The Muse is certainly amusing. Rarely in a laugh out loud kind of way, but rather in a pleasant way to spend the afternoon kind way. It's the kind of film that is forgotten quickly, but lives on a shelf in a video store waiting for rainy Sundays with the family where one needs PG films a tad more mature than Bambi and far less than Bambi does Boca. And for such situations, The Muse is does the job. With snappy dialogue and fun comic moments, the film moves along at an agreeable clip only to crash rather badly in the denouement.

        The film revolves around Albert Brooks. In reality he directed and co-authored the film, and on screen, he plays the pivotal character of Steven Phillips, a Hollywood screenwriter who has "lost his edge." In a frenetic quest his edge, Phillips seeks advice from his friend Jack, who refers him to a muse.

        In Greek mythology the muses are goddesses of the arts and sciences: daughters of Zeus and the goddess of memory. There are nine of them, and they have clearly defined tasks. Thalia is the muse of comedy and idyllic poetry and is usually shown holding a comic mask, while Melpomene the muse of tragedy holding the tragic counterpart. Then there's muses of history, astronomy, and various kinds of music, dance poetry.

        But the muse in question in this film is named Sarah, and played by Sharon Stone. Sarah doesn't write, or work, or do anything at all, she just inspires. And her inspiration doesn't come cheap, since the ticket to getting beyond her doorstep is a little blue Tiffany box, and her clients are expected to pick up all her bills.

        Still, Phillips thinks that his edge might be reacquired through a close encounter with Sarah, and so he is suddenly overwhelmed by the flighty muse and her various whims. At first his wife thinks he's having an affair, but quickly rules that out when he sees just how demanding her beck and call can be.

        The set up for the film is really fun. Sharon Stone has a ball as the prima donna goddess, and her wardrobe and hairstyles are really inspired. But Andie McDowell gives a very forced performance as the wife, and Brooks is pretty lame as the hardly done by author. But the greatest hiccup of the film occurs during the resolution. We all know the character Brooks portrays onscreen will find his edge, it's just a shame that Brooks as author/director is not so fortunate.

        Still, they say creativity is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. The Muse certainly has the former, it just needed a tad more sweat to have make it truly effective.

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