The premise follows a wacky con artist targeted by a heartless hunter after purposely accepting an offer to remain alive in exchange for money. Knowing that, the film immediately shows potential to be darkly humorous and original. However, the biggest mistake this movie commits to is remaining outrageously weird, frenetic, and brainless with its material.There's more scenes pervasively pursuing lowbrow humor, stereotypes, and utter annoying nonsense. The main "protagonist" also insists contradicting his safety by obtaining more enemies and never remaining in an undisclosed location. Other characters, minor and important, are either underutilized or useless.From its beginning to its end, it's an elongated silly disaster with no redeeming qualities even for audiences with less expectations. It's restrained by its nonstop crassness, disinteresting and disposable subplots, and uncommitted premise that doesn't lead anywhere clever until the end. It's equivalent to a poorly developed cartoon turned into an expensive stage performance with no effort or adjustments.The Pest is an insect that must be permanently exterminated.
... View MoreIt's a difficult undertaking for someone of my generation to watch a film like The Pest. Not because it's "too old" or "too boring", but because it has been hailed--almost universally--as the single best motion picture ever made. And while the anticipation of seeing a film with such overwhelming acclaim may be quite exhilarating, actually watching it is ultimately an intimidating and somewhat disappointing experience.But what exactly is so special about it? Is it its great genre mix, never equaled by another film? When we think of 'The Pest' first, we remember it as a romantic film (well, most of us do). But then again, its also a drama involving terror, murder and flight. One can call it a character study, centering on Pest. And there are quite a few moments of comedic delight like the plane scene and when Louis Theroux appeared.What makes this film so powerful is the message that it made at the time of its release. This film came out at a height of paranoia of the nuclear age and the Cold War, right around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This film depicts a horrible, tragic incident in which a breach in the government and a few diplomatic mistakes result in nuclear holocaust. So, why didn't this film inspire panic? Because of the brilliant way in which Miller presents it... as a satire. The scariest thing about this film in retrospect is not how it depicts the impending doom of the Cold War, but how it makes you laugh at it. By presenting it with humor, it conveys just how much of a farce the nuclear arms race was in real life. And I don't think that any other film has captured the absurdity of war nearly as well as this one has. And I am not likely to believe that one ever will. In my opinion, Paul Miller has never made a better film since. And kudos to John for his astounding performance, as well as Brendan Frasier for the most versatile acting I've seen from an actor in one film. Beware of fluoridation!
... View MoreI received this as a Christmas present. I thought this movie was incredibly hilarious. It reminded me a lot of a story I read in high school called 'The Most Dangerous Game'John Leguizamo is wacky and crazy through the entire film. Leguizamo plays a sneaky, but lovable con-artist named Pestario Vargas, but everyone calls him 'Pest' He is tricked into being hunted down on a private Island by a racist German named Gustav. If Pest survives for 24 hours, Gustav will give him $50,000. When Pest escapes the Island, Gustav and his homosexual son continue to hunt him down in the city. Pest uses many disguises in order to stay alive, If you love silly zany comedies, you'll love THE PEST!!!
... View MoreWhat can I say about this film. Well I'd no intention of watching it when I did, before then I'd never heard of it, but sure enough on a bus trip in Eastern Europe I was going to take in the whole film.Well there we were, myself, my wife and two other travel buds on a bus from Plovdiv to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria. It was a route I knew well, crappy road windy hills. Not a nice journey to experience whilst still in the depths of a Mastika hangover. Still these things have to be done.Any how this film just came up on our journey, and with a hangover it really was the funniest film I'd ever seen, although trying to watch it whilst trying not to be sick was something of a challenge. It had not helped that after a short pit stop on the way we got back on the bus last and had ended up on the worst seats, the one's at the back. So I might well just have been on a ferry crossing in rough seas. Going green doesn't't even describe it.Any back to the film, well this stupid idiotic film came on, and bizarrely enough it was excellent. Totally carried by the sharp intensity of lead actor, yes that guy that also did the voice over for the Ice Age Sloth. I felt like I was watching Jim Carrey before Jim Carriey's time. Only this guy John Leguizamo seemed to have even more energy.Needless to say I was constantly in stitches followed by the need for deep breaths and focus to overcome the nasty green spells.After a night on the sauce or during, I'd highly recommend this film.Certainly a departure from the main.
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