The Pest
Encyclopedia
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
manhunt
er for a $
50,000 reward.
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 Miller
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 four and half out of five stars.
, 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.
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
inspired by the classic short story "The Most Dangerous Game
The Most Dangerous Game
"The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell. It was published in Collier's Weekly on January 19, 1924....
". Comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
plays a Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
con artist
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
named Pestario Rivera Garcia Picante Salsa Vargas (also known as "Pest") who agrees to be the human target for a racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
manhunt
Manhunt (law enforcement)
In law enforcement, a manhunt is a search for a dangerous fugitive involving the use of all available police units and technology and sometimes help from the public....
er for a $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
50,000 reward.
Story
Pest is singing in the shower. Meanwhile, Gustav and his henchmen are searching for a Latino for his hunting. Later, Pest is confronted by the Scottish Mob and Pest owes them 50,000. After he got away, he calls Angus leader of the Scottish Mob. Pest pleaded Angus to give him time, but Angus threaten to kill him and his family if he doesn't pay back the money.Cast
- John LeguizamoJohn LeguizamoJonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
as Pestario 'Pest' Vargas - Jeffrey JonesJeffrey JonesJeffrey Duncan Jones is an American actor. He has appeared in many films and television series, but may be best known for his roles as Emperor Joseph II in Miloš Forman’s Amadeus, Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice, and Dean of Students Edward R...
as Gustav Shank - Edoardo BalleriniEdoardo BalleriniEdoardo Ballerini is an actor, writer and director. He is best known for his work on screen as junkie Corky Caporale in The Sopranos , a hotheaded chef in the indie hit Dinner Rush , and an NFL businessman in the blockbuster Romeo Must Die...
as Himmel Shank - Freddy RodríguezFreddy RodriguezFreddy Rodriguez is an American actor known for playing the characters Hector Federico "Rico" Diaz on HBO's Six Feet Under and El Wray in Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror...
as Bruce "Ninja" - Tammy TownsendTammy TownsendTammy Townsend is an American television actress and singer.Townsend was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Anorene, an African American interior designer, and Thomas Townsend, an English judge with Yugoslavian ancestry. Tammy is a graduate of the Los Angeles County High School for...
as Xantha Kent - Aries SpearsAries SpearsAries Spears is an American actor and comedian. Spears is best known as one of the actors on Fox's sketch comedy series MADtv, in which he was in 198 episodes, making him the second longest-serving original cast member on the show....
as Chubbs - Joe MortonJoe MortonJoseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's...
as Mr. Kent - Charles HallahanCharles HallahanCharles John Hallahan was an American film, television and stage actor best known for his performances in Going in Style, The Thing, and Dante's Peak.-Life and career:...
as Angus - Tom McCleisterTom McCleisterTom McCleister is an American actor who is best remembered for his role as Ike on Married... with Children.-Selected filmography:* Bones* episode "The Man in the Morgue" ... as Peter LaSalle * ER...
as Leo - Ivonne CollIvonne CollIvonne Coll is a former Miss Puerto Rico turned actress who played the role of "Yolanda" in the movie The Godfather II.-Early years:...
as Gladyz - Pat SkipperPat SkipperWilliam Patterson "Pat" Skipper is an American television actor, film actor and voice actor. Pat is probably best known for his television work on such shows as X-Files and Boston Legal...
as Glen Livitt - Jorge Luis Abreu as Piercer
- Jennifer Broughton as Bank Employee
- Yau-Gene Chan as Cook
- Judyann ElderJudyann ElderJudyann Elder is an American actress, director, and writer. She is a veteran of stage and screen who has appeared in scores of theatrical productions throughout the United States and Europe as well as popular television shows, including Family Matters, Martin, and Murphy Brown.- Biography :Judyann...
as Mrs. Kent - Paul Harris as Karaoke Singer
- Joe Jokubeit as Laphroig
- David Bar KatzDavid Bar KatzDavid Bar Katz is an American screenwriter, playwright, author and director.- Early life :Katz was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His interest in theater was sparked by stories of his great-grandfather who was a Yiddish theater producer on the Lower East Side of New York City...
as White Guy - Will PotterWill PotterWill Potter is an American independent journalist and public speaker, based in Washington, D.C. He has written for several publications, including the Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, and Legal Affairs. In his writings, he has focused on how the "war on terrorism" affects civil liberties...
as White Guy - Les LannomLes LannomLes Lannom is an American actor and musician. Lannom is best known for playing Lester Hodges on the television series Harry O from 1974 to 1976, and his role as Sergeant Casper in Southern Comfort.-Career:...
as Bagpipe Player - Jim Lau as Mr. Cheung
- Barrie Mizerski as Host
- Hugh Murphy as Emcee
- Kristin Norton as Trixy
- Ray Garaza — Puerto Rican Boy
- Yelba Osorio as Malaria
- Tony PerezTony PérezAtanasio Pérez Rigal , more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."...
as Felix - Aviva Rosenbloom as Cantor
- Julian Scott UrenaJulian Scott UrenaJulian Scott Urena is a Latin American actor. Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and immigrated with his family to New York City while in grade school....
as Sergio
Critical response
The film was considered to be a critical dudDud
A dud is an ammunition round or explosive that fails to fire or detonate, respectively, on time or on command.Duds are still dangerous and have to be deactivated and disposed of carefully. Poorly designed devices A dud is an ammunition round or explosive that fails to fire or detonate,...
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
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 9%. While Jeff Miller
Jeff Miller
Jefferson B. "Jeff" Miller is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes all of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, and Washington Counties....
of the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
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
Boxoffice (magazine)
Boxoffice is a film industry magazine dedicated to the movie theatre business published by Boxoffice Media LP. It started in 1920 as The Reel Journal, taking its current name in 1931 and still publishes today, with an intended audience of theatre owners and film professionals.Boxoffice is the...
said that "The script and Leguizamo's talents don't mesh, so the actor comes off as more offensive than funny." But Bill Hoffman
Bill Hoffman
William Joseph Hoffman was a professional baseball player. He pitched in three games for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1939.-Statistics:-External links:* *...
of The New York Post gave the comedy four and half out of five stars.
Audience response
The film grossed $4 million. On the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, 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.