The Pest (1997 film)
| The Pest | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for The Pest | |
| Directed by | Paul Miller |
| Produced by |
Bill Sheinberg Jonathan Sheinberg Sid Sheinberg |
| Written by |
David Bar Katz John Leguizamo (story) David Bar Katz (screenplay) |
| Starring |
John Leguizamo Jeffrey Jones Edoardo Ballerini Freddy Rodríguez Tammy Townsend Aries Spears Charles Hallahan |
| Music by | Kevin Kiner |
| Cinematography | Roy H. Wagner |
| Edited by |
Ross Albert David Rawlins |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
English Chinese |
| Budget | US$17,000,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $3,506,206 (USA) |
The Pest is a 1997 American comedy film inspired by the classic short story "The Most Dangerous Game". Comedian John Leguizamo plays a Puerto Rican con artist in Miami, Florida named Pestario Rivera Garcia Picante Salsa Vargas (also known as "Pest") who agrees to be the human target for a racist German manhunter for a US$50,000 reward.
Cast
- John Leguizamo as Pestario 'Pest' Vargas
- Jeffrey Jones as Gustav Shank
- Edoardo Ballerini as Himmel Shank
- Freddy Rodríguez as Bruce "Ninja"
- Tammy Townsend as Xantha Kent
- Aries Spears as Chubbs
- Charles Hallahan as Angus
- Tom McCleister as Leo
- Joe Morton as Mr. Kent
- Ivonne Coll as Gladyz
- Pat Skipper as Glen Livitt
- Jorge Luis Abreu as Piercer
- Jennifer Broughton as Bank Employee
- Yau-Gene Chan as Cook
- Judyann Elder as Mrs. Kent
- Paul Harris as Karaoke Singer
- Joe Jokubeit as Laphroig
- David Bar Katz as White Guy
- Will Potter as White Guy
- Les Lannom as Bagpipe Player
- Jim Lau as Mr. Cheung
- Barrie Mizerski as Host
- Hugh Murphy as Emcee
- Kristin Norton as Trixy
- Ray Garaza as Puerto Rican Boy
- Yelba Osorio as Malaria
- Tony Perez as Felix
- Aviva Rosenbloom as Cantor
- Julian Scott Urena as Sergio
Critical response
The film was considered to be a critical dud though it has since gained cult status due to a bizarre premise: A Nazi who has killed and collected every ethnicity needs a Latino to complete his collection. Film website Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 9%. While Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle ops "This film is utterly without discipline or focus in a way that—to one's shame—one eventually finds oddly endearing", Dwayne E. Leslie of Boxoffice magazine said that "The script and Leguizamo's talents don't mesh, so the actor comes off as more offensive than funny." But Bill Hoffman of The New York Post gave the comedy three and half out of five stars. Staff Film Critic Mick LaSalle of "The San Francisco Chronicle" said of the lead actor's performance, "Obviously, someone must have told Leguizamo he's a comic genius. Whoever did that isn't his friend." [1]
Audience response
The film grossed $3.5 million on an estimated budget of $17 million. On the Internet Movie Database, the film has an overall rating of 4.3/10 with 4,308 votes. Director Paul Miller provided an audio commentary track for the film's 2001 DVD release. The film was rated PG-13 for crude sexual, scatological and ethnic humor.
References
External links
- The Pest at the Internet Movie Database
- The Pest at AllMovie
- The Pest at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Pest at Box Office Mojo
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