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My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 5/07, 7/20, 3/25

MyOwnPrivate
5/07: If there's any doubt of River Phoenix's greatness in acting, it will go away when you watch My Own Private Idaho.

Before there was Good Will Hunting, Gus Van Sant started exploring vagrancy and drug abuse among young adults in Drugstore Cowboy and then followed it up with My Own Private Idaho. He wrote the screenplay during the 70's but couldn't secure financing for a long while.

There's a long-standing rumor that goes like this: "One day, Gus Van Sant showed his script of My Own Private Idaho to Keanu Reeves who agreed on the spot to take the role of Scott Favor. Not being able to get through River's agent, he rode his motorcycle solo from Canada to Gainesville, Florida, to share the script with the elusive actor, and they made a handshake deal on it." However, it's not true; both got the script while making I Love You to Death and took their time before deciding to do it because of the gay component. As a result, My Own Private Idaho became a successful independent picture that's a hybrid of Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, and Drugstore Cowboy.

River Phoenix may have been Oscar-nominated for Running on Empty, but he gave the most definitive performance of his career in My Own Private Idaho. Keanu Reeves is fantastic as his sidekick. What I like is the style. It's sometimes strange and hallucinatory that moves in a circle but stays centered. No answers are proffered to the meaning of it all; characters go through the day in any way they can. If there's a negative, it's the Shakespearean scenes that throw me off the track.

All in all, My Own Private Idaho demonstrates what a true talent River Phoenix was.

7/20: The Midnight Cowboy of the 90's, My Own Private Idaho displays the most definitive performance of River Phoenix's career.

River Phoenix had done a few films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, I Love You to Death, and Sneakers that weren't spiritually right for him. But when he rolled the dice on My Own Private Idaho, it was the perfect channel to show off his talent. The same thing is said for Keanu Reeves, but he's an all-around great actor who can dabble in any genre.

Not a lot makes sense, but there's one interpretation that might will: it's the story of two wayward young males trying to get out of the hole they've dug for themselves, but that's dependent on the kind of upbringing they had. That's why Scott was able to while Mike couldn't and would probably end up dead within a few years. Ironically, it's what happened to Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix, respectively, in real life.

All in all, there's no My Own Private Idaho without River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.

3/25: My Own Private Idaho still holds up well.