Cheap My Own Private Idaho (Video) (River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves) (Gus Van Sant) Price

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Customer Reviews of My Own Private Idaho

It was incredibly believable and River's emotions were overflowing with reality. It appeared to me that both River and Keanu had developed a strong bond in this movie. It showed in this very beautiful scene. 2) The trailer scene where River's character meets with his older "brother". It was so heartbreaking! It was pretty obvious to me where Mike (River) developed his narcolepsy...incredible scene. I give Gus Van Zant a standing ovation for this movie...well done!

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.

"My Own Private Idaho" (just one more)
I forgot one more story, related to what I wrote, already. As if you'll print this, but maybe.
When "Sweet November" came out, I realized it was a remake of the 60s film, only it starred Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron, this time. I'd seen the original, with Sandy Dennis and Anthony Newley, back in the 70s, when it was on TV late one night, with Susie, my ex-girlfriend I wrote about earlier--the one who gasped, when I called her from the hospital and told her I think I'm an alcoholic. We'd loved that movie--and the "irony" there is that her birthday is November 17th, and that date features prominently in the new movie. It's also set in San Francisco, and I live just north of there, at Muir Beach. What an "irony." Sometimes, when I see "coincidences" in movies his friends and family make and my own life, I now think this was maybe River trying to tell me something from the Great Beyond.
When I wrote Susie of this "irony," after yet another hiatus in our relationship--she is fundamentalist Christian and has right-wing beliefs, when no one I know on purpose does, anymore, really--she ignored me. So bye-bye, Susie, and maybe that is for the best, since she wasn't in sobriety, even though we smoked and drank and took drugs, though she didn't favor that last.
I have related stories--such as when I saw Summer, River's youngest sister, in "Wasted," for the first time. I like this movie, though I can do without the sex scenes. And she can't relate it to River's OD, though it's about heroin addiction and is dedicated, in part, to those who lost their lives due to this disease.
I will go to sleep, now. I had no idea I'd write so much, and it's late. I have a bit of a head cold, but I thought I'd write you, since you sell me a bunch of River Phoenix things, suddenly, and you might want to know why, incidentally.(...)