It wants what it wants and doesn't care about your pocketbook, your relationship or your convenience. It gets [ticked] off and leaves if you undervalue it or start doubting it. You worry that others' creativity and success might take away from yours. Your female side (Andie McDowell) is maybe a little more comfortable with it (even thinking she will share a bed with it) then runs away when she sees what she's getting into (better to sleep on a cold, hard floor than to get too close to a real creative life). The writer, told he has lost his "edge" gets into a situation where he's lost his job, can't sell his work--can't even get a meeting--and has to spend prodigiously to support this costly, demanding, maddening, beautiful thing. Desperate, anxious, confused...he sure does get edgy by the end. It's hilarious that the Muse keeps saying to him, "are you writing this down?" She makes him write, even if it's just her shopping list. I enjoyed this film not just for the Hollywood satire, the clever lines and the sparkling performances, but also for its pointed, thought-provoking subtext.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Charming!, June 2, 2003

By	Michael Meredith "e-Mike" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Muse [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Forget the Sharon Stone of movies like Basic Instinct, Sliver or even Casino. This is an entirely different role and one that might actually change your opinion of her. Albert Brooks - who was also the writer and director of this little film - is a once successful screenwriter amid a career dry spell. At the suggestion of a friend, he seeks to engage the services of a muse, Sarah - Sharon - who demands gifts, living quarters and perpetual adoration. The initial benefit is questionable as Brooks struggles to realize any positive ideas from Sarah while his wife - Andie MacDowell - comes up with a hundred thoughts regarding the relationship between him and his erstwhile source of inspiration.

It's Andie that strikes gold first through the presence of Sarah, leading to comic angst from her husband - and perhaps no one has as much angst as Albert Brooks. Cameo appearances by a number of Hollywood characters playing themselves help to keep your interest through whatever slow spots might bog things down at times. But this is a lovely comedy that will give you enjoyment throughout.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Was Filled With Inspiration After Seeing This Muse!, May 9, 2003

By	Aaron Edson (usa) - See all my reviews

I don't know why everyone is picking on this film so much! I wanted to see it really bad after watching so many previews for it on cable. Finally i bought the DVD on just a whim, and I am so glad I did!

Im not going to supply you with a plot because a lot of reviews already did that. I will say I found the film to be very original and charming. The preformaces by the actors, especially Albert Brooks, are prefectly delivered in this material. In addition, I could not stop laughing at some of the brilliant comedy. It's much better then the gross-out sex gags seen everywhere in cinema today.

Some who see The Muse may not like it because they'll compare it to Brook's other films like Mother or Defending Your Life. But, on the off chance you do enjoy it, you will have found a sparkling comedy gem!