Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious! Shatner has a great sense of humor!
Review: This is mostly a dialog-driven film, laden with science-fiction in-jokes, and it will be a delight for any die-hard Trekkie or Star Wars fan. It revolves around two someone silly and neurotic single guys who are also BIG Star Trek fans. They idolize William Shatner, while also worrying about their dysfunctional love lives. Also, one guy frets about his "advancing" age. (When he turns 30, will he "renew"?) The storyline is interesting and fun, but the real gem of the film is William Shatner. He plays "Bill," a little loopy but basically good-natured fellow, who flits in and out of this movie. He's very funny. I can only say that my utmost respect goes out to a man who will mock and satirize himself to such a level. It's absolutely, screamingly hilarious! The music video at the end of the film is especially endearing. It is so mind-numbingly AWFUL, and obviously deliberately awful--I hooted all the way through it. Shatner, who sometimes has been accused of taking himself too seriously and of being too pompous, blows that all out of the water here. The man has a true sense of humor and he has no shame! What a refreshing thing--to see someone mock themselves in such a manner. Few actors would be brave enough to do the same. This movie also has some language and a little bit of nudity and sex, so if you are sensitive to that sort of thing, (or if your saintly mom tries to watch the movie with you, like mine did) be warned. It is rated R for a reason. Small kids and saintly grey-haired moms may want to give this film a pass. But for everyone else--it's a scream! A must-see for any Star Trek and science fiction fan!
Rating:
Summary: A very needed film
Review: I love watching old science fiction movies. I love quoting my favorite parts from these movies. This is not a star trek film. This is not a William Shatner film. This is a film about people like me. The film is basically about a group of 4 or so friends, who are science fiction junkies. It talks about their jobs, their girlfriends, and their obsession with science fiction memorabilia and movies. They bump into Shatner, who turns out to be pretty messed up, and they discuss Shatner's obsession with the play Julius Caesar. Trek fans, be warned-Bill Shatner's appearance is minimal. This film was very needed, mostly to help people like me understand that I'm not losing my mind. This is a constant danger if you quote, revel in, and fantasize about too much science fiction. The main characters of this film do exactly that. And, even though they are not the most likeable people, they are likeable enough, and reasonably complex characters. I loved the incessant references to various science fiction shows and movies. Logan's Run could possibly be the best Sci-Fi movie of all time, and there were just about as many references to each of Logan's Run, Star Trek, and Star Wars. However, there are references to dozens of other science fiction movies. As a final note, I always enjoy movies like this that use a vast vocabulary.
Rating: 
Summary: The ULTIMATE Sci-Fi Fan's Movie! Hysterical!
Review: This flick is - without a doubt - the best movie made for (and by) sci-fi fans. Nothing else compares. It's simply hysterical and dramatic - something tough to achieve together. Any old-school (60's through 80's) sci-fi fan, most especially Star Trek fans, will love this film. It's not for a child though, I'd advise a viewer be in their teens. If your not an old-school sci-fi fan, you'll find much of it confusing. It's great for the genre fans though. Total riot.
Rating:
Summary: No Tears for Shatner
Review: In this hilarious indie film--very loosely based on the real-life experiences of scripters Mark Altman and Robert Burnett--STAR TREK's William Shatner is cast in the role he was born to play--William Shatner. Mark (Eric McCormack of TV's WILL & GRACE) and Robert (Rafer Weigel) are 20-something science-fiction geeks employed at the fringes of the movie industry--Mark edits a movie-fan magazine that is an obvious take-off on FANGORIA and STARLOG; Robert is a film editor at a direct-to-video film studio called Full Eclipse, a blatant parody of the real-life studio Full Moon--who one day run into their childhood hero, William "Captain Kirk" Shatner, at a purely chance meeting in a second-hand bookstore. But their mental image of Shatner is shattered when they see that the STAR TREK icon is not like his on-screen persona but is, in reality, just another egocentric actor with numerous human foibles. Nonetheless, Mark and Robert are still smitten enough to pursue a friendship with "Bill" and promise to use their influence in "the industry" to help him get his pet project off the ground. And that project is? Well, it seems that Shatner wants to create a musical version of Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR in which the actor will play all the parts himself. (When Mark and Robert point out that playing both Caesar and Brutus means that Shatner will have to stab himself in the back, the actor replies, "So? I've done it before.") Along the way, all three "boys" do a bit of maturing and start to grow beyond their prolonged childhoods. Robert gains a love interest (played by beautiful actress Audie England) and starts to take his career seriously; Mark gets over his "mid-life" crisis and accepts the fact that his 30th birthday draws