One of my all time favorites.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Pretty lame excuse for a treasure hunt movie. Childish nonsense gives way to total nonsense, in this supposed comedy. The simple minded plot, or lack thereof, is two guys dressed as pirates cavorting all around the "Great Salt Lake". The scenery is far more interesting than the story, and even that eventually wears thin. Watching two nitwits play out their pirate fantasy for almost an hour and a half with nothing more than a couple of chuckles, is not my idea of entertainment. Go back and watch "Dumb and Dumber" if you suddenly get the urge to see a great dumb buddy movie, and avoid "Pirates of the Great Salt Lake" entirely. - MERK

I'd hate to think that living near the Great Salt Lake can make one totally lose perspective, but apparently that's what has happened to Kirby Heyborne. Heyborne who is an LDS version of Martin Short stars in Pirates Of The Great Salt Lake during which he damns Johnny Depp for making pirates lovable because he's not taken seriously.Heyborne and his new found friend Trenton James have decided to become pirates and their sea is the Great Salt Lake. Of course this whole thing is most disturbing to his mother Joyce Cohen. Still it's amazing how many even if they don't take him seriously kind of go with the flow.When an actual pirate map is discovered and take my use 'actual' with a grain of salt all kinds of things start happening. We even delve into the supernatural.Pirates Of The Great Salt Lake is a film that tries hard to be in the tradition of Harvey and Arsenic And Old Lace. But it just isn't in that category. It gets a little too weird for my taste, but Heyborne is a talented guy and if you look at some of his other work you'll come to that conclusion.

This movie lived up to all that I had heard about it. I took many members of my extended family to a special screening in Salt Lake. I did not tell any of them about the movie they would be screening in order to keep from influencing them with any hype. The movie came as a wonderful surprise to them all. I enjoyed hearing them laugh out loud throughout the whole movie. We had the pleasure also of meeting one of the stars Trent James, who graciously answered many questions we threw at him. I do hope a distribution deal will be struck soon so it will be released nationwide. I have no doubts that it will be a sleeper hit. You would have thought that Hollywood would have taken the hint from the success of Napoleon Dynamite as to the kinds of movies that American families are craving. This movie will appeal to even a wider audience than N.D.

On Sunday Feb 5th I flew down to SanFrancisco to attend the San Francisco Independent Film Festival and the second showing of Pirates of The Great Salt Lake. I arrived at the theater an hour early in order to meet up with ER Nelson, the director of the film, Kirby Heybourne (who plays Kirk) the star of the film and several of the producers.I was told by the SF Indie film fest organizers that the much awaited Friday night World Premiere of PotGSL received a standing ovation from a sold out crowd. I was getting so excited to see it, and hoping I wouldn't let down. I've been sitting and waiting since August, not an easy thing to do. Independent films are a tricky business, often it is the director's first film ( as in this case) , often the actors are less experienced "unknowns", and in almost all cases the production budget puts extreme limitations on everything. Despite these factors or because of them , Pirates of the Great Salt Lake is like finding that elusive buried treasure. This film is a real gem! It is original and refreshing, and dare I say.... OK, so I hate the comment "it's a Feel Good movie". just not the kind of comment Pirates should make. Well........This is a Very Very Feel Good Movie, and its a feel good Buddy Movie!! I smiled all the way through the screening Dammit! I hope I wasn't being watched or there goes my Pirate rep.. A very well thought out script ,co-written by Eric Nelson who also skillfully directs, and solid comedic performances by the principle actors had me laughing out loud within the first few seconds. It has everything that a good Pirate film should, Pirates (duh), ships (er, boats) , the plank, weapons, maps and cursed treasure, ghosts, skirmishes, thievery, back stabbing, murder, wenches ( and not all in that order) It's campy, it's tongue in cheek, it pokes fun at the current pirate culture, and stereotypes. It even pays backhanded homage to Johnny Depp. And I loved this film for it. The music perfectly underscores that our two heroes are living their Grand Pirate Dream. And while they may be two average young guys,... they are truly Pirates! There are also some unique cover versions of contemporary rock songs strategically placed that will have you chuckling. Like when Kirk and Flint meet for the first timeSpread the word and keep a weather eye open for this Treasure, and keep our cutlasses crossed that this film gets picked up and distributed. It deserves it and we all NEED it!Synopsis: Kirk Redgrave and Flint Weaver are two young, 20- something loners in Utah who live near the Great Salt "Sea". Each with their own issues, they meet through chance and set out together to become the best Pirates the world has ever seen. As in real life, Piracy is a tough go for our heroes, filled with much failure and disappointment, it is a hard life ( well, three weeks anyway) and then they come across a long lost treasure map. They must battle a ruthless rival and contend a curse in order to collect the treasure and fulfill their dream. Will they or will they not....