Stone unturned

>> Albert Brooks doesn't make full use of The Muse

by MATTHEW HAYS

As a cynical screenwriter who's on the outs with the Hollywood studios who once employed him, Albert Brooks begins The Muse on a hilarious note. After a rather condescending awards dinner at which he wins a humanitarian award, his young daughter asks him what a humanitarian is. "Someone who's never won an Oscar," he responds.

Brooks, who also co-writes and directs The Muse, knows the industry well, and though it's clear that this isn't going to be The Player, The Muse begins promisingly, simply as outright comedy.

After numerous rejections, Brooks' buddy (James Bridges) confides his secret for success: whenever he's struck with writer's block, he simply visits his muse, a goddess who inspires him with fresh ideas. Brooks balks initially, but is soon begging Bridges for information about his muse's whereabouts.

Brooks meets up with the muse (Sharon Stone), who, he soon learns, is an ultrademanding and very expensive writing stimulant. Expecting gifts at every visit, Stone soon reveals herself as being sky-high maintenance. She wants a Four Seasons Hotel room, for weeks, maybe months. Then she wants to move into Brooks' guest room. Initially, Brooks' wife (Andie MacDowell) thinks he might be having an affair, but is soon taken with the muse, thinking Stone is endearing if rather egocentric.

During interviews, Brooks has said he feels Stone has been overlooked for her comic potential, expressing his happiness at casting her in her first big comic role. But he underuses Stone, never supplying her with material of any range. Basically, Stone is given one note to sing as the muse--she prances through the film like Barbara Eden in I Dream of Jeannie, delighting everyone except the exasperated Brooks.

Brooks, meanwhile, manages some funny lines but not a fully developed feature. His neuroses are funny, like Woody Allen's are, but Brooks has proven less capable of fleshing out supporting characters than Allen has. The Muse ends up feeling like an unfinished screenplay itself, not quite adequately propped up by a few stinging one liners.

The Muse opens Friday, August 27