{"id":1442,"date":"2026-01-12T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fightinginthewarroom.com\/THOB\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2026-01-11T17:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T17:25:11","slug":"375-my-own-private-idaho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fightinginthewarroom.com\/THOB\/2026\/01\/12\/375-my-own-private-idaho\/","title":{"rendered":"375 – My Own Private Idaho"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We’re finally pulling one of our most passionate entries to our 100 Snubs series, Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho<\/em>. Adapted loosely from multiple Shakespeare plays (particularly both Henry IV<\/em>s), the film follows an epileptic young sex worker named Mike (River Phoenix) as he drifts the globe with his loyal cohort Scott (Keanu Reeves). Van Sant was post-Drugstore Cowbo<\/em>y ascendant when the film arrived, but it’s the Venice Film Festival-anointed performance by Phoenix that got the most attention and helps the film live in bittersweet infamy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This episode, we talk about Phoenix’s stunning performance and his Oscar nomination for Running on Empty<\/em> before his tragic death. We also discuss the highlights of Van Sant’s filmography, the unfair ridicule that greeted Reeves’ Bram Stoker’s Dracula<\/em> performance, and where we would place the film in the 1991 Adapted Screenplay race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topics also include the 1991 Venice Film Festival, nipple pulling, and New Queer Cinema.<\/p>\n