FREE ENTERPRISE
Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D. Regent Entertainment Director: Robert Meyer Burnett Writer: Mark A. Altman & Robert Meyer Burnett Cast: Rafer Weigel, Eric McCormack, Audie England, Patric Van Horn, William Shatner
In one of the great, adult, sci-fi movies of our time, Michael Anderson's 1976 hit "Logan's Run" starring Michael York, Peter Ustinov and Farah Fawcett Majors, the people active during the year 2174 lead lives of unending pleasure. One catch: at age 30 they are extinguished, kaput. The fable is an obvious one: our own world treats people past 30 as over the hill, and so it's no wonder that the character in Robert Meyer Burnett's surprisingly effective "Free Enterprise" point out that they expect their bodies to start falling apart as they approach their fourth decade of life. "Free Enterprise" is a series of Saturday-Night-Live type skits, though the episodes are bound together in a fairly tight manner, all revolving around two 29-year-olds who are confirmed fans of the 30- year-old TV series "Star Trek."
Why did I find the picture a pleasurable surprise? I had been led to believe that one had to be hard-core sci-fi fan to appreciate it and that at best, the non-devotee would smile at some of the jokes while being embarrassed by the belly laughs of the true disciples seated around the theater. If you're a movie fan in general, though, that's quite enough. In fact even if you go to only film a month, you'll find diversion in focusing on the sharp, edgy conversations between two Trekkies, Robert (Rafer Weigel) and Mark (Eric McCormack), whose first names parallel those of the director and writer of the movie for good reason. An semi-autobiographical tale recounting the delayed coming of age of one successful journalist and one not-so-thriving guy working for a production company, "Free Enterprise" is an ode to L.A., to the cinema, and most of all to the enduring power of friendship.
Both Robert and Mark are Peter Pan types who at age 29 are still talking about the bimbos and others they've been dating and who wonder why they cannot connect with women. Mark is the more down-to-earth fellow, a bespectacled, hard-working dude who is called upon to lend large sums of money to his less flourishing friend, Robert. Both enjoy the pleasures of the flesh with some of California's more liberated women, meeting little resistance to their sexual overtures--though in a hilarious scene, Mark, running into a brief lack of compliance from his German- American date, wins her over with the line, "Considering what your people did to my people during World War II, I'd consider a little breast fondling a minor reparation." The financially challenged Robert seems to spend all his money on laser discs, carrying a home library of every sci-fi movie ever made, and meets the woman of his dreams, Claire (Audie England), in a comic-book emporium. They discover that they like exactly the same literature and films, with Robert as surprised as any that Claire does not consider such fiction to be a guy thing.
Their lives come to a crossroads when they meet their idol, William Shatner (played by William Shatner), the hero of the Star Trek series, who performed in the role of starship Captain James T. Kirk. By discovering that Shatner--whom they first spot browsing at the centerfold of a porno magazine--has as many problems and insecurities as they, the young men feel that they are not at all unique in their difficulties, both ultimately coming to terms with the angst of their age. The awkwardness of their initial meeting is to be repeated in the unpolished manner with which they meet women. "You're the greatest American actor," purrs Robert looking for a way to break the ice, to which the Star Trek hero responds while backing off, "I'm Canadian." "Then you're the greatest Canadian actor," counters Robert, to which the great man answers, "There aren't that many." The three become good friends, the younger men even advising their icon how to pick up girls.
Since "Free Enterprise" does not display retreads of any sci-fi episode save for a quick installment involving a "Logan's Run" dream, the emphasis is not on the world of movies but on the young men themselves. In the roles of this dysfunctional but exceptionally sharp duo, Rafer Weigel and Eric McCormack keep the audience on their toes, the sci-fi enthusiasts gloating over their recognition of the name-drops, the others enjoying the sexual and other escapades of the principals. Shatner is a good sport in his self-deprecatory role: he announces his plan to make a six-hour musical out of Julius Caesar with him in all roles except that of Calpurnia--for whom he wants to cast either Sharon Stone or Julia Roberts. The movie's final scene showing Shatner pitching in with rapper Rated R in a rap monologue of Marc Antony's speech is an embarrassment, but there will be viewers who'd consider this the movie's highlight. All in all "Free Enterprise" is a worthwhile entry in the large pool of coming-of-age comedies, bound to be a hoot for Trekkies, an amusing ride for others.
Rated R. Running Time: 113 minutes. (C) 1999 Harvey Karten
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