834. My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Running Time: 104 minutes
Directed By: Gus Van Sant
Written By: Gus Van Sant
Main Cast: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, William Richert, James Russo, Rodney Harvey
Click here to view the trailer

TRYING TO FIT IN

Note: So I was going through the remaining 210 films the other night (with the help of my wife), making sure that I had access to all of them and I realized that I'm still missing "Man of Iron". If anyone reading this can tell me where I can get my hands on this film, I'd be very appreciative. It's the only thing that I don't have access to and could REALLY use a helping hand. Thanks.

Now then...

This was, I think, the third time I've seen "My Own Private Idaho" and every time I watch it, I'm sure that this will be the time I fall in love with it. However, every time I watch it, I'm left wanting something more and have been disappointed every time. More on that later.

Mike (Phoenix) is a street hustler, selling his body for 10s & 20s and suffering from a pretty rabid case of narcolepsy at the same time. The film begins by introducing us to Mike and his fellow hustlers and establishing that Mike was abandoned by his parents at a young age. The film begins in Seattle, with Mike meeting with a few clients (Mike takes on mainly gay clients, but isn't above entertaining the occasional woman). After this, Mike returns to Portland with hustler friend Scott (Reeves), where the two continue their street life. They meet up with an old friend, a father figure to them named Bob (Richert) and together with a group of other street hustlers, the boys plan a robbery. Following this, Scott and Mike travel together to meet with Mike's older brother, in search of Mike's mother, whom he hopes to find and reconcile with. Along the way, Mike professes his love for Scott, but is rejected. It's also worth noting that Scott is set to inherit a fortune from his wealthy father, but chooses the hustler life, mainly to spite the father that he never saw eye to eye with. Their journey leads them to Idaho and then to Italy, as the two try desperately to locate Mike's mother.

What's the point? There really isn't one is there? You've got several different stories, none of which are given enough time to really flourish and in my opinion, the film never really takes off. This was Van Sant's follow-up to his 1989 masterpiece "Drugstore Cowboy", another film that tried a few different stories, centered around the same characters and one that was hugely successful with yours truly. However, this one just didn't have the same success with me and I was left scratching my head & asking the question: "What's the point?" On one hand, you could say that the movie is about Mike's journey to find his mother, with Scott as his tag along, however, that particular storyline doesn't really get going until about halfway into the film and really doesn't define the picture. Other sources say it's simply a take on a few Shakespearean tales, however, that's not really what it's about, is it? THE BOOK notes that it's simply a poetic version of filmmaking, with pictures & images that are just as important as the words. Yeah, that doesn't quite work for me. I'm a man who needs a good, solid story to attach myself to, or I just can't get into it.

It's not that it was all bad. It's hard to ignore Van Sant's style and the movie just feels and even looks like something that should be brilliant. However, under closer observation, it just isn't. Most will point to fantastic acting from a before his time River Phoenix and a never better Keanu Reeves, but I have to disagree. I wasn't crazy about Phoenix and more often than not I thought Reeves was overacting and I never once bought him as a serious actor. The boys were decent at best, but certainly nothing worth writing home about, in this reviewers eyes. I hope that by committing my thoughts to this blog, I'll now remember that I just don't care too much for "My Own Private Idaho". It's one of those films that, prior to this, I'd always tend to forget why I didn't like it and need to rewatch it to find out. The final verdict points to a movie without a definitive plot and something that just isn't as special as others make it out to be.

RATING: 5.5/10  I was gonna go '6', but I think even that might be too high. It's worth noting that this was yet another one from the Netflix wait list, that happened to become available.

MOVIES WATCHED: 792
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 209

February 4, 2014  12:22pm

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801. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

Running Time: 104 minutes
Directed By: Gus Van Sant
Written By: Gus Van Sant, Daniel Yost, from novel by James Fogle
Main Cast: Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros, Heather Graham, James Remar
Click here to view the trailer

KEEP YOUR HAT OFF THE BED

This movie is a personal favorite of mine, which is why I slipped it in early, so as not to give it an unfair advantage when TOP 20 time rolls around.

Matt Dillon is Bob Hughes, your run of the mill junkie who makes his scores by robbing pharmacies and hospitals. Bob has a crew of people he works with which includes his wife Dianne (Lynch), his friend Rick (Le Gros) and Rick's girlfriend Nadine (Graham). Bob is also being watched by Detective Gentry (Remar), a cop who has it out for Bob and wants to see him "sent up" for his crimes. Bob and his crew are on the move throughout most of the film, ducking Gentry and always keeping fresh pharmacies lined up for the looting. Bob is the superstitious type, setting certain rules for his crew, including never mentioning dogs, never looking at the backside of a mirror and never, I mean NEVER leaving a hat laying on a bed. The film climaxes when Bob and crew find themselves staying at a hotel that's hosting a sheriff's convention.

I remember seeing "Drugstore Cowboy" for the first time, probably about ten years ago or so and thinking that I'd stumbled upon a hidden gem. I hadn't heard much about the film to that point and really only rented it based on my appreciation for Matt Dillon as an actor and because the title intrigued me. I remember buying it soon after and loving it ever since and going on to become somewhat of a fan of Van Sant. However, I never found another Van Sant film that was as good as "Drugstore Cowboy" and that's because there aren't any. This is another one of those movies that I'll have a hard time telling why I like it, because I've liked it for so long that it's just become a personal favorite and that's pretty much the reason why I like it so much. It's funny how we, as film fans, will almost take on an adoptive parent role when we find movies that we think no one else has heard of. They almost become our movies, the ones WE found and the ones WE appreciated before anyone else knew they existed. I realized that I'm not the first one to have found greatness in "Drugstore Cowboy", but I saw it under the recommendation of no one and simply picked it up for myself and decided to try it out...and I loved it.

The film, as THE BOOK notes, mixes both comedy and drama nicely. The first half of the film is a mixture of crime capers and comedy and then we get into some more serious subject matter. The opening hook here is one of my favorite scenes, as four shady looking characters enter a regular looking drug store and case the place for a few seconds, before Nadine drops to the ground, faking an epileptic seizure. This allows Bob to sneak in behind the counter and rob the place, before the druggist knows what has happened. Dillon is superb as Bob Hughes and the rest of the cast supports him wonderfully. The film is straight and simple. It doesn't preach, it's not philosophical and it's not particularly deep. It doesn't take a stand on drug use, one way or the other and it's certainly not a flashy movie. It's just a movie, a great one at that. For the curious, this film also streams on Netflix and comes with my highest of recommendations. If you've seen it before, relive it again and if you've never seen it, then please treat yourself to this gem. And if you love it, don't forget who you heard it from.

RATING: 10/10  At about the halfway mark of the movie, I decided that this was the first film of the 100 that I was going to go the full monty on. I can't believe we're only thirteen films into the 100 and already this is shaping up to be one hell of a season!

MOVIES WATCHED: 514
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 487

August 29, 2012  12:56am

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