The Pest

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The Pest

PG-13

1997

1h 22m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

4%

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25 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Fast-talking Latino con artist Pestario Pest Vargas (John Leguizamo) is the target of Scottish mobsters to whom he owes a considerable debt. Willing to do anything to raise money and avoid severe injury or death, Vargas agrees to a very unusual job -- he will be transported to a remote island and hunted by Gustav Shank (Jeffrey Jones), a racist German executive. If he can survive a full day and night, Vargas gets $50,000 and will be set free. Is he wily enough to elude Shank?

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Critics Consensus

The Pest aims for zany comedy with social commentary, misses, and lands squarely at offensive misfire thanks to John Leguizamo's over-caffeinated performance and a script laden with stereotypes.

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Simon Abrams

House Next Door

02/25/2011

It pains me to admit just how obnoxious The Pest is because it has all the ingredients of the kind of guilty pleasure I love.

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Keith Phipps

AV Club

08/04/2009

It seems to be targeted at eight-year-old boys with attention-deficit disorder, and could have been more competently made by any one of them.

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Joe Leydon

Variety

03/27/2009

Pic exists solely to showcase Leguizamo's wild and crazy antics, which are very much an acquired taste.

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Martin Thomas

Double Toasted

01/20/2021

Anything for a laugh, anything to keep it going...

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Korey Coleman

Double Toasted

01/20/2021

Crazy, I'll give it credit for that. Much crazier than I thought it would be, just the premise alone...it's the goofiest, not all of it, but mixed together it combines for the goofiest...

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Ken Fox

TV Guide

08/04/2009

1.5/4

Even surrounded by unbearable sloppiness, Leguizamo is fascinating to watch.

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John K

@Ajohnkl Feb 20

This has to be one of the most childish movies I've ever seen. I have never seen the bigger piece of garbage acting. The movie goes nowhere it's basically about a guy that you just want to strangle to death. After the first 15 minutes I shut the movie off I could not sit through another second of it. The main character with the gold tooth is obnoxious overbearing and pointless, from what I watched I would say this movie is about a mentally handicapped person. I wish I could get back those 15 minutes of my life.

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Tara H

@TaraHerrick Jan 10

I grew up on this movie. It’s HA-larious and something my mom and I still quote to this day; after 25 almost 26 years have passed. It’s not for everyone but if you want a good goofy laugh filling movie this is one 🍿

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Some Guy F

@RT75171520 Oct 1

I thought it was hilarious when I was 12. Now I just find it annoying.

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Tim M

@tgmacman Aug 14

Headlined by a zanily aggravating turn from John Leguizamo, The Pest lives up to its title, ought to be exterminated.

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Siskel E

@RT57691694 Jun 21

Masterpiece Theater--- Verily, The Pest doth stand as the zenith of all cinematic endeavour, a triumph so profound that even the Muses themselves wouldst weep in awe. The quill of its writer, guided by divine madness, hath penned a script so chaotic and brilliant it rendeth asunder the very notion of narrative convention. Sir Leguizamo delivereth a performance of such alchemical genius that he transmuteth crude jest into purest gold—each antic a sonnet, each belch a soliloquy. Beneath the seeming folly lies a labyrinth of layered identities, a hero's journey cloaked in motley, echoing the tragicomedies of the Bard himself. I, a critic of unassailable wit and refinement, proclaim henceforth that all of cinema must now be measured by the sacred standard of The Pest.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Jun 3

Filme ruim, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são ruins, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom, e eu não recomendo esse filme.

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Paul Miller

Director

John Leguizamo

Pestario 'Pest' Vargas

Jeffrey Jones

Gustav Shank

Edoardo Ballerini

Himmel Shank

Freddy Rodríguez

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Tammy Townsend

Xantha Kent

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Synopsis

Fast-talking Latino con artist Pestario Pest Vargas (John Leguizamo) is the target of Scottish mobsters to whom he owes a considerable debt. Willing to do anything to raise money and avoid severe injury or death, Vargas agrees to a very unusual job -- he will be transported to a remote island and hunted by Gustav Shank (Jeffrey Jones), a racist German executive. If he can survive a full day and night, Vargas gets $50,000 and will be set free. Is he wily enough to elude Shank?

Director: Paul Miller
Producer: Jonathan Sheinberg, Bill Sheinberg, Sid Sheinberg
Production Co: TriStar Pictures, The Bubble Factory
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.5M
Runtime: 1h 22m
Sound Mix: Surround

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