nigh; and Bill's romancing of a pretty club owner (Deborah Van Valkenburgh, of TV's TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT) helps deflate his ego a bit. The script for FREE ENTERPRISE is well written and witty, the talented cast delivers humorous yet warmly empathetic performances, and the high production values make this indie film look like it was produced on a larger budget and at a mainstream studio. The film has also won numerous awards, including Best New Writer(s) and Best Director at the 1998 AFI Film Fest, the Audience Award at the 1999 Newport Beach Film Festival, and the Saturn Award for the year 2000 from The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Yet FREE ENTERPRISE has never had a massive following and, consequently, has never fared too well financially. On one hand, it's not too hard to understand why this feature never became a MAINSTREAM hit. The dialogue is replete with SF, Fantasy, Comic Book, and Horror references that are too esoteric for non-genre viewers, and William Shatner's outrageously self-deprecating performance will mean little to anyone unfamiliar with the STAR TREK mythos. On the other hand, that specificity is what makes the film so thoroughly enjoyable and endearing to hard-core genre fans. So it is reasonable to conclude that, being geeky fanboys themselves, Burnett and Altman created FREE ENTERPRISE not as a lucrative commercial venture--despite the capitalistic title--but rather as a gift to all the other geeky genre fans out there. Hard-core genre fans will get a real kick out of watching FREE ENTERPRISE, and the DVD from Pioneer Video is a must-own for any serious collector of SF and STAR TREK films. Although the widescreen transfer is letterbox and not anamorphic, the transfer is nonetheless beautifully crisp, the colors appear accurately balanced, and very few, if any, digital artifacts or filmic artifacts are noticeable. And the disc is packed with cool extras, including a feature commentary from filmmakers Burnett and Altman, a making-of featurette, and the outrageous Bard-inspired rap video by William Shatner and hip hop artist Rated R.
Rating:
Summary: The funniest movie ever made by s-f fans, for s-f fans!
Review: Be careful what you wish for! Mark and Robert, two long-time Star Trek fans, have suffered most of their lives for their love of their favorite television program. Back in school, their classmates beat them up for their devotion to the fictional Captain Kirk and the actor who played him. Now, approaching their dreaded thirtieth birthdays, the two wannabe filmmakers (and devoted collectors of action figures) still don't fit in. Neither can maintain a relationship with a girlfriend. Could it have something to do with the fact that nearly everything they say contains some reference to "Star Trek" or other science-fiction classics? Certainly not! Still, when Mark and Robert chance to meet actor William Shatner in a Los Angeles bookstore, they're in for a rude awakening. To their horror, they find their idol is a womanizing egomaniac whose dream is to play all the parts in a one-man musical production of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar." (All the parts, except that he wants Sharon Stone to play Calpurnia. Or if Sharon isn't available, then maybe Heather Locklear.) "Free Enterprise" is a modest, independently-produced romantic comedy, written by science-fiction film columnist Mark Altman and film editor Robert Meyer Burnett (who also directed), both of whom fiercely deny that the film is in any way autobiographical. Their love of Star Trek and science fiction film is evident in every scene of this quirky, sometimes bizarre tale, which seems to have been made without any cooperation (or interference) from Paramount Studios. William Shatner shows himself to be a heretofore unsuspected comic genius who takes delight in poking fun at his public image. And his rap music version of Marc Antony's "Et tu, Brute" speech had me laughing so hard that I'll have to watch the movie again just to see if I missed anything. Although "mainstream" viewers will certainly enjoy the film's comedic plot, hardcore science fiction fans will take special delight in "Free Enterprise"'s many subtle (and not-so-subtle) in-jokes. My personal favorite was Shatner's botched pick-up line, delivered to a beautiful woman, a classic Kirk speech from "Conscience of the King." (Oddly enough, it didn't work anywhere near as well for Shatner as it did for Kirk.) On the other hand, I didn't notice (until a friend pointed out to me) that all the drinks in a bar were green, which seems to be a clever reference to Scotty's immortal "it's green" line. Other gags include references to such fan favorites as "Logan's Run," "Star Wars," "Planet of the Apes," "Wonder Woman," and even "Buckaroo Banzai." Even the end titles are full of tiny jokes buried in the credits. The DVD version has a beautiful letterbox transfer and lots of great behind-the-scenes material in the supplement. Especially interesting is the commentary track, as well as an alternate caption track that footnotes the sources of many of the film's delightful in-jokes. Unlike a recent "documentary" that tries to portray Star Trek fans as freaks, "Free Enterprise" is surprisingly well-done, and made with obvious affection for Star Trek fans, as well as for Star Trek itself. It's the funniest movie ever made for science fiction fans, by science fiction fans.
