Two guys dream of becoming the scourge of the seven seas but have to settle for paddling around a shallow lake in this independent comedy. Kirk Redgrave (
Kirby Heyborne) is a well-meaning but overly imaginative teenager growing in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. Determined to remake himself into someone exciting and dangerous, Kirk dons a pirate's hat, gets a rowboat, and begins calling himself Cap'n Kirk, the scallywag of the Great Salt Lake. While Kirk's mom, a strict Mormon widow, is mortified by her son's new hobby, Kirk soon finds a kindred spirit in Flint Weaver (
Trenton James), a wholesome guy who wants to seem more dangerous in order to attract the attention of cute waitress Ruby (
Emily Tyndall). However, the guys move one step closer to being real pirates when they find a map that will supposedly lead them to real buried treasure, though Drake, the owner of a neighborhood second-hand shop, is already looking for the spoils.
Pirates of the Great Salt Lake was the first feature film from writer and director
E.R. Nelson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide