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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/myownprivateidaho.jpg]]
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3->''"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."''
4-->-- '''Mike Waters'''
5
6A 1991 RoadTripPlot film, written and directed by Creator/GusVanSant, about a [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold gay narcoleptic male prostitute]] named Mike (Creator/RiverPhoenix) who is looking for his long lost mother, along the way realizing that he is in love with his best friend Scott (Creator/KeanuReeves), also a prostitute. Scott is wealthy, however, and only whoring himself to annoy his father, and decides to quit prostitution when he comes into his inheritance.
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8Part of the movie is indeed set in UsefulNotes/{{Idaho}}, but a fair amount takes part in UsefulNotes/{{Portland}}, UsefulNotes/{{Oregon}}; and UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. Part of the plot is based on Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/HenryIV'', with Bob as Falstaff and Scott as Prince Hal. In addition, much of the dialogue between Bob and Scott is paraphrased from ''Henry IV''.
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10!! This film provides examples of::
11* CheerfulFuneral: [[spoiler:At Bob's funeral, all the boys he mentored hold a wild party; across the street, Scott looks on rather wistfully as he attends his father's much more proper funeral.]]
12* DepravedHomosexual: Many of the hustlers' clients.
13* DoubleEntendre: ''Homo on ranch. Ready to ride''.
14* DownerEnding
15* FaceHeelTurn: Scott, who started out as incredibly caring towards his best friend then for some reason abruptly became a JerkAss who didn't care about him. Italy did it to him.
16* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Mike Waters.
17* IncompatibleOrientation: Mike loves Scott.
18* IfItsYouItsOkay: Scott isn't into men romantically but makes an exception for Mike just the once.
19* LivingMacGuffin: Mike's mother.
20* ParentalIncest: [[spoiler:Mike says that his brother Richard is also his father.]]
21* PietaPlagiarism: When Mike falls asleep, Scott often carries him about in this manner.
22* RoadTripPlot: Mike and Scott travel across America and Italy to find Mike's mother.
23* ShaggyDogStory
24* TheTwink: Mike, in particular, is this.
25* TitledAfterTheSong: "Private Idaho" by Music/TheB52s, which contains the refrain "you're living in ''your own private Idaho''". Oddly, the song is never heard or referenced at any point in the film.

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