So let me just say that this movie is NOT going to appeal to the mainstream. If you're not a sci-fi/horror movie/comics geek you will probably loathe this movie to the core of your very being. In fact, even if you are a geek you may not like this movie for whatever reason. There are parts that make me squirm, like with Moaning Girl faking an orgasm on the answering machine for like 20 minutes and I could have done without the threesome scene. The production values aren't alway fantastic (direction, acting in some scenes) and sometimes it's maybe just a bit too self-conscious and clever.

However, let me just say that when I first watched this movie in my late teens it was like a life-changing epiphany for me. I was like holy crap, these are my people. They do exist out there in the world. I'm not the only one. (I was a bit sheltered growing up.)
I don't love everything about this movie, but I do love most of it. I love Eric McCormack's manic monologue at the beginning about his idea for the Bradykiller movie (serial killer kills women named Marcia, Jan, and Cindy) and his pitch-perfect Shatner impersonation. I love how Rafer Wiegel tells off some snotty bimbo who makes fun of his action figure collection, by pointing out that her fifty some pairs of shoes aren't much better. I love how Shatner plays himself as a bumbling, goofy kook. I love how when Claire spouts off the list of comics titles that she reads I have this urge to pull out a pad of paper and take notes so I can check out the titles she references. I love any movie with the line "you're as transparent as Wonder Woman's invisible jet", as well as the Aliens reference "bad call Ripley, it was a bad call."

All in all this movie seems like an affectionate love letter to geek culture. It really captures the dynamic of a group of friends who have bonded over an intense passion for sci-fi and comics, so much so that they have their own vocabulary and verbal shorthand for certain situations--just like groups of close friends in real life. An entertaining, weird little indie movie that I recommend to fans of Star Trek, science fiction movies, and comics.

There were good parts to this movie, but overall I wasn't that thrilled with it. The whole rap thing at the end everyone raves about was not that funny. I did like Shatner however and found him to be honest and realistic in his portrayal.

One reviewer here marvels at Shatner's ability to make such good fun of himself, and wonders if it's because Shatner has no ego at all, or an ego so big that nothing can touch it.

Others have given a synopsis of the film; I watched it for Shatner. Some are just born with the "American cool" gene -- McQueen had it, Bogie had it, Bugs Bunny had it (!), and shocking though the comparison may be, so does Shatner. It defies logic, but there it is. Some people are just "cool" without trying -- they have an instict, they can't help it. This movie is a kind of documentation of some of Shatner's "cool" in action. The whole story is hilarious but honest, about two Star Trek geek sci-fi professionals coming of age and being disillusioned but growing from it. I originally watched it for Shatner, but rewatch it now for the whole story because it's all good.

As for the size of Bill Shatner's ego, I figure it's as big and impervious as the universe he explored as Captain Kirk, and that's a good thing. Probably my favorite line in the movie is after Robert finally confronts Bill with the fact that Bill's dream project of a 6-hour musical production (three intermissions) of a one-man Julius Caesar titled "William Shakespeare and William Shatner Present: Caesar" is ... well, pretty crazy, Bill blinks. Then he acknowledges that of course it's completely insane! No one would sit through that -- "But I think I can do it!" he enthuses.

It's an odd combination of humility and infinite ego, and maybe gives insights into the mystery of "cool." Who knows. One thing I do know: this movie is great watching for anybody who appreciates William Shatner.

Set up in part as a parody of Star Trek, comic books, Science Fiction and Horror movies and series, Free Enterprise brings to the screen the story of two geeky friends nearing their thirties as they go about their life with their every day problems, until one day they meet their number one hero, William Shatner, by chance and their whole world comes undone...
As a major fan of comics and Science fiction, I was rather disappointed with the film in that the actors' performances are not that great, the plot and the music are mediocre, while the dialogues/humor could have been a LOT better.
One good thing that comes out if it is Audie England who was delightful as Claire; let's see more of her!
The potential for a good movie was definitely there, but it somehow fails to take off. A shame really...
In all honesty it's pretty bad, though if you're a fan you might want to give it a try.

Free Enterprise has it's moments, but it goes from straight out Trek comedy to a romantic drama/comedy with little references to Star Trek. The movie starts off with one kid trying to get into the theater to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture, while another kid in school is fighting a bully who is picking on him for wearing a gold Starfleet uniform like Kirk's. These two people grow up and become friends, and their dream comes true when they accidentally meet Shatner at a bookstore. After all of that, the film goes into drama mode when they start to fall in love with girls they meet and the movie feels like it drags since it can't live up to the beginning of the movie.

I liked the drama and romantic comedy, don't get me wrong, but with a name like "Free Enterprise" you would think that it would have more things related to Star Trek in it. The best scenes of the movie are the scenes with Shatner, he definitely steals the screen because no one can parody Shatner better than Shatner himself! Overall, this is a good movie that Trek fans of the original series will appreciate more than non-trekkies. The best parts of the movie are the beginning and end, the middle just leaves me asking myself "what?" It is almost a completely different movie, but all of the Shatner scenes are great!