Cast

River Phoenix - Mike Waters Keanu Reeves - Scott Favor James Russo - Richard Waters William Richert - Bob Pigeon Rodney Harvey - Gary Chiara Caselli - Carmella Michael Parker (I) - Digger Jessie Thomas - Denise Flea - Budd

Story

Mike Waters, a young male prostitute kid of Portland, Or., leaves on a quest to find his long-lost mother and his past. He suffers from narcolepsy, meaning that he dozes off out of control, at inopportune moments.

On his long road, he's helped by Scott Favor, a fellow hustler. Scott happens to be the mayor's son, who turns tricks as an act of rebellion against his father and a too predictable future.

Around a campfire, Mike haltingly confesses Scott that he loves him, even though Scott says he can't love men.

They travel as far as Italy, where they meet Carmella, that Scott falls in love with. He returns to Portland to marry Carmella and melt in the life his father had chosen for him, leaving Mike alone, on the road still.

For more details, check out the screenplay linked in other resources.

Quote

Mike Waters : "I'm a connoisseur of roads. I've been tasting roads my whole life. This road will never end. It probably goes all around the world."

Trivia

River was named Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival in September 1991 for his role as narcoleptic rent-boy Mike.

The movie received the Critics Award at the Toronto Film Festival in 1991. Since both festivals took place the same week, River had to fly from Toronto to Venice to receive his award and be back to Toronto the day after.

The soundtrack features a song, "Too Many Colors" by River's band, Aleka's Attic.

The play was partly based on William Shakespeare's "Henry IV".

Other Resources

• My Own Private Idaho DOT COM - extensive site about the movie

• Photo Page of MOPI

• My Own Private Idaho - video grabs at Le Chateau

• My Own Private Idaho screenplay - at MovieScript

• French reviews (not translated yet)