Free Enterprise (1999)

"What would William Shatner do?"

I can't believe I'd never heard of this film until a few weeks ago. It's essentially a romantic comedy set in the world of geek culture. It very much like (and as good as) a Kevin Smith film (Chasing Amy in particular), but with William Shatner instead of Jay and Silent Bob. It's funny, witty, and well worth seeing.

There are a lot of Star Trek references in here, of course, but the net of geeky cultural references is cast wide enough to please everyone. Personally, I'm someone who watches and enjoys Star Trek (except Voyager and Enterprise, cos they're rubbish), but I'd stop short of calling myself a fan. Doctor Who fandom has become a huge part of my social life, and I've dipped a toe into Buffyverse fandom. Star Trek, much as I enjoy it, is lacking in a certain quirkiness, and I suppose I'm not too keen on the authoritarian Utopianism of the whole concept of the Federation. Also, I have this general impression (which may be very, very wrong!) is a different culture from the fandoms I'm used to, which tend to be vaguely left of centre and don't take themselves too seriously. The original series still rules, though, and I also like TNG, much as I always side with Q.

This film makes me wonder if I'm wrong about Star Trek fandom, though. The characters are likeable, funny and (sort of) cool. They're very, very South Californian, what with all the mutual psychoanalysing that goes on, they all seem to work in "the industry", and Bob and Mark, at least, seem to live in very nice-looking apartments, but ultimately they're people I can identify with.

It's interesting, though, that one thing that's dated since 1999 has been the concept that girls don't get geek culture, which is nowhere near as true as it once was. Geekery is not as marginalised as it was then. Then again, it wasn't really until the '90s that adult geek culture really began to get noticed by the media at all.

I also like the way that the film sharply differentiates between Bob's geekery and his immaturity. He's not immature because he's a geek; Claire's as much of a geek as he is. He's immature because he's useless with money and gets himself stupidly fired. It's refreshing how this film makes a clear distinction between being childish (bad thing) and being childlike (bad thing).

Mark, of course, is nearly 30, after which it is of course all downhill. I like the way the film Logan's Run (must see that someday!) gets used to symbolise this. It's one of many nice little touches in the film. My favourite is the scene with, er, some very, very dangerous driving, although Mark's stirring monologue towards the end comes a close second. It's nice how the plot ends, in true romantic comedy style, with Bob, Mark and the Shat all being paired off.

It's nice, for once, to have a film where all the actors are unknowns, and you don't get distracted by actor-spotting. This also means that the film's guest star, the Shat himself, really gets to stand out and shine, cheerfully taking the piss out of himself. Still, a six hour musical version of Julius Caesar, with William Shatner playing all the characters? I don't know about you, but I'd pay good money to see that.