Romantic comedy for geeks.

"Free Enterprise" is a rather conventionally plotted romantic comedy. But instead of well-groomed, successful men (eg, George Clooney) or profane slacker-stoners (eg, any Judd Apatow character), the male protagonists in "Free Enterprise" are a group of super-geeks living in LA who idolize Star Trek's Captain James T. Kirk and possess a seemingly endless knowledge of sci-fi trivia. They spend their days working unglamorous industry jobs, awkwardly courting women, roaming the toy stores and comic shops of the city looking for rare collectibles, and, of course, quoting Star Wars and Star Trek at every opportunity.

When one of the guys, a financially irresponsible mooch and unlikely Lothario named Rob, meets the woman of his (and every geek's) dreams in Claire, can he manage to keep her? Will their relationship undermine his friendship with his geeky cadre? Meanwhile, Rob's best friend, Mark, will soon be turning 30, and visions of Logan's Run haunt his dreams.

A chance meeting with their idol, William Shatner (playing himself, self-effacingly), at bookstore turns into a night of drinks, and eventually a friendship. Shatner is dealing with his own woman problems, and also mulling over a one-man musical version of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar".

Shatner, by the way, is hilarious. He gets some of the best lines in the movie. He's not a preening arrogant jerk like he's sometimes made out to be, nor is he the bold leader of the Captain Kirk mold. He's just an endearing goofball with a crazy dream.

Whether or not you find this film funny will depend heavily on your own knowledge of sci-fi. If you find the idea of grown men obsessing over a 30-year old television show hopelessly pathetic, then the movie will probably induce more groans than laughs. If, however, you too can instantly name a 5-letter Star Wars planet that begins with the the letter "E", you'll probably find the film hilarious.

Filmed in 1997, released theatrically and then quickly to a barebones DVD in 1999, the independent feature film "Free Enterprise", written by Mark Altman and Robert Burnett and directed by Burnett, was re-released by Anchor Bay in a 2-disc special edition in 2006. In this edition, the running time of the film is extended by 6 minutes and audio commentaries by the writers and stars (including William Shatner) were added, in addition to a making-of documentary and deleted scenes.

7/10