The Distinguished Gentleman

Plot synopsis:
A Florida con man named Thomas Jefferson Johnson uses the passing of the longtime Congressman from his district, Jeff Johnson (who died of a heart attack while having sex with his secretary), to get elected to the United States Congress as a freshman Congressman, where the money flows from lobbyists. Omitting his first name, and abbreviating his middle name, he calls himself "Jeff" Johnson. He then manages to get on the ballot by pitching a seniors organization, the Silver Foxes, to nominate him as their candidate for office.
Once on the election ballot, he uses the dead Congressman's old campaign material and runs a low budget campaign that appeals to name recognition, figuring most people do not pay much attention and simply vote for the "name you know." He wins a slim victory and is off to Washington, a place where the "streets are lined with gold."
Initially, the lucrative donations and campaign contributions roll in, but as he learns the nature of the con game in Washington D.C., he starts to see how the greed and corruption makes it difficult to address issues such as campaign finance reform, environmental protection, and the possibility that electric power companies may have a product that is giving kids in a small town cancer.
In trying to address these issues, Congressman Johnson finds himself double-crossed by the Chairman of the Committee on Power and Industry, Rep. Dick Dodge. Johnson decides to fight back the only way he knows how: with a con. Johnson succeeds and exposes Dodge as corrupt. As the film ends, it appears likely that Johnson will be thrown out of Congress for the manner in which he was elected, but he defiantly declares, "I'm gonna run for President!" then breaking the fourth wall.

Tags: revenge, satire

Review:
Normally, I dont like Eddie Murphy films.
Also, it is not as scathing about the American political system as it could be, giving out the impression that apart from a few bad apples, the majority of politicians do have the publics best interests at heart.Anyone who enjoyed this should try and check out the English tv series "Yes, Minister".
Though it laid a big fat egg at the box office, THE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN is still one of Eddie Murphy's smartest and most entertaining films.
Eddie plays a career con man who decides there is real money to be made in the political arena and using the name of his state's recently deceased incumbent, runs for Congress and is actually elected on the strength of his predecessor's name.
Upon his arrival in Washington, he finds himself courted by many special lobbyists and finds him squaring off against one semi-crooked congressman (the late Lane Smith), whose personal agendas outweigh his duties to the people he represents and it is through his dealings with this guy and learning that politics is more than the big dodge he thought it was going to be, our hero learns to be a better person.
This clever comedy takes the expected pot-shots at Washington, DC and politics in general, but also presents a fun good vs evil story surrounded by some elaborate trappings that make for a sophisticated comic romp.
It's not the kind of film hard-core Eddie-philes expect from him, but for those looking for something a little original and very funny...have your fill here..
As an Eddie Murphy vehicle, I was what somewhat curious to see if it would be an educational movie or just a comedic flick.
Eddie Murphy has arrived as an actor that is still capable of making quality films..
Murphy plays a charming con man who swindles his way into Congress through voter inattention -- they think he's the incumbent, who is actually deceased.
I think this is the best Eddie Murphy movie ever!
I'll start off by saying I don't particularly like Eddie Murphy.
I think he is not always in tune with what is funny, and the only movie that he was in that I truly enjoyed (I thought he was excellent in the Nutty Proffessor but I didn't like the movie really) was Beverly Hills Cop.
Here's why:Eddie Murphy does not force his humor in this movie, like he tries in almost everything else I've seen him in.
Not only that, you actually see a little drama from Eddie, which while not ranking up there with the likes of Hanks and Hackman, he certainly makes you believe he's got another side to him.The movie, while stretching credibility, attacks the System very well, both dramatically and humorously.
If one watches this movie expecting a mild satire instead of a barrel of laughs or a breathtaking plot, they will probably enjoy it, assuming they didn't hate Beverly Hills Cop..
The only thing this movie lacks is violence and nudity, not that it needs either.I've never seen a more thorough and realistic comedy about government and politics before or since this film.
There are a few liberal connotations in The Distinguished Gentleman (particularly environmental), but they are immediately balanced and authenticated by the conditions presented in the story.This film isn't an absolute probe into political science, but it gives a more lucid perspective of politics than the media would ever care to attempt.
If you appreciate the comedy of Eddie Murphy and have a critical appreciation for politics, you will enjoy this film.I'd give it a 9.5, but the IMDB won't allow decimals..
Thomas Jefferson Johnson is a small time con artist who realises the money in politics when he overhears Congressman Jeff Johnson during one of his scams.
