caveat emptor: this was written w/o proofreading or editing of any sort. Read only if you want to immerse yourself in something closely resembling a drunken ramble. Consider yourself fairly warned.
I have a VHS copy of My Own Private Idaho sitting on my shelf (that belongs to my friend Robb - sorry Robb.) I attempted to watch it some 5 years back (at the humble age of sixteen - that's right you dancers, I'm 21. The cat's out of the bag.) and mostly failed. Mostly because I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw, but stopped seeing right at the point when Mike (River Phoenix) is left by Scott. Why? I can't remember, but it was probably due to my then-girlfriend, whose filmic tastes began at Tarzan and ended at The Matrix. Chances are I was watching it when she came over - needless to say (hell if that'll stop me), a surreal art film about two grimy street-hustlers - one a narcoleptic, the other a Shakespeare spouting heir apparent - wasn't exactly her cup of tea. Yet again needless to say (and yet again hellfire will not hold me back), we soon parted ways. Things I remember about My Own Private Idaho from way back when:
- Some type of homosexuality
- A bizarre middle bit with a fat man and Shakespearean language
- Italy?
- Not bros before ho's
- A road
I wasn't wrong, per se, but I wasn't exactly right-the-fuck-on either. My rememberances (ah! the good ol' days) were much like when your mom asks you, "So honey, what have you been up to?" And, not wanting to mention the excessive drinking and general state of apathy, you reply, "Oh, you know - stuff."
I see now that I should have dumped the girlfriend earlier. I also see now that the Shakespearean bit in the middle is really a neat little recapitulation of Henry IV, pt. I, with Scott (Keanu Reeves) as Prince Hal, his father as Bolingbroke (aka Henry IV), and Bob as Falstaff. It's charming, really. What was Van Sant after with this, though? Possibly he really liked Henry IV, pt. I (as he should - it contains W.S.'s best scenes outside of Henry V and Hamlet), or maybe he was after something.
Article comments
1 - sulizano
This film has the best funeral scene ever -- a bunch of homeless hoods singing "Bob!" accompanied by accordian followed by a massive pile-on on the casket.
2 - Michael Kanbergs
Well - another great thing I (accidentally) ignored.
I completely agree - and it's fantastic when juxtaposed against the funeral for Scott's father.
3 - Alona
Nice,
I enjoyed it greatly.
Im actually writin an essay on the film and henry IV...
Rock on.