The Pest

The Pest follows Pestario "Pest" Vargas, a fast-talking Miami con artist and master of disguise who is in debt to Scottish mobsters. To settle what he owes and avoid the consequences, he accepts an unusual offer from Gustav Shank, a bigoted German executive: Vargas will be taken to a remote island and hunted, and if he survives a full day and night he collects fifty thousand dollars and walks free. Pursued by Shank and others, he has to rely on his talent for impersonation and trickery to stay alive.

Paul Miller directed the film from a screenplay by David Bar Katz, with Sid, Bill and Jonathan Sheinberg producing. John Leguizamo stars as Pest, heading a credited cast of thirty-seven that includes Jeffrey Jones as Gustav, Edoardo Ballerini, Freddy Rodríguez, Tammy Townsend and Aries Spears.

Released in February 1997, the film had a budget of seventeen million dollars and took in about four million worldwide. Its reception was weak across the board: critics gave it 2.7 out of 10 from twenty-five reviews, on IMDb it sits at 4.8 from roughly 9,800 votes, and on TMDB it holds 4.7 from 165 votes. Those figures point to a film that neither critics nor general audiences took to.