My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Two best friends living on the streets of Portland as hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery and find their relationship stumbling along the way.

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play), Gus Van Sant

Stars:

River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo

12 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
River Phoenix	...	Mike Waters
Keanu Reeves	...	Scott Favor
James Russo	...	Richard Waters
William Richert	...	Bob Pigeon
Rodney Harvey	...	Gary
Chiara Caselli	...	Carmella
Michael Parker	...	Digger
Jessie Thomas	...	Denise
Flea	...	Budd
Grace Zabriskie	...	Alena
Tom Troupe	...	Jack Favor
Udo Kier	...	Hans
Sally Curtice	...	Jane Lightwork
Robert Lee Pitchlynn	...	Walt
Mickey Cottrell	...	Daddy Carroll

Storyline

Surreal character study focusing on the friendship between two male hustlers, Mike and Scott, in Portland, Oregon. They live on the streets, do drugs, and sell themselves to men and women. Mike is quiet, gay and suffers from narcolepsy. Abandoned as a child, he is obsessed with finding his long-lost mother. Scott is the rebellious son of a high-ranking family, who lives this life mostly to embarrass his father. Mike is in love with Scott, who still maintains he is straight and insists that his wild lifestyle on the streets is only temporary. Together, they embark on a quest to find Mike's mother, traveling from Portland to Idaho to Italy, with Scott picking up a beautiful girl along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

portland | hustler | narcolepsy | friendship | idaho | 

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Taglines:

It's not where you go, it's how you get there.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sensuality, language and drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

29 September 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Caminho de Idaho

Filming Locations:

Maupin, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$6,401,336 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Alphacine)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many members of the cast (including River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Flea, and Michael Parker) moved into director Gus Van Sant's large old house in Portland, Oregon during filming. They apparently caused such a disturbance (staying up late, getting drunk, partying, and playing music) and overtook the house to such an extent that Van Sant eventually had to move out of his own house and stay with a friend in order to get some sleep.

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Goofs

(At 12.45) As Mike goes to look out the window at the back garden in the old ladies house the boom mic is visible reflected in the window.

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Quotes

Mike Waters: [in a coffee shop] How'd we get home?
Scott Favor: That German guy. Hans. He brought you downtown, you were passed out. He said he was heading to Portland, so I asked him for a ride.
Mike Waters: For some reason I'm forgetting a German guy named Hans.
Scott Favor: Well. You were sleeping.
Mike Waters: How much do you make off me while I'm sleeping?
Scott Favor: Just a ride, Mike. I don't make anything. What, you think that I sell your body while you are asleep?
Mike Waters: Yeah.
Scott Favor: [Scott stirs his coffee] No, Mike. I'm on your side.

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Connections

Referenced in Shortbus (2006)

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Soundtracks

"The Funerals"
Music Composed by Anthony Holborne
Performed by Lori Presthus, Hollis Taylor and Kim Burton

User Reviews

Odd, touching, River Phoenix is intensely brilliant..

This is the movie that I sincerely hope River Phoenix will long be remembered for. His performance as the narcoleptic and confused street-hustler Mike is so perfect and touching and realistic that it makes me cry every time. Gus Van Sant's films often have a strange aura about them (see Drugstore Cowboy, To Die For) and never has it been more evident than in this oddly affecting road movie/drama. The camera shots of long horizon-spanning roads and skylines, fast-motion clouds, surreal and symbolic shots of houses and rushing rivers provide the film with a strange almost other-worldly charm. Interspersed with the gritty realism of life on the streets of Portland Oregon in the early 90's, and (stranger still) Shakespeare. Some of the plot (Bob and Scott mainly) is based on the Shakespeare play Henry IV (with Keanu Reeves playing the Prince Hal character of Scott, and William Richert playing the Falstaff-like role of "King-Of-The-Streets" Bob.) It's a fascinating, touching and very successful blend of styles overall. The big themes (the search for love and belonging) are conveyed in a very interesting and genuinely moving manner. I particularly enjoyed the symbolism and pathos the film flittingly suggests. The performances are uniformly excellent, and this movie remains one of my all-time favourites. One of the greatest (and most unique) indie movies of the 1990's.