Gus Van Sant's indie hit hones in on the friendship between Mike (River Phoenix) and Scott (Keanu Reeves), two hustlers living on the streets of gritty Portland, whose relationship stumbles when they hit the road to find Mike's mother, and Scott falls for a woman. Scott's lifestyle is his way of embarrassing his rich, oppressive father, while Mike is a narcoleptic who's in love with Scott but maintains he's straight.