Saturday Matinee Classic
My Own Private Idaho
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” Mike Waters (River Phoenix) is a gay hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves) is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
1991, 104 minutes, USA, Directed by Gus Van Sant
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"One of the most original cinematic talents at work in this country, Van Sant has a knack for pulling disparate elements together and twisting them into wildly funny lyrical odysseys of the mind and heart."
- Michael Upchurch, SEATTLE TIMES -
"A simultaneously heartbreaking and exhilarating road movie."
- Jonathan Rosenbaum, CHICAGO READER -
"This is a very rich, very sympathetic piece of work."
- Dave Kehr, CHICAGO TRIBUNE