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!

I have read so many negating reviews of this film, and quite honestly, this film does not seem to age well- so I am in slight agreement. This film is very insular, and does not cater too well to those outside of the entertainment industry with its scope of Hollywood insider jokes that would only range from the Westside to a mile outside of the L.A. basin.Its premise involves successful screenwriter Steven Phillips (Albert Brooks, who is still able to maintain the same whiny shtick for all these years)slowly losing his "edge" that everyone around him notices but himself. After whining about it to his agent, his wife, and anyone who would listen, he goes to his fellow Oscar-winning screenwriter friend Jack (Jeff Bridges) for advice. Jack refers him to the services of a "Muse" (played by Sharon Stone) in order to help him become "inspired" again. Andie MacDowell plays Brooks's wife in her usual cardboard performance, and the more colorful characters are oddly enough, the supporting actors and the cameos. Josh the studio executive was a slick schmuck and Martin Scorsese's appearance was cool. Hal (Bradley Whitford) as Brooks's agent was nothing more than a token sit-com character, and there was lazy writing in delivering some of the jokes in this film. This is any and every dwindling artist's fantasy that works for a corporation whose purpose is to manufacture creativity.I saw this in the theatres in 1999 and then rented it on video months later on. And oddly enough, the film began to feel more and more dated like cheap wine quickly turning to vinegar. And when I watched this the other night on cable, I couldn't believe that I really dug this when it came out. Even though this film pokes fun of the entertainment industry, it also seems to succumb to it, invisibly presenting itself as a slave to it. The film is not bad, but in no way is it very memorable. The jokes and humor are passable, but once again, it would appeal more to an Angeleno than it would a Texan.

Albert Brooks is funny. He has an interesting and unique way of telling story with humor, wit and sincerity. He is not afraid of appearing to be 'un-hip'. Actually that is the charm of most of his work. He has been compared to Woody Allen but Ithink that his work is much more universal. Woody's giant persona gets in the way of his stories whereas Brooks actually becomes a character. He does notplay himself and does not comment of things. He 'plays' characters like a real actor. The Muse is just as brilliant as Defending Your Life and Across America. Andie MacDowell is good when a good script guides her. Sharon Stone wasmade for the role of the Muse. Her energy is sexy, ditzy as well as forceful. There are some cameos in this movie that are priceless and lend an air ofauthenticity to the side of Hollywood that most people have no access to. I have seen this movie a hundred times and it never fails to make me laugh.

This stinker rightly deserves to be in the bottom of the barrel. I have given a rating of 1 only to five movies ever (even Clone Wars doesn't get this honor), movies so repulsively bad your very will to live deteriorates (shallow blockbusters usually get away with at least a 3 or 4). This movie is a 1 if there ever was one.Let's get a few things straight. Barring that I haven't seen too many movies from the good ole 30's, 40's and 50's, this movie is the most sexist movie I have ever seen. If American males had any "equipment" they wouldn't have anything to do with any women that liked this movie, period! I don't even want to talk about guys who LIKED this movie. The basic premise is that men are incapable and should be treated like dirt, women are powerful and should do whatever the heck they want, norms of human decency aside, and that this is (supposed to be) cute and funny. Blah!Worst of all, the movie is just painfully dull. It is definitely not a guy flick, it is not even a chick flick (by its content it would definitely be a retarded 2-year-old flick). It is not a movie for anyone. Nothing of any significance happens in the movie. Pure boredom.The premise of the movie is simple, to understate it. A hapless scriptwriter struggles to come up with inspiration for a script. Being that he lives in a fairytale, he is talked into hiring a muse. Except, as one tentatively suspects, this muse is more spoiled than one-year-old milk and has expensive tastes, to put it mildly. So the confused and insecure scriptwriter wastes his life savings so that the muse can reside in a luxurious hotel and be properly stocked with crystal and caviar. The muse doesn't really do anything for him; her presence is supposed to inspire him. And just when you think this is segueway into the meat of the story it turns out that the movie never really moves anywhere from that point. Yeah, one more thing, the muse spreads the "virus" into the head of the writers wife and she gets the idea of emancipating herself from her husband by opening her baking factory (mwahahahaha!). Naturally, she is an instant hit. Oh, but the guy does somehow write his scenario in the end. This movie makes about as much sense as someone's invasion of Iraq.Cheers.Rating 1/10Scale: 10 MASTERPIECE, 9 Excellent, 8 Good, 7 OK, 6 Adequate, 5 Average, 4 Mediocre, 3 Poor, 2 Bad, 1 HORRIBLE