Once in town he gets on the gravy train straight away  joining his colleagues in Congress, he is soon up to his neck in contributions and fund raisers but is this really what it is all about?Although it starts out with plenty of big, easy targets the first half of the film is lively and quite funny.
The broad satire is never that cutting or intelligent but it does the job for an Eddie Murphy comedy.
He Like Steve Martin in the '70s,became a stand-up comedian,treated like a rock star.Then came great films like 48 Hours,Trading Places & Beverly Hills Cop #1 & Pt.2 and Coming To America.
In 1992 it seemed he had rebounded with "Boomerang" but then came this.The Distinguished gentleman takes Murphy,once again back to the street smart,con artist he'd played before.
In the last moment,I was like,"That's it?"Four stars is a generous rating here but I feel that Murphy was at least trying to say good-bye to his 80s super-star and hello to maturity,which he finally found.
Eddie Murphy is a great actor and he proves it in this movie.
Victoria Rowell as Murphy's lawyer-activist love interest, Lane Smith as his double-dealing "political" mentor, and Joe Don Baker as the power magnate who tries to put both men in his pocket, bat great cleanup.
All of this movie, coming from a pure political buff like myself, is great.
Dutton's great performance as Eliah Hawkins, a preachy minister-Maryland congressman who I think is like Keyes in every way..
Lane Smith does a good job of being a corrupt politician, as does Joe Don Baker as being the CEO of a Power company.
Eddie Murphy plays a con turned congressman.
I believe it may have been an attempt for Eddie Murphy to explore a serious character-role for a change.
Some viewers consider this film political satire, others could say its almost documentary-like.
Starring Eddie Murphy as Thomas Jefferson Johnson, he's the name you know!Jonathan Lynn directed this film, which has not always garnered the best reviews (even though James Garner was part of the cast).
Still, if you like Eddie Murphy, give this film a look, you won't be dissatisfied..
The film centers around Murphy as a con man who gets himself elected to Congress and his attempts to put as much money in his pocket as possible.In order to maximize his influence with lobbyists, Murphy gets himself appointed to the most powerful committee in Congress, which in real-life is the Ways & Means Committee and when this film was made, was run by Dan Rostenkowski, but in the film is run by the equally corrupt Dick Dodge.In 1994, Rostenkowski was indicted on corruption charges and stepped down as Ways and Means chairman; he lost his House seat in the Congressional elections later that year.
This film is a must for anyone interested in politics and for anyone that would like to see Murphy play a different role than his usual fare..
The plot was flimsy, the film moved WAY to fast at the beginning, and the big conspiracy was about power lines causing cancer...It was sad that was the best they could come up with.
If you want to see truly great acting by Eddie Murphy, rent Bowfinger, Coming to America, or Trading Places.
Here is yet another in a long, long line of Hollywood films in which all the black people are smarter than the stupid white folks, and all the politicians are corrupt.
Let's also get one of the hotter black stars of the era to play the "hero," too, and have him show all those corrupt politicians how it should be done, even though that "good guy." played by Eddie Murphy, is a crook, too.
It's also too profane, but that's no surprise with Murphy in the lead role and a total unknown - who has remained such in the last 15 years, Victoria Powell - as the female lead.This is a poor man's "Trading Places," another movie in which a nobody, here a slimeball con man, can turn into a somebody, a man elected to congress.
I quite enjoyed "The Distinguished Gentleman." In my opinion, it's one of Eddie Murphy's better efforts.
I think this movie is very funny and Eddie Murphy is just awesome as usual.
I especially liked the first three quarters of the movie - the truth is that given the good cast and essential plot the Director and the writers could have given it a different twist towards the end and THEN it would have been a winner.
it's just that the movie hits too  close to the concerns i feel when i view the "comedy" that goes on every day in washington!if it weren't for the blatantly funny lines and over-the-top portrayal by murphy, i think this could be classified as a "black comedy".
It's a FUNNY movie, and I know a lot of people saw it when cable started playing it like mad.
Begins Like A Sharp Political Satire As Good As An Ealing Comedy....
Watching it again as a mature adult I really appreciate the nuances of the movie.Eddie Murphy plays Thomas Jefferson Johnson--Jeff Johnson for short, a small time conman in Florida.
He fits right in in Congress because he's just as sleazy as the rest of them until he his faced with a real issue from one of his constituents.The Distinguished Gentleman is Trading Places in Washington.
