Herald rating: * * *
Running time: 97 mins
Rental: Now
Review: Ewan McDonald
A one-man show with a cast of thousands, Albert Brooks directs, cowrites and stars in the all-too-Hollywood story of Steven Phillips, writer of 17 movies, who is fired by his studio for having lost his edge. Desperate, Phillips visits his friend Jack (Jeff Bridges), a successful writer.
As he arrives at Jack's house he sees a blond leaving. Jack confesses that the woman is the secret of his success, his "muse."
Her name is Sarah (Sharon Stone), and she doesn't come cheap. Phillips moves her into a $1700 hotel suite with room service. His wife, Laura (Andie MacDowell), twigs that he's keeping a secret. He tells all; soon Sarah is living in their guest-house and getting visitors like Titanic director James Cameron; Martin Scorsese ("I'm thinking of a remake of Raging Bull with a thin and angry guy"); Rob Reiner ("Thanks for The American President") and celeb-chef Wolfgang Puck.
But is Sarah what she seems or just a Hollywood hanger-on with an eye for the main chance? That's Phillips' dilemma.
Maybe not Brooks' best (think Lost In America) and certainly not as sharp on Hollywood as Robert Altman's Short Cuts, but still smart, funny — and, well, edgy.
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