Free Enterprise: Love Long & Party (Five Year Mission Two-Disc Extended Edition)
by Robert Meyer Burnett
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carl Bressler, Eric McCormack, Ethan Glazer, Rafer Weigel, William ShatnerDirector: Robert Meyer Burnett
Brand: Fox
Writer: Robert Meyer Burnett
Producer: Allan Kaufman
Producer: Dan Bates
Producer: Ellie Cornell
Producer: Mark A. Altman
Writer: Mark A. Altman
Producer: Mark Gottwald
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-03-07
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Movie Reviews of Free Enterprise: Love Long & Party (Five Year Mission Two-Disc Extended Edition)
Movie Review: Well, this is a lot better than T.J. Hooker...
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1987, in that infamous Saturday Night Live skit, William Shatner shocked his STAR TREK fans by admonishing them to "get a life" and to "move out of (their) mother's basement." In the very funny FREE ENTERPRISE, the undermining of Captain Kirk's mythic status continues and the re-invention of William Shatner begins. The back story to FREE ENTERPRISE was that William Shatner, initially, adamantly refused to take part in the film because he found his role, as originally written, to be too embarassingly iconic. He then collaborated with the movie makers, Robert Meyer Burnett and Mark A. Altman, to make over the role of "Bill Shatner" and add in more human foibles to the character. The resulting end product will leave you in stitches.
FREE ENTERPRISE follows the travails of two Los Angeles Star Trek-obsessed filmmakers: the self-contained, egotistical but going-nowhere-in-his-career Mark (Eric McCormack), whose 30th birthday is imminent, and his best friend, the irresponsible womanizer and slacker Robert (Rafer Weigel), who, in 6 months, will turn 30 himself. Mark had just blown a sales pitch (of his film opus, called BRADY KILLER) and Robert had just been dumped by his gal and accused of lacking commitment. Mark and Robert venture to a bookstore and bump into their longtime idol, Captain Kirk...I mean, William Shatner.... Initially put off by the duo's attentions, Shatner is soon imbibing with them in a bar and regaling them with his projected, mostly one-man show - a 6 hour long, musical play, titled WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE & WILLIAM SHATNER PRESENT: JULIUS CAESAR. Mark and Robert, thru the course of the film, discover that their hero is in fact a somewhat pathetic, aging fella who may be innately likable and may be down with the homies but still is someone who feels the pangs of self-doubt, especially when around women. As Robert wails to Mark, "The man that we just met is not the man who invented the Corbomite Maneuver or the man who almost died defeating the Doomsday Machine!" Most of the film, of course, chronicles Robert and Mark's attempts to find meaning in their lives as they deal with love, friendship, job fulfillment, and the horrors of turning 30. "Bill" Shatner sporadically pops in and out and, on occasion, even imparts wisdom when not falling down drunk or prattling about his musical play. It all culminates, of course, with Shatner's lively performance of "No Tears for Caesar."
I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to see this movie. This is a perfect complement for the tongue in cheek documentaries TREKKIES & TREKKIES 2. FREE ENTERPRISE is an independent film that reeks of irreverence and hipness. It delights in wallowing in in-joke pop cultural riffs, to which your inner geek will rejoice. Personally, I got a kick out of the various sci-fi film references (did you know 1982 was the best year ever for sci-fi films?). And, along the way, this flick also taught me the proper usage of the adjective "Wagnerian." Needless to say, STAR TREK references remain resolute in their frequency and consistency. There certainly isn't a shortage of witty, clever throw-away lines, some of which admittedly necessitates a disturbingly steep knowledge of nerdy pop culture trivia. I love how Mark and Robert, two intelligent, well-educated dudes, are still so influenced by their childhood obsessions. Captain Kirk's iconic hold is so strong that when Mark attempts to fix his best friend's romantic woes, he adapts a Kirk monologue to convince Robert's erstwhile girlfriend.
Rafer Weigel and Audie England are perfectly fine as Robert and his geek goddess soulmate Claire, while Eric McCormack is excellent as the acerbic know-it-all who actually suffers from well-camouflaged insecurities. But it is William Shatner, gleefully satirizing himself, who shines the brightest. Shatner channels his inner ham and somehow triumphs with a strong and surprisingly touching performance. With his fearless, full-on commitment to the role, I don't doubt that he won back many of the Trekker fans he alienated way back in SNL.
The special features highlights for me are: the Film Commentary by Writer/Editor/Director Robert Meyer Burnett and Writer/Producer Mark A. Altman; the 14 deleted scenes, running over 30 minutes; "Ebionics" - a glossary of FREE ENTERPRISE terms aimed to help non-pop culture folks make sense of the otherwise indecipherable dialogue; "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" - the making of FREE ENTERPRISE; Screen Tests of Audie England, Mark's "midget" date, the sexy blonde in the car, and the green-painted girl; and, naturally, the "No Tears For Caesar" Spoken/Rap Video.
This was a project of love by Robert Meyer Burnett and Mark A. Altman, the writers of the film. These two, who also direct and produce this indie, are, not too shockingly, the basis for the fictional Robert and Mark, and, throughout the movie, their love of STAR TREK and science fiction shines thru. Somewhat masked behind the cool premise, the wit, and the hilarity is that FREE ENTERPRISE is, at the core, a study in Gen X dysfunctionality, as well as a sensitive and thoughtful depiction of two friends striving to find purpose while eking out a living in the outer peripheries of Hollywood. This is a very, very good movie, which served to lengthen Shatner's career and make him fairly relevant again. Good going, Captain Kirk. But I wish we would've met Mark's phone orgasm girl.
More Free Enterprise: Love Long & Party (Five Year Mission Two-Disc Extended Edition) reviews:
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Summary of Free Enterprise: Love Long & Party (Five Year Mission Two-Disc Extended Edition)
FREE ENTERPRISE changed the way science fiction fans saw William Shatner and themselves in a performance since called a comic masterpiece. Starring Eric McCormack (WILL & GRACE), Rafer Weigel (RATED X), Audie England (DELTA OF VENUS), Phil LaMarr (PULP FICTION), Deborah Van Valkenburgh (THE WARRIORS) and William Shatner as Bill. Now, you can boldly go beyond FREE ENTERPRISE in an all- new special edition supervised by the film?s director and writer, mastered from the original theatrical elements featuring exclusive footage re-edited into the original film for the first time ever in a brand-new state-of-the art anamorphic transfer (enhanced for widescreen televisions) featuring deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage from the filmmakers? personal archives.Stills from Free Enterprise (Click for larger image)
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