Steve Anderson Movies
- 2006
- PG13
- Add Pirates of the Great Salt Lake to QueueAdd Pirates of the Great Salt Lake to top of Queue
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
- Starring:
- Kirby Heyborne, Larry Bagby III, (more)
High spiritual ideals don't quite mesh with the spirit of competition in this sports comedy. In the 1920s, the leaders of the Church of Latter Day Saints began encouraging their congregations to form basketball teams and church leagues as a way to promote fitness, wholesome fun, and teamwork among Mormon youth. However, the downside of this plan was the rise of wildly competitive teams who were a lot more interested in winning at all costs than good sportsmanship. In the 1970s, Bishop Linderman (Fred Willard) has been watching his Mud Lake basketball team get trounced in the Church League championships for nearly two decades, which doesn't sit well with him. Linderman used to be Mud Lake's coach before we was banned from the game for fighting, and with the team facing another losing season, he appoints a new man, Dennis Buckstead (Andrew Wilson), to lead Mud Lake on the court. When LDS elders announce that they're putting an end to church ball and the upcoming season will be the last, the pressure is on Buckstead to bring home a championship for Mud Lake's final season. But with a team comprised of myopic clerk Gene (Clint Howard), rotund Don (Chad Long), timid Thurman (Steve Anderson), half-pint car salesman Charles (Gary Coleman), short-tempered Mickey (Ross Brockley), and Borat (Sina Amedson), an immigrant who knows soccer far better than basketball, Buckstead's prospects are not very good. Not wanting to disappoint Linderman, Buckstead tries to recruit a pair of ringers for the Mud Lake team -- Moses Mahoney (Thurl Bailey), a seven-foot-tall prodigy who teaches sports to underprivileged kids, and Jeremiah Jones (Stan Ellsworth), a fierce player who may be just a bit too competitive. Church Ball was directed by Kurt Hale and released through Halestorm Entertainment, a leading producer of LDS-oriented films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Willard, Andrew Wilson, (more)
- 2002
Ernest Borgnine guest stars as veteran televsion director Max Blandish, a once-idealistic media pioneer who has become jaded and disillusioned during his 50 years in the business. If bitterness doesn't kill Max, his heavy smoking will, and thus there isn't a whole lot of time left for Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) to persuade him to forsake his cynicism and keep the promises he made to himself at the outset of his career. This requires Max to confront an unpleasant incident in his past--specifically, 1954--when he buckled under to sponsor pressure and refused to allow a black female singer to appear on-camera for a performance of "God Bless America" (Need we reveal whom that singer turns out to be?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An anarchic, off-the-wallsci-fi family comedy with a surrealistic edge, Bug Off! opens with a pair of siblings, young Tyler and big sister Krista, constantly at each other's throats. When Krista mischievously wishes for her brother's transformation into an insect, she finds her request granted - at the hands of an extraterrestrial babysitter who calls herself Mrs. Pickle-Nickle. Krista immediately wishes him back - without success. Matters go from bug to worse when a second alien, Yendor, pops up and attempts to abduct Tyler, whisking him back to his home planet as evidence of Pickle-Nickle's malfeasance. As the situation grows bleaker, Krista must find a way to save the day and bring her long-lost brother down to Earth. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
