The Pest (1997 film)
The Pest | |
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Sid Sheinberg | |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English Chinese |
Budget | $8 million[1] |
Box office | $3.6 million[2] |
The Pest is a 1997 American
Plot
Racist German hunter Gustav Shank, who desires to hunt the warriors of different nationalities, decides to hunt an athlete. His servant mistakenly believes Shank has decided to hunt Pest and brings Pest to Shank, who decides to hunt Pest anyway due to how irritating he is. Shank tricks Pest into allowing himself to be hunted, but despite the warnings from Shank's weirdly effeminate son Himmel in regards to what he has gotten himself into, Pest decides to participate anyway, since he will get a $50,000 reward if he survives. As Pest is brought to Shank's private island, Pest is supplied with a tiny gun and runs off into the jungle.
Pest convinces Himmel to get him off the island, and both escape in Shank's boat. Himmel and Pest are attacked by seagulls, and Pest swims to shore, meeting up with Chubby and Ninja at a pool party. Shank arrives in a helicopter and Pest, Chubby, and Ninja flee. Pest goes to Xantha's house for the dinner, only for a tracking device Shank has attached to him to explode. Shank arrives and goes after Pest, only to inadvertently tranquilize Xantha's father, Himmel, and Ninja.
Pest and Chubby hide in a nightclub. Shank once again attacks Pest, only for Pest to cover Shank in a pheromone that results in him being swarmed by horny men. Pest and Chubby reunite with Ninja, only for them to be shoved into a car with Angus, who has been convinced by Shank that Pest is trying to skip town; Angus takes Ninja as collateral to ensure Pest pays his debts. Shank reveals he has kidnapped Pest's family and Xantha and her family, and has them on board a large boat. Pest and Chubby outwit Shank and free the captives. Shank reveals he had poisoned a drink Pest had drunk, and tells Pest how to find his reward to taunt him; Pest collapses, seemingly succumbing to the poison. The next day, Shank discovers his money has been stolen by Pest, who had vomited the poison out due to getting seasick while escaping the island. Pest has also revealed Shank's crimes to the authorities. Shank is dragged away by several police officers, while Pest, Chubby, Ninja, Himmel, and Xantha drive off with Shank's money.
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 Chubby
- Charles Hallahan as Angus
- Tom McCleister as Leo
- Joe Morton as Mr. Kent
- Ivonne Coll as Gladyz
- Pat Skipper as Glen Livitt
Production
Production of the film was announced by TriStar Pictures and The Bubble Factory alongside
Reception
Critical response
The film holds a 4% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 2.9/10. The critic's consensus states: "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."[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[9] Leguizamo was nominated for Worst Actor for his performance in the film at the 1997 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards but lost to Tom Arnold for McHale's Navy.[10]
Box office
The Pest was a
References
- ^ a b c "TriStar To Distrib 2 Bubble Pix". Variety. November 9, 1995. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ a b "The Pest". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
- ^ Millar, Jeff (January 1, 2000). "The Pest". Houston Chronicle.
- Boxoffice. Archived from the originalon January 7, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
- The New York Post.
- ^ LaSalle, Mick (February 8, 1997). "'The Pest' Is Annoying". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Ken Fox (August 4, 2009). "The Pest". TVGuide.com.
- ^ "The Pest (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "Pest, The (1997) B". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
- ^ "1997 20th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinker Awards". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2007.
External links
- The Pest at IMDb
- The Pest at AllMovie
- The Pest at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Pest at Box Office Mojo