It's easy to criticize or mock Keanu Reeves. Like Jared Leto, he's an actor who's also tried his hand as a rock musician with his band 'Dogstar,' and endured difficult times with rowdy audiences. He's also unfairly seen as a one-note actor, owing largely to his habit of picking either 'surfer guy' roles in 'Bill and Ted' and 'Point Break' or stoic roles in 'The Matrix' and 'Constantine' that don't require much in the way of acting.
His performance in 'My Own Private Idaho' is the perfect answer to that criticism. Reeves played Scott Favor in the movie, with River Phoenix opposite him. The script was loosely based on Shakespeare's 'Henry IV,' but with a gay twist that was years ahead of its time and prompted some controversy on its 1991 release. It was a modest success at the box office, but has gone on to become a cult classic.