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My Own Private Idaho Customer Reviews (31 - 33 of 41 Reviews)

I'll ALWAYS be grateful to River Phoenix for this film...
Rarely have I been fortunate enough to stumble upon a movie like My Own Private Idaho. From the opening scene of River Phoenix's character Mike Waters standing on the road (that seems to stretch on forever) to his last words back on the same road at the films close. ("I've been tasting roads my whole life. This road will never..end. It probably goes all around the world.") I've watched this movie over and over and I still find it to be the most beautiful, bittersweet, funny, brave and thought-provoking film I've ever seen. The deinitive indie film of the 90's. The issues raised are so close to my own humble heart that certain scenes, (notabley the camp fire scene, Bob's death and funeral, and the closing scene) never fail to reduce me to a blithering mess of empathy, hope, sadness and happiness. A powerful cinematic experience indeed. Brillient direction, fascinating and daring subject matter and, most watch-worthy of all, the best performance ever captured on screen by anyone anywhere. River Phoenix's performance as Mike Waters is simultainiously painfully real, heartwrenchingly sad and achingly beautiful. Much like the actor himself. Hollywoods greatest loss. River, I love you, miss you, thank you and will NEVER forget you.

wierd, different, and sad
I did not know exactly to expect when watching this movie but I am a big fan of River Phoenix so I decided to give it a shot. I watched about the first third or so of it and found myself thinking I can't believe I rented this, with the exception of a few scenes that I thought were pretty funny, but when the campfire scene happened I became more involved with the film. I started to see Mike more as a person searching for love and his mother instead of just a male prostitute that fell asleep a lot. I thought River's acting was brilliant. Everything I have seen him in so far is so believable to me. For example, when he sees Scott and his new girlfriend kissing at the dinner table he blows smoke at them, out of obvious jealousy, and he can't sleep when he hears them making love in the next room. I think he was excellent in picking up people's mannerisms and the little things that people do. I ended up being so mad at Scott in the end and was saddened in how it seemed that Mike would live that life until his death. The role of Mike was played perfectly in that it seemed that he didn't even like being a prostitute, evident by his fits of sleep during most of those situations, but he was just trying to get by and find love. The believable acting, mostly by River, and the sadness and emotional vulnerability of the second 2 thirds or so of the film more than make up for the beginning. I hope to look deeper into people's lives and less likely to judge others, something that I must admit needing a little more help in. It really saddens me that there are people right now as I'm typing this review living lives similar to this one feeling like the "road never ends" for them. God bless them and everyone else.

Keanu and River (Especially River) Shine...
MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO is an incredible film that really has it all: two charismatic stars, a unique mix of comedy and tragedy, some beautiful imagery, fantastic dialogue, a story that manages to move along at a pretty good clip, and a terrific ending that is open to interpretation. What else could you want?

At the core of the movie is the relationship between Mike (River Phoenix) and Scott (Keanu Reeves), who are working as street hustlers in the Northwest. Mike is a lonely character, emotionally vulnerable as a result of his dysfunctional upbringing and often physically vulnerable as a result of his narcolepsy. He is a lost soul, a drifter desperate for love. Scott, on the other hand, is calculating, merely toying with street life until he inherits the life laid out for him by his father's wealth and power. Still, Scott does seem to have a fair amount of genuine affection and concern for Mike, often taking care of him during his narcoleptic attacks and going along with him as he hits the road in search of his mother. The heart of this movie is the contrast between these two and the bond between them, despite their obviously deep divisions.

River Phoenix turns in my favorite performance of his tragically brief career, and really carries the movie while Keanu Reeves, although his character is nearly as interesting as River's, more than holds his own as well. What keeps this from being a five star movie is Gus Van Sant's incorporation of Shakespeare into the script. It's a cheap gimmick that adds very little to the movie and really only serves to label the movie as a knock-off. I think most of the people who saw this movie would have seen the HENRY IV parallels in Scott's story without having the ACTUAL dialogue dropped on our heads. Still, it's ultimately a minor complaint and absolutely no reason to stay away from the film. River Phoenix's performance alone makes this one a must see.

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