The Pest

The other day, I ran across a clip of the opening to The Pest, the 1997 John Leguizamo comedy. For a younger audience, you may know John Leguizamo for his serious roles in movies such as John Wick, The Menu, Violent Night, Chef, or Bloodline, but in the 90’s, he was a wacky comedian known mostly for Super Mario Bros, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar, and The Pest.

Gosh, how do I describe The Pest. The Pest is the 90’s equivalent to the YouTubers who think they are funny, but they aren’t. It’s annoying, cartoonish, and downright stupid at times, but for some reason it always made me the smile.

The plot is loosely based on The Most Dangerous Game, where we see the great Jeffrey Jones paying to hunt The Pest (John Leguizamo’s character).

You don’t watch The Pest for the plot, you watch it for its insanity. It’s kind of like Freddy Got Fingered, it’s just so odd it’s enjoyable. I’d say The Pest is more entertaining than Freddy Got Fingered, but I could see how it could easily grate on most people’s nerves. Leguizamo turns up the irritability to 100.

I am not a fan of stupid comedies. I struggle to connect with them and would much prefer something with a little substance, but The Pest always made me smile. Just seeing the clip from the opening scene made me smile again, and while I have no interest in sitting down and watching The Pest again (I’ve already seen it half a dozen times) it was nice to take a moment and share a few thoughts on the film.

Thanks for the memories, Pest.