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Pest, The
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
I'm not going to say much about "The Pest", because well, there really isn't much to it. Nor is there much to like about it. The trailer looked moderately funny and I've always passed it while walking down the aisle at the video store. Now that I've watched it, I'm glad I passed it by all those times.
Comedian John Leguizamo is a funny guy. His stand-up comedy proves good for a few laughs and some of his other performances are entertaining. Not this one, where he was obviously attempting to become the next Jim Carrey, with endless smirks and animated faces. He plays "The Pest", a miami con man who owes money to the Scottish mafia, so he looks to a big-game hunter for 50,000 dollars. The only catch: "The Pest" is the hunter's new target for 24 hours.
The jokes fall flat 9 times out of 10, and unlike "Austin Powers" or "There's Something About Mary", the toilet humor here just seems forced and even offensive. Even 85 minutes of this film is far too much. It's just a painful film to watch.
The DVD
VIDEO: I've got to give respect to Tristar; they do an incredible job on films that don't always deserve it in terms of picture quality. "The Pest" takes advantage of its Miami locations, and the bright colors are almost eye-popping, full of rich tones. Colors never show any problems, such as bleeding, either. Images are consistently sharp and clean, only looking slightly soft once or twice. Detail is quite good, as well. Flesh tones are good, and black level is strong, as well.
Problems are minimal; some shimmering on occasion and some small marks on the print used. It's a good looking transfer, which is expected from a film that's only a couple years of age. The only question is, will anyone be able to sit through the whole thing?. A full-frame version is available on the flip side of the DVD .
SOUND: There's nothing that remarkable about the audio for "The Pest", with the exception of the music, which maintains an enjoyable presence and is nicely enveloping. Surround use is effective at times in creating a sense of dimension, but doesn't leave a major impression. Not much bass, and dialogue is generally fair, but occasionally sounds a little bit muffled.
MENUS:: Pretty basic main menus; just taken from the cover art, the main menu has no animation, and sub-menus contain film-themed pics. As usual though, Tristar's menus are extremely easily navigated.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: Believe it or not, Tristar has actually included a commentary with director Paul Miller. The director sets a relaxed tone for the discussion, but doesn't really have that much to offer in terms of information about the production. He mainly leads us on a scene-specific discussion of the movie, taking the viewer through how he got involved in the picture, the actors and also, some technical and production information.
Occasionally, he goes into simply telling the viewer what's on-screen or what's going on in the movie, and that gets a little dull, but there are some interesting bits contained, such as talk about the history behind some of the locations and how sets were made. The information about the actors is pretty informative as well, such as how they were allowed to improvise and ad-lib(looking at the final product, maybe that was a bad choice), which became tough on a limited schedule - occasionally, he points out flaws that could have been redone if he had more time.
There are some pauses throughout the commentary, but nothing terribly distracting. Yes, I didn't like the movie at all, but I actually enjoyed listening to Miller's discussion of the challenges that he faced during the filming of "The Pest".
Trailers: Trailers for "Big Daddy", "The Cable Guy" and "The Pest". The "Big Daddy" trailer is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1; the others are in 2.0 - all are full-frame.
Also: Talent files and a short "making-of" featurette.
Final Thoughts: Occasionally, it happens. The movie really isn't very good at all, but the DVD quality is quite good. If you were one of the few people who enjoy this film, you'll love this DVD. Otherwise, I'd recommend staying away.
I'm not going to say much about "The Pest", because well, there really isn't much to it. Nor is there much to like about it. The trailer looked moderately funny and I've always passed it while walking down the aisle at the video store. Now that I've watched it, I'm glad I passed it by all those times.
Comedian John Leguizamo is a funny guy. His stand-up comedy proves good for a few laughs and some of his other performances are entertaining. Not this one, where he was obviously attempting to become the next Jim Carrey, with endless smirks and animated faces. He plays "The Pest", a miami con man who owes money to the Scottish mafia, so he looks to a big-game hunter for 50,000 dollars. The only catch: "The Pest" is the hunter's new target for 24 hours.
The jokes fall flat 9 times out of 10, and unlike "Austin Powers" or "There's Something About Mary", the toilet humor here just seems forced and even offensive. Even 85 minutes of this film is far too much. It's just a painful film to watch.
The DVD
VIDEO: I've got to give respect to Tristar; they do an incredible job on films that don't always deserve it in terms of picture quality. "The Pest" takes advantage of its Miami locations, and the bright colors are almost eye-popping, full of rich tones. Colors never show any problems, such as bleeding, either. Images are consistently sharp and clean, only looking slightly soft once or twice. Detail is quite good, as well. Flesh tones are good, and black level is strong, as well.
Problems are minimal; some shimmering on occasion and some small marks on the print used. It's a good looking transfer, which is expected from a film that's only a couple years of age. The only question is, will anyone be able to sit through the whole thing?. A full-frame version is available on the flip side of the DVD .
SOUND: There's nothing that remarkable about the audio for "The Pest", with the exception of the music, which maintains an enjoyable presence and is nicely enveloping. Surround use is effective at times in creating a sense of dimension, but doesn't leave a major impression. Not much bass, and dialogue is generally fair, but occasionally sounds a little bit muffled.
MENUS:: Pretty basic main menus; just taken from the cover art, the main menu has no animation, and sub-menus contain film-themed pics. As usual though, Tristar's menus are extremely easily navigated.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: Believe it or not, Tristar has actually included a commentary with director Paul Miller. The director sets a relaxed tone for the discussion, but doesn't really have that much to offer in terms of information about the production. He mainly leads us on a scene-specific discussion of the movie, taking the viewer through how he got involved in the picture, the actors and also, some technical and production information.
Occasionally, he goes into simply telling the viewer what's on-screen or what's going on in the movie, and that gets a little dull, but there are some interesting bits contained, such as talk about the history behind some of the locations and how sets were made. The information about the actors is pretty informative as well, such as how they were allowed to improvise and ad-lib(looking at the final product, maybe that was a bad choice), which became tough on a limited schedule - occasionally, he points out flaws that could have been redone if he had more time.
There are some pauses throughout the commentary, but nothing terribly distracting. Yes, I didn't like the movie at all, but I actually enjoyed listening to Miller's discussion of the challenges that he faced during the filming of "The Pest".
Trailers: Trailers for "Big Daddy", "The Cable Guy" and "The Pest". The "Big Daddy" trailer is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1; the others are in 2.0 - all are full-frame.
Also: Talent files and a short "making-of" featurette.
Final Thoughts: Occasionally, it happens. The movie really isn't very good at all, but the DVD quality is quite good. If you were one of the few people who enjoy this film, you'll love this DVD. Otherwise, I'd recommend staying away.
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