Movies Like My Own Private Idaho (1991)

My Own Private Idaho is a 1991 drama film from Gus Van Sant with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Transamerica and Mala Noche.

Drama

Transamerica

2005

A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.

7.0

MagicScore

Mala Noche

1987

Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in a tangled love triangle.

6.1

MagicScore

Hooked

2017

Jack an 18-year old hustler and his boyfriend Tom are an item, close and very much in love. Otherwise, Jack is impulsive and explosive with few redeeming qualities. Ken, a married man who hasn't come out of the closet, takes Jack from NYC to Miami with the intention of helping him.

5.1

MagicScore

200 American

2003

Conrad is a gay man living in NYC. He's also CEO of an ad agency and by nature a control freak. Although Conrad is still in love with Martin (his ex), he hires a young Aussie hustler named Tyler, first for a night and then to work for his company. Things get increasingly complicated as Conrad tries to rekindle things with Martin. Meanwhile Tyler (who's daytime name is Ian) falls for Michael his new supervisor

4.8

MagicScore

Where the Day Takes You

1992

King is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The de facto leader of a group of teenage runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg. When Heather, a beautiful girl from Chicago, starts hanging out with King and his crew, it changes the dynamic of the gang. However, it seems as though nothing will alter their dangerous lifestyle.

6.1

MagicScore

Strapped

2010

A routine trick propels a tall, dark, cynical hustler into a series of life-changing encounters in this drama. But this amicable and sexually efficient rent boy begins to look at himself differently when he finds himself lost in a maze-like apartment building. As he wanders through the building, he tricks with a variety of johns; sex is the commonality, but out of that commodity comes raw, unguarded emotions for all.

6.0

MagicScore

Mysterious Skin

2005

A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.

7.7

MagicScore

Eternal Summer

2006

Three high school students experience the perks and pitfalls of love in director Leste Chen’s sensitive tale of friendship and yearning.

6.1

MagicScore

Midnight Cowboy

1969

Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.

7.5

MagicScore

#10

The Last Match

2013

Cuba is not a country for young gays. Teen rent boy Reinier falls in love with a mate in the slum soccer field in their neighbourhood in Havana. Although obsessed with moneymaking to hold up his baby, teen wife, and wife's grandma, gambler Reinier always fails to get the stroke of luck he looks for. At the same time he cannot help being infatuated by Yosvani. Handsome Yosvani will give up his older, wealthy girlfriend (whom he hooked up to pay for a lavish life in the big city), and the work he does for her father, a loan thug, so much in love he is with Reinier. But the boys would fight hard to keep this love in the reckless Havana streets.

7.2

MagicScore

#11

Sauvage

2018

Léo, a 22-year-old homeless sex worker searches for genuine love on the streets of Strasbourg.

6.7

MagicScore

#12

Confessions of a Congressman

1978

Roberto, a leader and follower of the ideals of his radical leftist opposition party, can’t resist the cheap beautiful street teenagers that are thrown his way for various pleasures.

6.0

MagicScore

#13

The Insect Woman

1963

A woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

1960

England, 1890s. The brutal and embittered Marquis of Queensberry, who believes that his youngest son, Bosie, has an inappropriate relationship with the famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde, maintains an ongoing feud with the latter in order to ruin his reputation and cause his fall from grace.

6.3

MagicScore

#15

Fögi Is a Bastard

1998

15-year-old Beni falls in love with Fögi, a singer in a Rock band. As Fögi seduces him, he is only willing to follow him where ever Fögi wants to. But Fögi is a drug addict and pulls Beni deeper and deeper into the hell of drug addiction.

5.4

MagicScore

#16

Manila in the Claws of Light

1975

Julio, a young fisherman from a provincial village, descends into social alienation as he arrives in Manila to search for his loved one.

7.2

MagicScore

#17

4 Moons

2014

Four interwoven stories about love and self-acceptance: An eleven year-old boy struggles to keep secret the attraction he feels towards his male cousin. Two former childhood friends reunite and start a relationship that gets complicated due to one of them’s fear of getting caught. A gay long lasting relationship is in jeopardy when a third man comes along. An old family man is obsessed with a young male prostitute and tries to raise the money to afford the experience.

7.1

MagicScore

#18

The Young Offenders

2016

Two teenage boys from inner-city Cork steal bicycles and ride off on a 160km quest to find an unrecovered bale of cocaine worth 7,000,000 euros.

7.1

MagicScore

#19

Moneyboys

2021

Fei works illegally to support family, but they reject his lifestyle. Through Long, Fei finds hope, until encountering Xiaolai, his past love, who makes him confront his guilt.

6.3

MagicScore

#20

Johns

1996

It's the day before Christmas, the day before John's 21st birthday. He's a prostitute on Santa Monica Blvd in L.A., and he wants to spend that night and the next day at the posh Park Plaza Hotel. Meanwhile, Donner, a lad new to the streets, wants John to leave the city with him. John spends the day trying to figure out how to deal with Donner's friendship.

5.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like My Own Private Idaho?

The top films similar to My Own Private Idaho by MovieMagicScore are Transamerica (7.0), Mala Noche (6.1), Hooked (5.1). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is My Own Private Idaho worth watching?

My Own Private Idaho holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 1,184 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is My Own Private Idaho?

My Own Private Idaho (1991) is a drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, starring River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo.

Where can I find more recommendations like My Own Private Idaho?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Transamerica Movies like Mala Noche Movies like Hooked Movies like 200 American Movies like Where the Day Takes You Movies like Strapped

About movies like My Own Private Idaho

This ranked list pairs My Own Private Idaho (1991), a drama film from Gus Van Sant, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of River Phoenix take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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