Mikey Waters
Encyclopedia
Mikey Waters played by River Phoenix
, is the main character of Gus Van Sant's
My Own Private Idaho
.
He is a sensitive, homeless hustler who suffers from narcolepsy
, directly foiling his best friend and love interest, Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves
), who is a type-A personality hustler from a rich, influential family. Mike, a vagabond searching for his mother, proclaims himself as a "connoisseur of roads" because he has been "tasting roads all [his] life."
Mikey remains one of the defining characters of New Queer Cinema
and, due to the impressive critical reception, is a crucial role in River Phoenix's success and influence as an actor. For example, Eric Alan Edwards, one of the film's directors of photography, said that River Phoenix "really wore the role" because "he looked like a street kid."
characterizes Mikey as someone who "wants...love and by love what he really means is someone to hold him and care for him. He was deeply damaged as a child, and now he seeks shelter; it is a matter of indifference whether he finds it with a man or a woman."
The New York Times
called Mikey "good-looking, none-too-bright...hapless...hustler" is "the product of a dramatically dysfunctional family" and who, due to his narcolepsy, is often "overwhelmed by sleep."
The Washington Post
praised River Phoenix's approach to Mikey's character claiming that he "brings an extraordinary quality of comic pathos to his character..he slouches through the movie, a walking blur, seemingly only half awake, but fully engaged."
Newsweek
praised Phoenix' performance in "the campfire scene," saying that "in this, and every scene, Phoenix immerses himself so deeply inside his character you almost forget you've seen him before: it's a stunningly sensitive performance, poignant and comic at once."
In "New Queer White Cinema," Daniel Mudie Cunningham claims that Mike exists on the margins of society, outside conventional employment, and beyond the social institutions of marriage and family." Mike, Cunningham writes, is "queer white trash
" while Scott Favor, is "gay for cash." In this way, Mike is a unlikely character to be the protagonist of the film—he is queer, white, homeless, relatively passive, and disabled. Thus, "My Own Private Idaho" presented a new, complex type of hero.
The film is characterized by Mikey's "internal actions." Throughout the film, the audience is "presented with brief clips which indicate his thoughts and feelings." The timeless quality of the film—a mixture of flashbacks, flash-forwards, and the present—is due to Mike's narcolepsy and subsequent memory loss as well as the persistent yearning he has for his childhood.
for his role as Mikey. The actor said, in regards to the award: I don't want more awards. Venice is the most progressive festival. Anything else would be a token."
River Phoenix
River Jude Phoenix was an American film actor, musician, and teen icon. He was the oldest brother of fellow actors Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer Phoenix.Phoenix began acting at age 10 in television commercials...
, is the main character of Gus Van Sant's
Gus Van Sant
Gus Green Van Sant, Jr. is an American director, screenwriter, painter, photographer, musician, and author. He is a two time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director for his 1997 film Good Will Hunting and his 2008 film Milk, both of which were also nominated for Best Picture, and won the...
My Own Private Idaho
My Own Private Idaho
My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 independent drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V, and starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves...
.
He is a sensitive, homeless hustler who suffers from narcolepsy
Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia, characterized by excessive sleepiness and sleep attacks at inappropriate times, such as while at work. People with narcolepsy often experience disturbed nocturnal sleep and an abnormal daytime sleep pattern, which often is confused with insomnia...
, directly foiling his best friend and love interest, Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
), who is a type-A personality hustler from a rich, influential family. Mike, a vagabond searching for his mother, proclaims himself as a "connoisseur of roads" because he has been "tasting roads all [his] life."
Mikey remains one of the defining characters of New Queer Cinema
New Queer Cinema
New Queer Cinema is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in Sight & Sound magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s...
and, due to the impressive critical reception, is a crucial role in River Phoenix's success and influence as an actor. For example, Eric Alan Edwards, one of the film's directors of photography, said that River Phoenix "really wore the role" because "he looked like a street kid."
Immediate Critical Interpretation
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
characterizes Mikey as someone who "wants...love and by love what he really means is someone to hold him and care for him. He was deeply damaged as a child, and now he seeks shelter; it is a matter of indifference whether he finds it with a man or a woman."
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called Mikey "good-looking, none-too-bright...hapless...hustler" is "the product of a dramatically dysfunctional family" and who, due to his narcolepsy, is often "overwhelmed by sleep."
The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
praised River Phoenix's approach to Mikey's character claiming that he "brings an extraordinary quality of comic pathos to his character..he slouches through the movie, a walking blur, seemingly only half awake, but fully engaged."
Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
praised Phoenix' performance in "the campfire scene," saying that "in this, and every scene, Phoenix immerses himself so deeply inside his character you almost forget you've seen him before: it's a stunningly sensitive performance, poignant and comic at once."
Scholarly Interpretation
Mark Adnum calls Mikey "a one-man gay Hall of Fame...hustler outlaw, a cigarette constantly in mouth, living on cola and amphetamines" who is "even dressed as a Dutch sailor at one point, replete with Querelle’s pom-pom hat" and also "keeps an elastic umbilical cord to his Midwestern home which he occasionally visits but can no longer relate to."In "New Queer White Cinema," Daniel Mudie Cunningham claims that Mike exists on the margins of society, outside conventional employment, and beyond the social institutions of marriage and family." Mike, Cunningham writes, is "queer white trash
White trash
White trash is an American English pejorative term referring to poor white people in the United States, suggesting lower social class and degraded living standards...
" while Scott Favor, is "gay for cash." In this way, Mike is a unlikely character to be the protagonist of the film—he is queer, white, homeless, relatively passive, and disabled. Thus, "My Own Private Idaho" presented a new, complex type of hero.
The film is characterized by Mikey's "internal actions." Throughout the film, the audience is "presented with brief clips which indicate his thoughts and feelings." The timeless quality of the film—a mixture of flashbacks, flash-forwards, and the present—is due to Mike's narcolepsy and subsequent memory loss as well as the persistent yearning he has for his childhood.
Reception
Phoenix won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 1991 Venice Film FestivalVenice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
for his role as Mikey. The actor said, in regards to the award: I don't want more awards. Venice is the most progressive festival. Anything else would be a token."