in , " the muse " albert brooks plays steven phillips , a hollywood screenwriter who after winning a humanitarian award for his work is dumped by his studio .
they claim that he 's lost his edge and his agent is quick to agree with them .
he knows that he needs to write something fresh and original and quick or else his career will be over .
so he turns to his " best " friend , jack ( jeff bridges ) another screenwriter who 's enjoyed success after success .
on the way over to jack 's house steven sees jack helping an attractive woman ( sharon stone ) into a cab and begins to think : is he having an affair ?
when confronted , jack relunctently tells him that this mystery woman is , in fact , a muse , a mythological figure who is believed to have inspired all creativity , and has helped him garner his success .
"
she does n't do any actual writing , " he is told , " but inspires you .
" steven is excited by what he 's hearing and asks jack to call her up to see if she 'll take steven on as a new client .
jack arranges a meeting between the two and suggests that steven bring her a present , preferably something from tiffany 's .
after the meeting the muse , sarah decides to take on steven , but at a price : she wants a suite at the four seasons and wants steven to perform odd tasks for her ( like bringing her salads in the middle of the night . )
steven 's wife ( andy macdowell ) sees him at a food store and questions him about why he has tampons in his wagon .
steven confesses everything and , although at first suspicious , she later allows sarah to move into their guest room and eventually into their life .
the only question for steven is if the muse is worth all the trouble he 's going through for her .
and that 's a question only time will tell .
"
the muse " is albert brooks ' sixth film as writer / director / actor ( he co - wrote with monica johnson ) and although it 's a good movie
it 's not up to the level of his best works ( " defending your life " and " mother " ) .
the problem lies in the script , and for a movie that relies on its dialogue for its humor , there are n't nearly as many laughs as they are chuckles despite a few good one - liners .
it has a great premise but does n't deliver up to it 's full potential .
but , i like albert brooks in this film
and i think that we can all identify with steven phillips a little bit .
he may whine and complain , but he just wants to support his family and be happy .
and
i like sharon stone in this movie too
; it 's a nice change of pace for her .
and i also enjoyed the cameos featuring the likes of rob reiner , james cameron and martin scorsese .
and although " the muse " does n't have as much to say about hollywood as robert altman 's " the player
" i still left the theater feeling good .
and that 's something i wish i got out of more movies .
i like albert brooks in this film and i think that we can all identify with steven phillips a little bit i like sharon stone in this movie too ; it 's a nice change of pace i still left the theater feeling good . and that 's something i wish i got out of more movies it 's a good movie enjoyed the cameos it has a great premise