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Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

serafinogm It would appear Albert and his writing partner (RIP) have a knack of producing original, freshly entertaining gems that are a joy to engage over and over again. Well done! The main protagonists were superb; Sharon Stone as the eccentric, lovely but spoiled Muse, Andie MacDowell as the temporarily frustrated but soon self-actualized spouse, Jeff Bridges as the successful screen writer who is challenged simply to get a tennis ball over a net but who hooks Albert's character up with the Muse, and of course angst filled Albert's character who teeters on the edge of disaster but somehow pulls it together with some help from the Muse cum studio executive. It's a lovely movie, good clean fun designed to provide escape from our own angst filled existences! Thank you Albert!

philipdavies I have just discovered Albert Brooks, with his film The Muse. I can see why he is known as a West Coast Woody Allen.The Muse is both elegantly witty and laugh-out-loud funny by turns.The notion of a nearly-man so desperate for success that he is willing to suspend all reason, and believe that he can be rescued from his imminent Hollywood screen-writing oblivion by a woman claiming to be the Muse of Greek Mythology made real in flesh and blood, but who turns out to be only a particularly resourceful runaway from the local (shall we say) Home for the Oddly Gifted, is sublime! Sharon Stone s performance as the self- and omni-delusive (her psychiatrists, though amazed and amused, know otherwise!) Muse is outstanding. She effortlessly obliterates the wooden acting of the strangely-featured Andy McDowell throughout.As madly demanding actress - for that IS what she is doing in reality - and - in the final payoff - harridan Studio head she is just superb, and through her the film s high concept is perfectly - and delightfully - pitched.I cannot speak highly enough of this team of Brooks and Stone.

S.R. Dipaling Writer/Director/Star Albert Brooks and co-writer Monica Johnson's somewhat jaundiced view ofachievement and success in Hollywood is the inspiration for this movie. While a bit gimmicky and aimless,it is still quite funny and satisfies in a way he's known for doing(Lost in America,Defending Your Life and Mother spring to mind for me personally).Writer Steven Miller has won what seems to be his umpteenth Humanitarian award for his work in the industry,and being a longtime veteran of penning scripts that get critical acclaim but receive little or no commercial reward,he finds himself at a crossroads for his career. In a moment of personal breakdown in front of his friend Jack(Jeff Bridges,very good in something just a little bit more than a cameo here) recommends that he use the services of a beautiful and spoiled woman named Sarah(Sharon Stone,very fine here),whose exact job is to be a Muse,or inspiration,for artists to do their most successful work. Reluctant at first,Steven takes the Muse in and,after running through hoops for her in ways that seem not worth the effort,his script inspiration takes a commercial(if not quality)turn for the seemingly better. Things complicate when Steven's wife Laura(Andie MacDowall,who rarely seems different in any role she does anymore)ferrets out Sarah,thinking he's husband is having an affair with her. He isn't,and the two become friends,and Sarah's artistic inspiration rubs off on Laura as well.A skewering of the Hollywood industry is served up in the first half of the movie,followed by the last half being somewhat of an actualization story. Uneven? Sure. But the material is kept light enough to please anyone's dry grown-up humor,particularly one who value's Brooks' style.

triple8 SPOILERS THROUGH: The Muse is an odd sort of comedy, definitely not your run of the mill typical Hollywood comedy. I thought it was OK. They took an unusual premise and made a movie about it, with big name stars. It had some genuinely funny moments and the premise was a good one.The Muse is a likable movie in a lot of ways but does suffer from very slow pacing. There are some really funny moments but also moments when the movie tries to hard. The cast for the most part was good. But I was a bit baffled by the casting of Stone as the muse.The main thing about This movie: The Muse is that, for a movie with such a whimsical storyline, it lacked a certain fanciful quality. I'd have liked this to be more of a fairytale and in that regard, it was hard for me to see stone in the part of Muse. Not because she isn't talented or beautiful which she is, but because she is very intense and there's an edge to her. I'd have liked to see someone softer, more delicate in the role. Likewise, Andy McDowell seems miscast as the wife. I think it would have been better if Andy had played the Muse. She does have a more ethereal quality then Stone. The Muse could have been such a whimsical movie but I did feel the female casting was off even though the movie is above average in general. I'd rate this a 6.5 of 10.