Main Cast: Rafer Weigel, Eric McCormack, Audie England, Patrick Van Horn, Jonathan Slavin
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 108 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
With a little help from the commander of the Starship Enterprise, two geeky sci-fi buffs venture into the final frontier -- finding a steady girlfriend -- in this satiric comedy. Mark (Eric McCormack) and Rob (Rafer Weigel) are two guys in their late 20s who are emotionally stuck in adolescence; they're obsessed with science fiction, comics, and collectable toys, and they aren't especially graceful or successful in their relationships with the opposite sex. While both have actually been able to turn their obsessions into careers -- Mark edits a sci-fi fanzine, while Rob works at a film production house -- both feel the need for guidance as they approach 30. As children, they used to imagine themselves being counseled by William Shatner, whose role as Capt. Kirk on Star Trek elevated him to the status of a deity in their eyes. To their amazement, one day Mark and Rob meet Shatner in a bookstore and actually strike up a friendship with him, only to discover that he is just as confused about life, women, and work as they are (though he does confess his burning ambition to produce a new version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in which he plays all the characters himself). Emboldened by his new friendship with Capt. Kirk -- wait, make that William Shatner -- Rob begins pursuing a romance with Claire (Audie England), a fellow sci-fi fan who is pretty, charming, and a few steps up on the maturity ladder from himself. But this is bad news for Mark, who isn't at all happy to be losing his best friend to some girl. Free Enterprise was the first feature for writer/director Robert Meyer Burnett and screenwriter Mark A. Altman, who freely (and rather bravely) admit that the lead characters are based upon themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Linda Francis - Casting, Ann Lambert - Costume Designer, James Grayford - First Assistant Director, Robert Meyer Burnett - Director, Robert Meyer Burnett - Editor, Ellie Gottwald - Executive Producer, Mark Gottwald - Executive Producer, Ron Singer - Line Producer, Scott Spock - Composer (Music Score), Spring Aspers - Musical Direction/Supervision, Allan Kaufman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Cynthia Halligan - Production Designer, Charles L. Barbee - Cinematographer, Mark Altman - Producer, Dan Bates - Producer, Allan Kaufman - Producer, James H. Coburn - Sound/Sound Designer, Mark Altman - Screenwriter, Robert Meyer Burnett - Screenwriter
Free Enterprise is a 1999 comedy/romance movie starring Eric McCormack and Rafer Weigel, and featuring William Shatner, directed by Robert Meyer Burnett and written by Mark A. Altman and Burnett. The film deals with the mid-life crises of its two main protagonists, Mark and Robert, fictionalized versions of the film's director and producer/writer. The two friends struggle with adult career and relationship problems, all the while defiantly clinging to the geeky science fiction pop culture of their youth and seeking advice from their greatest hero, William Shatner.
Shatner plays a campy caricature of himself as he works on a one-man musical version of Julius Caesar in hopes of finally being taken seriously as a dramatist and musical performer. Hip-hop artist "The Rated R", joined by Shatner, provides the concluding musical number "Julius Caesar", a pastiche of famous lines from the play set to a rap rhythm. The film's score was produced by Scott Spock.
The film is laced with references to past and contemporary science-fiction films and television shows, such as Star Wars and Logan's Run. Most prominent is the original Star Trek, which is treated by the protagonists as a source of inspiration and moral guidance. Free Enterprise explores the dating scene for late gen-x Hollywood singles from a decidedly sardonic perspective.
The film won four awards including the 2000 Saturn Award for Best Home Video Release. A new 2-disc DVD special edition Free Enterprise: Extended "Five Year Mission" Edition was released on March 7, 2006.
A sequel called "Free Enterprise II: My Big Fat Geek Wedding" was in preproduction, but as McCormack's long-term commitment to the hit TV series Will and Grace did not allow him enough free time to star in the film, the project eventually died in Development Hell.
