Free Enterprise (film)

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Free Enterprise

Directed by	Robert Meyer Burnett
Produced by	Mark A. Altman Dan Bates Allan Kaufman
Written by	Mark A. Altman Robert Meyer Burnett
Starring	Eric McCormack Rafer Weigel Audie England William Shatner Phil LaMarr
Music by	Scott Spock
Distributed by	Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release date(s)	October 7, 1998 (Spain) June 4, 1999 (USA)
Running time	113 min. 121 min. (extended version)
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Free Enterprise is a 1998 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.