Rating:
Summary: Great Shatner parody by... Shatner himself!
Review: As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a dialogue-driven film, and it's very funny. The main characters are aged 30-something (in the year 1999) and grew up watching sci-fi and reading comic books. They effortlessly quote Star Wars, Star Trek, and many more obscure shows, but have some problems with the ladies (surprise surprise!). The plot, if there is one, centres on the character played by Weigel, who meets a girl with similar tastes (in the comic store!), and their courtship. Basically, though, it's mostly these men hanging out in L.A. bars, trying to score, and yacking about relationships and laser discs. At the same time, they have befriended William Shatner, but he's not quite the person they thought he'd be..... Shatner has always been at the forefront of Trek lampoonery - witness his "Get a Life" sketch on Saturday Night Live. In this film, he plays a parody of himself - he pompously informs the heroes he's planning a musical version of Julius Caesar wherein he'll play all the parts ("except Calpurnia"). When it's pointed out that he'll have to stab himself in the back, he replies "I've done it before!" Even though the film was called "Free Enterprise," and even though Shatner is in it, it is not a film for Trekkies only - Star Wars and Logan's Run references equal those from Trek. Certainly, people that grew up at the same time as the characters will appreciate the more subtle jokes, but it's really quite accessible generally and fun for anyone. Granted, there is a lot of incidental sex and alcohol consumption, which may turn off some viewers. The DVD contains lots of extras, especially some explanations of various inside jokes, a making-of featurette, and some neat deleted scenes.
Rating:
Summary: The Free Enterprise.... system, not the Starship Enterprise
Review: It's a pun. I watched this movie, expecting something more along the lines of 'Galaxy Quest.' The beginning is a bit slow, packed with a dizzying array of sci-fi references and dialog; but, then Bill shows up. The outsider sci-fi culture clashes with the aspirations of Bill, lampooning Bill. His attitude of 'been there / done that' contrasts with those wishing to have been where nobody has been before, and most probably never will. The plot spirals into a surreal, yet down to earth vision of Free Enterprise - no, not the starship. The title refers to the free enterprise system of making a buck in a post-Star Trek world. If you like William Shatner, you'll like this movie. If you hate William Shatner, you'll like this movie. If you've never heard of William Shatner.... well, just watch 'The Wrath of Khan' first and you'll enjoy this movie a lot more.
Rating: 
Summary: affectionate and funny but overlong
Review: Two middle-aged LA Trekkies have trouble finding love until they begin to take some advice from their idol William Shatner and let love in. The two leads are likable, but Shatner is hysterical in this affectionate look at the fans obsessed with all things Trek. DVD extras include commentary with the writer and director, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, screen tests, a guide to terminology, a music video, trivia subtitles and more. The film is a bit long and doesn't always shift between buddy picture and romantic comedy smoothly, but it is fun and especially worthwhile for Trek fans. Lots of fun!
Rating: 
Summary: A horrible, unwatchable piece of garbage
Review: FREE ENTERPRISE is easily one of the worst "films" I have ever seen in my eighteen years of watching films. It could only be appreciated by "Trekkies" or people who collect, and are obsessed with, comic books---in other words, the socially retarded. A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, unwatchable piece of garbage. I'm not sure that FREE ENTERPRISE is a "film" at all. Perhaps it is a thing, an object.
Rating:
Summary: A talky movie of the Kevin Smith variety.
Review: Free Enterprise is more than just a tribute to science-fiction geeks, despite the many references to Star Trek, Star Wars, The Planet of the Apes and even Logan's Run. It's a quirky romantic comedy built around a quirky, distinctive hook, and I suspect even the creators never dreamed it would work so well. And the rap version of Marc Antony's speech is sheer and utter cinematic delight. Kudos to Shatner for the effort!
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