Free Enterprise (1998)

Too much of everything

People are voting emotionally.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

My husband and I came across this movie 10 years ago and have probably watched it 200 or more times in the last decade. We had no idea what it was about when we bought it and hubby said it couldn't be good since we'd never heard of it. Were we wrong.This movie is the defining metaphor for anyone who's ever been obsessed by anything. We are Trekkers, old movie fans, enjoyers of old-time sci-fi. This movie covered them all. References were thrown around ranging from the Godfather to Touch of Evil, from wine cooler commercials to Apocalypse Now. The stars spoke to each other in movie quotes--something my whole family does all the time--and long to meet the heroes of their childhood. In their case, the hero was Shatner. To say he was not quite what they expected would be an understatement. Shatner seemed to enjoy this self-parodying role, and I have to say I enjoyed the Orion slave girls and Shakespeare rap songs. There IS a plot, but it's the characters who drive this movie and they are real people -- with an element of magic.

I new I was in for a treat when the filmmakers themselves announced that this was a cult classic in the opening Star Wars style scroll. Please. Cult classic usually means low quality crap liked by only the people it was directly made for and this mess is no different. The acting for the most part is ham handed and self conscious, the directing is kind of juvenile and the script is incoherent. This is obviously trying very hard to be a Kevin Smith rip off, using the same dialog style and supposed sly references only Trekkie geeks would get, sadly it's not even close to Smith's worst. It is also a blatant take on Swingers with the lovable loser theme and even uses one of the same actors. At points you think it may be getting better and there are even a few giggles here and there but untimely it fails. There is a scene in the diner near the middle that may be one of the worst written I have ever viewed. Also the amazingly real to life situation where poor average looking Star Trek geeks get laid every other day by a new model is just boring. The last scene with Shatner rapping is just ridiculous, in fact the whole self deprecating act he puts on through this snore fest is embarrassing and just like this movie, does not work.

This film is a love letter to Star Trek fans. It's charming, the dialog is snappy and funny and Shatner proves, brilliantly, that he gets the joke. Pretty funny even if you aren't a fan, but if you are, you'll feel like you've met some great friends in the filmmakers.While you might expect a film that embraces Star Trek and, very oddly, Logan's Run so lovingly, to grow its humor in a patch of its own kitsch, Free Enterprise works very hard to be much more urbane. The two leads have a sort of lightening repartee that you could mistake for a screwball comedy were it not peppered with references to 60s and 70s Sci-Fi ("I do NOT need to reminded of the plot line of "Amok Time"!") It's such a treat.

I stumbled across this movie on TV today and was really blown away. Who would have thought of a romantic comedy about two Trekkies(or Trekkers, not sure what the term is these days)? The movie appears to be at least somewhat autobiographical, and the story rings true.Shatner comes through with the performance of a lifetime. His portrayal of himself is vulnerable and believable. His obsession with creating musical version of William Shakespeare's "Julius Caeser" is hilarious and it's really funny to see Shatner poking fun at himself.All in all, this movie is surprisingly good and although really aimed at sci-fi fans, it is accessible to anyone. I highly recommend this lighthearted film.