SimilarScreen
My Own Private Idaho

My Own Private Idaho

Wherever, whatever, have a nice day.

19917.11h 44m

Overview

In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor 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.

Directed by Gus Van Sant
Written by Gus Van Sant, William Shakespeare
Produced by Laurie Parker
Box OfficeBudget: $2.5MRevenue: $6.4M

Top Cast

River Phoenix

River Phoenix

Mike Waters

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves

Scott Favor

James Russo

James Russo

Richard Waters

William Richert

William Richert

Bob Pigeon

Rodney Harvey

Rodney Harvey

Gary

Chiara Caselli

Chiara Caselli

Carmella

M

Michael Parker

Digger

Jessica Makinson

Jessica Makinson

Denise

Flea

Flea

Budd

Grace Zabriskie

Grace Zabriskie

Alena

Themes & Keywords

individualfriendshiptreasurerobberysibling relationshiprome, italyparent child relationshipgenerations conflictportland, oregonhustlercocaineidahoseattle, washingtonmale friendshiproad tripunrequited lovemale prostitutionpovertyprostitutionincestlgbtlost mothernarcolepsyfather son relationshipgay theme

About My Own Private Idaho

My Own Private Idaho is a drama film released in 1991 exploring themes of individual, friendship, treasure, robbery, sibling relationship, rome, italy. Directed by Gus Van Sant, it stars River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo. In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor 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.

Movies Similar to My Own Private Idaho

Discover titles like My Own Private Idaho — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 movies similar to My Own Private Idaho

If you enjoyed My Own Private Idaho, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of My Own Private Idaho.

Drugstore Cowboy
27% Match

Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.

Dad
24% Match

Dad(1989)

Movie6.4/10

A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.

Dead Poets Society
24% Match

At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.

Rain Man
24% Match

Rain Man(1988)

Movie7.8/10

When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.

Once Were Warriors
23% Match

In a violent relationship, it takes a mother’s strength to save herself and her children from the man she loved. Once Were Warriors is a violent love story set against a contemporary urban backdrop.

Boogie Nights
23% Match

Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams, a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams' rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, "Dirk Diggler". Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams' dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.

American Beauty
23% Match

Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.

Eve's Bayou
23% Match

Summer heats up in rural Louisiana beside Eve’s Bayou, 1962, as the Batiste family tries to survive the secrets they’ve kept and the betrayals they’ve endured.

Driving Miss Daisy
23% Match

The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendship between the two very different characters, in a time when those types of relationships were shunned.

The Skeleton Twins
23% Match

Estranged twins Maggie and Milo coincidentally cheat death on the same day, prompting them to reunite and confront the reasons their lives went so wrong. As the twins' reunion reinvigorates them, they realize the key to fixing their lives may just lie in repairing their relationship.

This Boy's Life
23% Match

When a son and mother move to Seattle in hopes for a better life, the mother meets a seemingly polite man. Things go south when the man turns out to be abusive, endangering their lives. As the mother struggles to maintain hope in an impossible situation, the son has plans to escape.

Moonlight
22% Match

Moonlight(2016)

Movie7.4/10

The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

American History X
22% Match

Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.

Around the Bend
22% Match

A tale of four generations of men, all of whom have had their offspring at a young age: a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father in his twenties and a son who is about 7 years old. When the oldest member passes away, the trio heads out on the road together in the Southwest to search out an old family secret that connects to their past.

Magnolia
22% Match

Magnolia(1999)

Movie7.7/10

On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.