Free Enterprise

Brimming with pop trivia and allusions that will likely sail over the heads of non-sci-fi fanatics, this fast-paced independent comedy recounts the adventures of two "fanboys" in their late '20s as they look for romance, life's direction, and their idol William Shatner. Aspiring filmmakers Robert and Mark (Rafer Weigel and Eric McCormack) are true sci-fi fanatics and occasionally appear to have lost the ability to discern the difference between reality and fantasy. Mark is first seen trying vainly to sell his movie "Bradykiller." Later, he and Robert are awe-struck to encounter the godlike (in their eyes) Shatner, who in earlier fantasy sequences had appeared throughout their lives as an advice-spouting quasi-guardian angel. Mark and Robert are more surprised and delighted when Shatner becomes their friend. Disillusionment sets in when the two young men discover that "Bill the person" is nothing like his near-mythical character Captain Kirk, but instead is an average middle-aged guy who is just as clueless about life as they are. Shatner confides that his fondest dream is to stage a production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and play all the roles himself. Conflict arises when Robert falls in love with the more down-to-earth Claire (Audie England). The story's highlight comes in the final scenes when Shatner performs an outrageous homage to The Bard. Screened at the 1998 AFI/LA Film Festival, Free Enterprise won the "Best New Writer" award for scenarists/directors Robert Meyer Burnett and Mark A. Altman, and a "New Directions Award" for Burnett.