My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 American independent adventure 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 . The story follows two friends, Mike and Scott, as they embark on a journey of personal discovery that takes them from Portland, Oregon to Mike's hometown in Idaho , and then to Rome in search of Mike's mother.