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Albert Brooks is
Steven Phillips, a veteran screenwriter of 17 films who is told he has lost
his edge. A fellow writer with a string of successes under his belt (Jeff
Bridges) refers Phillips to Sarah (Sharon Stone), a professional muse (see
Greek mythology). In exchange for the royal treatment and a showering of
expensive gifts, she will grace writers with her presence, which seems to
magically spark profitable ideas from the client's mind. Is her power real or
is it all in her clients' heads? Why does Jack's wife develop a delicious and
profitable cookie recipe in Sarah's company? Brooks uses his usual biting wit
and thoroughly neurotic sensibility to lampoon the Hollywood lifestyle. As in
THE PLAYER, many personalities appear as themselves to take a shot--most
especially a hilariously jacked-up Martin Scorsese and a desperate James
Cameron. Sharon Stone is unexpectedly funny as the capricious, avaricious
muse who turns Phillips's life upside down. Brooks is his usual dry,
hilarious self.
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