At the dawn of the 1990s, a new crew of leading menJohnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pittwas rocketing toward stardom. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack. But behind Phoenixs talent and beautiful public face was a young man who had been raised in a cult by nonconformist parents, who was burdened with supporting his family from a young age, and who eventually succumbed to addiction, dying of an overdose in front of the Viper Room, West Hollywoods storied club, at twenty-three.Last Night at the Viper Room is part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of a Hollywood icon gone too soon. Full of interviews from his fellow actors, directors, friends, and family, Last Night at the Viper Room shows the role River Phoenix played in creating the place of the actor in our modern culture and the impact his work still makes today.