You have to really like William Shatner to get aboard ‘You Can Call Me Bill’

Review by Brian Lowry, CNN

(CNN) — William Shatner and his most famous role have always been ripe for parody, and the “Star Trek” star, now 93, has endearingly reached the point where he can laugh a little at himself. Yet a new documentary, “William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill,” tests one’s level of Shatner fandom, letting him indulge in a 90-some-odd-minute monologue about life, death and legacies.

What might have been more accurately called “The World According to Bill” dispenses with third-party voices, or for that matter, having Shatner do any serious reminiscing about other people he’s known.

Instead, writer-director Alexandre O. Philippe engages the actor in a highly philosophical conversation about life and the prospect of death, while sprinkling footage from his one-man shows and career throughout, ranging from more obscure and early film and TV roles to his near-60-year association with Captain James T. Kirk.

Along the way, Shatner waxes eloquent about the miracle of the universe, the “mystical” bond forged between rider and horse, his history of “taking care of my inner child,” and his determination to “live in the now.”

While that approach is certainly intimate – including Shatner discussing his emotional reaction to traveling into space aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin flight in 2021 – the film lacks context about the actor, or anything that would hint at controversies in his life. As a “for instance,” there’s no mention of the criticism he’s received from “Trek” co-stars, and not much about his interactions with “Trekkie” culture or the cathartic moment in a “Saturday Night Live” sketch in which he snapped at convention attendees to “Get a life.”

Charitably, “You Can Call Me Bill” serves as an opportunity for anyone who has admired Shatner’s screen work from afar, including post-“Star Trek” roles like “Boston Legal,” to know him a little better, while providing the actor a chance to share some of his professional inspirations (Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando among them) and personal insights he’s accrued over his long life.

Still, for an actor known for having led his crew as it boldly explored humankind’s final frontier, “You Can Call Me Bill,” somewhat disappointingly, takes its extensive access to Shatner and doesn’t go much of anywhere.

“William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill” premieres in select theaters on March 22.

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