Free Enterprise (film)

Infobox Film
name =Free Enterprise


writer =Mark A. Altman
Robert Meyer Burnett
starring =Eric McCormack
Rafer Weigel
Audie England
William Shatner
Phil LaMarr
director =Robert Meyer Burnett
producer =Mark A. Altman
Dan Bates
Allan Kaufman
distributor =Anchor Bay Entertainment
released =October 7, 1998 (Spain) June 4, 1999 (USA)
runtime =113 min.
121 min. (extended version)
music =Scott Spock
awards =Best Film and Best New Writer from the 1998 AFI Film Festival
language =English
budget =
amg_id = 1:174172
imdb_id = 0141105

"Free Enterprise" is a 1999 comedy/romance movie featuring William Shatner, directed by Robert Meyer Burnett and written by Mark A. Altman and Robert Meyer 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 played by Eric McCormack and Rafer Weigel. 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 an artist. 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.

ee also

*"Trekkies"

External links

*
* [http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/3413/42/ In depth review of the Extended Edition] -- by Philipe Rubio, Bits of News.
* [http://www.ez-entertainment.net/interview/altmanview.htm interview with Mark Altman]
* [http://www.chaseclub.com/freee.html a collection of articles about the movie]