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Free Enterprise

Play trailer Poster for Free Enterprise R Released Jun 4, 1999 1h 56m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
83% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Amateur filmmakers and self-professed science fiction geeks Mark (Eric McCormack) and Robert (Rafer Weigel) cannot help parsing their adult lives into a series of "Star Trek" references. When they randomly meet their childhood idol, former "Star Trek" star William Shatner (as himself), the actor quickly becomes their friend and mentor despite being a vulgar, self-effacing drunk. As time passes, Mark and Robert come to learn the difference between fantasy and reality.

Critics Reviews

View All (24) Critics Reviews
Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Globe and Mail Rated: 2/4 Jul 29, 2003 Full Review Almar Haflidason BBC.com A witty comedy that glows with self-deprecating humour. Rated: 4/5 Apr 17, 2001 Full Review Sean Axmaker Seanax.com William Shatner plays William Shatner as a vulnerable, vainglorious ham, a sad clown who gets along with everybody but strikes out in romance, drinks to excess and spins his fantasy projects with hope against hopelessness... Mar 30, 2017 Full Review Joe Lozito Big Picture Big Sound Rated: 1/4 Dec 27, 2007 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...uniformly superb performances... Rated: 2.5/4 Mar 11, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (205) audience reviews
Audience Member Free Enterprise as discussed isn't without its flaws. Either through the script or editing it's not entirely clear to the audience watching at times what the movie is trying to say about geeky obsessions; at least not in the theatrical version. However this is a movie where the good outweighs the bad; though the movie has issues it remains a charming comedy about how the love of a TV show can both limit a person yet ultimately force them to achieve better. It's just my opinion but that's a pretty inspiring morality tale to beam up to. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member A fun story about a couple of Trekers who haven't *quite* grown up yet, edging into their 30s. They meet a fictionalized William Shatner, played by the man himself. The three help each other ... well, grow up. Lots of amusing geek culture references, from the era before geek culture became "cool". Just the first scene (character pitching a movie, "Brady Killer" to a minor, minr film studio) and the last scene (William Shatner RAPPING Julius Caesar) make this worth watching. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Another great movie that I somehow missed back in 1999! There is some bad acting, cheesy writing, and overall awkwardness indicative of a low budget but also a sign of the times in the motion picture "Free Enterprise". Yet in spite of all that, it also has some surprisingly very good and occasionally brilliant writing and acting, especialy from William Shatner himself, with poignant moments such as the billiards scene and the argument between friends about relationships which led them to agree that they both fear "the zone of darkness". I think even if I knew absolutely nothing about Star Trek, or wasn't a big fan of sci-fi in general, I'd still give it a mostly thumbs up. And I'm giving it an extra half star for the hilarious ending. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is very excellent and it a fictionalized version of the life of its creator plus it teaches you to mix at least SOME reality with your imagination. It had a very good critique on bad apple Star Wars fans and their hostility towards Star Trek fans as in a flashback scene. Plus it is inspiration for my HG Wells-spin off trilogy about my James T Kirk-like Trenton Orion Kirkson and Jar Jar Binks/Sando Aqua Monster-like Sandye Whitlash characters. This movie has BOTH Star Trek and Star Wars homages/references by its main protagonists/characters. I recommend this movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member This film could have been terribly amusing but it commits the greatest sin - it is terribly boring. Poor William Shatner. I hope he was paid well. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Love this movie. Hurry and bring on a sequel. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Free Enterprise

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Amateur filmmakers and self-professed science fiction geeks Mark (Eric McCormack) and Robert (Rafer Weigel) cannot help parsing their adult lives into a series of "Star Trek" references. When they randomly meet their childhood idol, former "Star Trek" star William Shatner (as himself), the actor quickly becomes their friend and mentor despite being a vulgar, self-effacing drunk. As time passes, Mark and Robert come to learn the difference between fantasy and reality.
Director
Robert Meyer Burnett
Producer
Mark A. Altman, Dan Bates, Allan Kaufman
Screenwriter
Mark A. Altman, Robert Meyer Burnett
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures, Regent Entertainment [us]
Production Co
Mindfire Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 4, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 20, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$30.2K
Runtime
1h 56m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR