Pirates of the Great Salt Lake

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 is hands down one of the craziest movies I have seen in a long time. It's everything I didn't suspect it would be and then some. I thought it would be some knock-off spoof, but I was surprised. I totally didn't see this coming.

The plot is too far out there to describe, but it's basically a modern version of the Don Quixote story... though still very original. The idea is masterful, and the timing seems perfect. Well written (highly quotable!) and well paced, and the score is surprisingly epic for a low-budget indy. The acting is very strong. There seem to be obvious influences... I would say The Big Lebowski, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Napoleon Dynamite (it stars Trish!)... and it's all so funny.

If there is any justice in this world, this film will find distribution. What else can I say. Go see it!

In short: This is a great indie flick, and if I said anything more I'd give it away, so watch it yourselves ye scurvy dogs!

In long: It's really hard for me to believe that a movie this good took six months to make from idea to post-production, it was really great. I loved the excellent characters and plot presented in the movie. The story is honestly funny with very few cheap gags, and the actors go over the top in a way that makes them genuinely believable. The film work was excellently done, and the locations that were chosen perfectly set the mood of the film. The whole movie just embodies the classic pirate feeling that pirate fanatics have come to cherish; it has cursed treasure, romance, thrills, conflict, and plenty of laughs throughout. I hate to compare it to something like Napoleon Dynamite, but there are definite similarities between the two, strictly in the sense that both are highly quotable and are destined to become cult classics. Really though, if you like pirates, you'll love this movie.

Okay, first off, I LOVE pirates, pirate movies, stories, books, shows, most anything pirate-related, such is why I rented this from Netflix. This movie was entertaining about the first 20-30 minutes, then the story became drab and poorly put together. There was little to no sense throughout the remainder of the film, and despite what has been written in many reviews above, you can tell this was filmed in three weeks, and the script seemed to be written in a lot less time than that. Kirby Heyborne who I've never heard of or seen before, did an excellent job with his performance, even though he had little to work with, and was about the only good thing about this movie. Trenton James gave a more than decent performance as well. As for the rest of the cast, appeared more like friends and family, than actual talented or trained actors. The description is that of "Two Teenagers," but yet neither of the main characters looks even close enough to play a Senior in college, so either the casting was bad, or the description should have been changed. I have a feeling that the majority of the positive comments hailing this film as great, are from people associated with the film, and/or members of the "Free The Pirate" fan club. The "Idea" is good, and I can get past the quality of filming with low-to-no budget films, when the quality of the story is prevalent, this, however, is not one of those cases. As with any opinion on a movie or anything at all, it is just that, an opinion. I still however support filmmakers who want to get their stuff out there, but as well, I support the honesty and criticism of people close to me, and would've hoped those close to the makers of this film, had told them to spend much more time during pre-production before diving in.

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