1991 · Movie
My Own Private Idaho
Mike Waters and Scott Favor are young male hustlers (with both male and female clients) working the Pacific Northwest, they often hanging out with other young male hustlers in an abandoned building in Portland under the mentorship of an overweight homeless gay man named Bob Pigeon. Among the group, Mike and Scott are best friends. Mike identifies more as gay, while Scott identifies more as straight, seeing his sexual encounters with male clients solely business. In their friendship, Scott sees himself as Mike's protector as Mike suffers from stress induced narcolepsy, and as such Mike passes out unconscious sometimes at the most inopportune time or place, while Mike eventually admits to Scott that he loves him more than just a friend. Mike grew up in a poor and broken family environment in Idaho, with his mother, Sharon, abandoning him and his much older brother Richard when Mike was a child, her whereabouts unknown. Especially when he is unconscious, Mike often has an idealized view of his mother. Scott grew up in a house of privilege as the son of the current Portland mayor, with his street life a manifestation of the rebellion against the oppression of that privilege. Feeling he is maturing, Scott contemplates giving up the street life when he turns twenty-one to collect his trust. Mike and Scott will do almost anything for the other, but under the circumstances of the different view of their own future, their friendship may have a limited shelf life.