Free Enterprise
The Trek phenomenon got its share of analysis in 1999--from Trekkies, where the far out fringe of the cult was examined without scorn, pity, or condescension, to Galaxy Quest's romp that, in passing, sympathized with the downside of life as an icon in reruns. Free Enterprise is the movie that shows what it's like to for the rest of the Federation devotees who know why Sarek married Amanda but don't wear Starfleet uniforms....anymore.
Mark (Eric McCormack from Will and Grace) and Robert (Rafer Weigel) are two grownup geeks with sex lives and jobs on the fringe of Hollywood (it is no coincidence that the director and writer have the same first names). They hang out with each other and their friends most of the time, discussing old movies, new movies, science fiction, and occasionally wonder if life is going to have anything more. I was worried, momentarily, that this would turn into another High Fidelity, a movie that disappointed me because of its emphasis on the "shoulds" of life--at a certain point you have to settle down and think about the future, commitments, stability, you have to grow the fuck up and ruin the fun.
Happily, Free Enterprise rejects all those silly notions. No, you can have it all: a lover who is impressed by your Planet of the Apes laserdisc set and decides that happiness means a man who buys collectibles instead of paying the utility bill, a boss who lets you throw a party in the studio after he fires you for never showing up, and friends who loan you money and pay your bills because you always go out with them on Friday night and don't remind them that they don't have a life, either. The geeks find people who love, or at least tolerate, them for who they are, not who they should be.
But more importantly, they find William Shatner, who does a John Malkovich and turns in the best performance of his career as a sad sack icon who drinks too much, strikes out with chicks, and wants to do Julius Caesar live, playing all the male roles (a very funny subtle slap at Patrick Stewart).
The story isn't the point, really; this is all about style and subtext and how well it works depends on how well you relate. At one point, a character cries in despair, "You've got to live in the here and now, not the 24th century!" and our hero shouts back in outrage, "I would never live in the 24th century, I fucking HATE the Next Generation!" and if you don't think that's funny, then it's probably not the movie for you. (Unless you're a Logan's Run fan, because the riffs on that are hysterical.) The script is exceptionally funny for anyone fitting neatly inside the demographic; all others need not apply.
The performances are all solid and original; McCormack and Weigel deliver fast, funny monologues with effortless geekery yet still fall well on the right side of charm. Audie England as the geek's perfect girl is exactly right--and kudos to the writers for being the first to realize that girls don't have to spoil all the fun.
Free Enterprise is a bit too long, but never deviates from its tone of amused self-deprecation. It would be enjoyable but unexceptional without Shatner, but his performance definitely kicks it up a few rungs.
Shatner rejected the original script because he was an all-knowing pop icon (a la Bogie in Play It Again, Sam); he said he would do it if they made him a human being with plenty of amusing flaws. Captain Kirk's alter ego has always been good humored about puncturing his image, but here he stays well short of parody, and also looks better than he has in years.
