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1 article from 1999

27 August 1999 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

Most critics appear to be amused by Muse, The (1999), Albert Brooks' latest offering. (He's the writer, director and star.) But few of them appear to rate the film among Brooks' best (Lost in America (1985), Defending Your Life (1991), Mother (1996)). "The movie is good but not great Brooks, " Roger Ebert writes in the Chicago Sun-Times. "Smart, funny -- and edgy." Phillip Wuntch in the Dallas Morning News calls the film "quietly, consistently amusing" and concludes: "You definitely will like Muse, The (1999) while you watch it, and you could love it as you look back on it." But looking back on it, Rod Dreher of the New York Post doesn't appear to love it at all. "It's good for some sterling one-liners and a generous handful of sparkling scenes, " he writes, "but after a strong, peppery start, the movie collapses into bland mush." Susan Wloszczyna in USA Today describes the "mush:" "If Brooks has a real Muse, she should have nixed a gag that requires him to be drenched with Waldorf salad, " she writes. Nevertheless, Brooks also receives some conspicuous cheers for his film. Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer calls the film "laceratingly funny" And Janet Maslin in the New York Times concludes: "Once again, Brooks ... manages to be funny and bleak with equal ease. ... As one of Brooks' most broadly entertaining films, it has enough of a stellar twinkle to bring it a more general audience than his work usually finds."

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1 article from 1999