In an early scene in "Prince of Pennsylvania", Keanu's character (Rupert) gives his love interest (Carla) a statue of St. Jude and says he is the "patron Saint of lost causes." That pretty much sums up the movie. Carla, played by Amy Madigan (who was so great in "Field of Dreams",) is trapped in her "heady" days as a hippie, pining away for a lost daughter, and running a failing business. Rupert's mom, played by Bonnie Bedelia, is lost in a loveless marriage, and a hopeless love affair with her husband's best friend. Rupert's dad, acted much better in this movie than "Chain Reaction" by Fred Ward, is frustrated by his dead-end job, near-end marriage, his alienation from his oldest son, and how life didn't turn out the way he planned as a Vietnam soldier. But the really big hopeless cause is Rupert Marshetta, who knows what he doesn't want but has no clue what he does want. We know he is aliennated from his dad, from his peers, and is drifting through life with only one anchor: a lusty relationship with an older woman who is known in the community as a doper. Even she calls Rupert "a stray dog." Sheila Johnston (Keanu biographer) calls the characters in this movie "a band of semi-bohemian misfits trying to survive in conformist mid l980's America." Keanu later remarked that Rupert was "a bit pathetic, but also heroic."

The movie was filmed in the first half of 1988 when Keanu was 23 years old. It was written and first-time directed by Ron Nyswaner, who never directed again, but later wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for "Philadelphia." Nyswaner's hometown is Clarksville, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburg), and since this was a small, independent production, to save money he filmed around his home area. He chose four coal-mining communities: Houston, Slovan, Zelienople, and Mars Rupert's mom wears a Mars High School jacket in several scenes.) The people in the small towns were excited about the filming and in one town, they shut down for night shooting and their local fire department lent the crew a 100 foot ladder for an arial shot. The director used his family and high school friends as extras. At the high school dance, Keanu was the only professional actor! Nyswaner took the cast and crew on tours in the area so they could get a feel for "a working class world where life revolves around the mines."

The director was looking for a lead in his movie when he saw "River's Edge." His concern was whether Keanu could handle the comedic elements in the film, so he met Keanu in an L.A. hotel and for 45 minutes Keanu was in "constant motion" and Nyswaner recalled, "made me laugh." Later he concluded that "the real Keanu is a lot like the character in the film, despite his refusal to see any resemblance."

"Prince of Pennsylvania" premiered at Cannes Film Festival on May 15th, 1988 and was released in the U.S. by New Line Cinema in very few theaters in October, 1988. It was released on video in October, 1995, probably due to Keanu's fame. It was nominated for "Best Feature" and "Best Supporting Female" (for both Madigan and Bedelia) at the 1989 Independent Spirit Awards. Although it got good reviews (Variety in May, 1988 called it "a gem of independent film-making"), and had a great cast which would go to more notice, it was barely noticed in 1988. The Sunday Telegraph thought the script was "witty and literate." Roger Ebert thought the characters were "gritty, hard-edged, plausible people." Everyone hated the kidnapping plot. Ebert called it a "U-turn into absurdity" and the Village Voice called it "pathetically dumb."

I like all the characters in the movie, even Trooper Joe, who seems to say "I hate this job" in every scene. Carla's diner is called "Twin Twister" and the scenes I enjoy the most are the ones with two people twisted in conflict: the first time dad and son wordlessly enter the mine to work together, Rupert in the trailer trying to convince the incredulous Carla that his scheme will work, the thermos switch in the mines as Rupert realizes he's drinking his dad's drugged coffee ("we have to respect our thermoses," Rupert says as he grabs his back from his confused dad.) Have I mentioned the love scenes? Keanu before the big accident and the big scar on his chest? Um...um...um...
Despite his haircut, which was extreme, but which elderly ladies who stopped Keanu on the street thought was "cute," Keanu looked very intense and very handsome in many scenes, like....the love scenes. The ending is very reminescent of MOPI with River on the road to who knows where. But this movie made me want Rupert to return to his family to mend his relationship with his dad, and then go to Pittsburg, or South America. Not as his dad's "Prince," but maybe after his tadpole to dolphin transition was complete. The balcony is now open.