After winning a lifetime achievement award, esteemed successful screenwriter Steven Phillips has a rude awakening. Steven believes the award has no real meaning, but it does—it means his career is over. His studio has reneged that means they won't renew his contract and told him he's gone cold, saying he's "lost his edge." A junior exec named Josh Martin tells Steven his new script is dull and to be off the lot by 5 p.m. Taken by surprise, the Oscar-nominated writer is desperate to revive his career. He seeks the advice of a very successful screenwriter buddy, Jack, who arranges an introduction to Sarah, a modern-day muse who can inspire anyone. Sarah, however, has conditions and unnecessarily lavish needs, such as expensive hotel rooms and gifts from Tiffany & Co. Steven is forced to make good on those conditions, much to the chagrin of his wife Laura. Steven isn't sure if the muse could be the real thing or just somebody sucking him dry of his money and patience. She takes him to Long Beach, where they encounter writer-director Rob Reiner, someone Sarah clearly knows. Steven gets an idea for a movie set in an aquarium and thinks of Jim Carrey as the lead. As Sarah's demands increase, Steven's apprehensive wife begins to be won over. Through the muse's encouragement Laura decides to pursue her dream of baking and selling cookies, to much fanfare and success. To save money, Sarah is invited by the Phillipses to move into their house. Steven, however, is frustrated because Sarah spends more time helping others—notably Hollywood writers and directors like James Cameron and Martin Scorsese, who come to Steven's house to see her. Steven even surrenders his own bedroom to Sarah and sleeps in the guest house. When he pleads for a way to end his aquarium screenplay, Sarah does point Steven in the right direction and inspires him with a great idea. Steven's agent Hal is thrilled and urges him to finish the script as quickly as possible. Steven did finish the script, when he heard Sara's advice. The following morning, though, two visitors come to Steven's home, revealing that they are doctors from a mental clinic. They tell Steven that Sarah is an escaped psychiatric patient from their asylum who has multiple personality disorder. They find the whole "muse" idea hilarious. When they try to find Sarah to take her back, they discover that she has escaped. They decide not to go after her, since she can come and go anytime she wants. The junior exec, Josh, loves Steven's script, but he breaks the news that the idea is already in production at another studio—by Rob Reiner. A broken-hearted Steven goes to work in his wife's new cookie business. Things turn around when the agent calls to inform Steven that the Reiner project fell through and the studio wants to purchase his version, contingent upon a few changes being made. An excited Steven goes to the studio, where a secretary reveals that the studio fired Josh for stealing and they have a new boss, Christine, is now in charge. Steven is shocked to see Christine is Sarah in a long black wig. She takes Steven's arm and insists that they discuss the changes over a nice, expensive lunch, which she expects him to pay for. Steven frantically tries to comprehend what is happening.
musician Elton John composed the soundtrack for The Muse.
Reception
The Muse was a slight box office flop, grossing about $11 million domestically on an estimated budget of $15 million. It did relatively poorly at the box office compared to some of Brooks' other films, such as Defending Your Life, which made $16 million, and Mother, which made $19 million. Most complained that the problem was Brooks' lacking energy in his direction of the film. Critical reception was lukewarm, with the film holding a 53% rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 78 reviews, with the consensus; "Despite quirky and original writing, the subject matter feels too removed to produce laughs.", but critics who were fans of the film included Leonard Maltin, Roger Ebert, and Desson Howe. Wade Major, writing in Boxoffice, called it “a first-rate Hollywood satire that fearlessly goes so far as to even name names. Agents, executives, directors, actors and even writers are given their lumps—many showing up to do the on-screen damage themselves in a cascade of self-deprecating cameos. Stone’s dizzy Muse, however, is the film’s most delightful surprise, providing an energetic counterpoint to Brooks’ neurotic fatalism…” Variety critic Todd McCarthy thought it “Typically fresh and idiosyncratic in the writing but often flat directorially.” McCarthy also believed that its commercial potential was restricted to “sophisticated upscale audiences.” Janet Maslin, in the New York Times, however, thought it was “one of Mr. Brooks’s most broadly entertaining films,” with “enough of a stellar twinkle to bring it to a more general audience.” Roger Ebert thought “the movie is good but not great Brooks; not the equal of ‘Lost in America’ or ‘Mother,’ but smart, funny—and edgy.” Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan wrote, “Underneath all its humor, ‘The Muse’ manages to casually deal with some fascinating issues, such as the nature of creativity and inspiration and the important role belief has in making things happen. After all, as someone says, ‘This is Hollywood. People here believe anything.’”
Golden Globe controversy
In 1999, Helmut Voss, then president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who give the annual Golden Globe Awards, ordered all 82 of its members to return gift luxury watches sent by either Sharon Stone or USA/October Films. The luxury watches were considered promotions for a nomination for Stone's performance in the film. According to Variety, Voss ordered the return of the gifts "to protect the integrity of its award". Stone received the nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, but lost to Janet McTeer for Tumbleweeds.