Just like in Trading Places Eddie Murphy was put into a prominent position through fraud.
Eddie Murphy is a fine impressionist as we've seen from Coming to America, The Nutty Professor, and I'd even add this movie to the list.This may not have been the best Eddie Murphy film but I think it's a lot better than the 5.9 rating it has.
"A Distinguished Gentleman" is about a con man Thomas Jefferson Johnson (Eddie Murphy) who realizes that the best con that he could pull is not as a small time operator in Florida, but as a Congressman in Washington D.C. making shady backroom deals with corporate lobbyists.
But what also makes the first three-fifths so good is the use of humor as for indicting not only the political system, but also in a subtle way American society.
And this movie gives him some great moments especially in the beginning.Eddie Murphy starts as a Florida con 'artist' accompanied by some accomplices blackmailing people who use his private fake phone-sex service.
His way to the top of course hardly meets any difficulty but, after all, this is a comedy so we don't mind as long as it's entertaining.But then things go wrong, Johnson meets a Pro Bono lobbyist, falls in love with her pretty fast but their relationship doesn't add anything to the movie and is not developed and chemistry between both actors is obviously missing.First, Johnson enjoys his journey at the Congress but he soon realizes he can't keep a straight face and simultaneously take part to the different frauds and corruption present.This is where the movie takes a turn for the serious and forgets it started out as a comedy.
All this is done in an unexplainable cheesy way.Shame, as the movie contained some good ideas for a comedy but director Jonathan Lynn seems to have been distracted and forgot that his original intention was to make a good comedy with Eddie Murphy having a good time at Congress..
See other comments if you want to find out about the plot.The movie has that fast-paced early 90's feel where the plot develops way too fast with too many minor characters running around.
Honestly, this movie is not funny and not entertaining on any level.While not as bad as Best Defense (is any movie?), there is a reason 1992 saw it come and go in just three weeks.If you like Murphy, get Trading Places (excellent), 48 Hours or Another 48 Hours.
However, I suppose I can't help forgetting about real political satire like the BBC series "Yes Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister".And there is where this movie falls short, namely in the writing.
Eddy Murphy is supposed to be a con artist, but at several points in the movie his character is simply to naive to be believable.This movie could have used some sharp political satirist writing on it, to highlight absurdity and stupidity of what happens when government comes down to the level of large administrative bodies which always have their own momentum and agendas.The problem with this and other American political satire movies is that the writers don't trust the audience to get it.
This one is unexpectedly terrific and clever.Next to 48 hours, this is Eddie Murphy's best performance ever.
Eddie Murphy is a small-time con man who uses congressman James Garner's sudden death to propel himself into the biggest con game of all -- Washington politics.
As he learns along the way, his character grows, but so does his conscience.Eddie Murphy handles the entire transformation remarkably well.
No wonder this movie was a big disappointment.I was hoping that this would of been a return to glory for Eddie Murphy, doing pure comedy after the comedy-drama of Boomerang, but this one is too serious and preachy.
The set-up sounds great: Murphy plays Jeff Johnson, a hustler who decides to lie his way to Congress by claiming to be the elected Congressman from some backwoods part of America who elected a dead man to the post.
Instead, he discovers that some government officials are even more corrupt than he is and he must use his "power" to make things right for the little guy.While a movie like this could have been good, Eddie is placed in a vacuum.
(Unless you want to argue that the politician isn't small time I guess.) Anyway hilarious rib-ticklers aside When local hustler Jeff Johnson capitalizes on a naming similarity and vaults into the US Senate, he immediately sets about reaching towards all the well manicured hands holding out money and favours.Seeing a handsome and well spoken black man gives party high-ups ideas, they latch onto Johnson and give him simple instructions "Shut up and smile big".This works well initially when Johnson amazingly is fast tracked through to positions others in parliament wait years for, but then things change for Johnson As the DVD cover might say Johnson comes into contact with a well meaning and determined young woman named Celia, who catches both his eye and his heart.
If it were Stallone they would have played off the 'big dumb guy with muscles' angle, Bruce Willis would have smirked his way through proceedings and a bunch of peripheral actors would have seen it vanish from shelves and cinemas within weeks.But they got Ed near the height of his powers, as well as his smile and laugh Murphy gets to unleash his array of voices and characters to provide a few decent chuckles, and it must be said that the supporting cast are all pretty reasonable in a paint by numbers affair.I liked it.
Actually Mame, you could be a great deal of help, I have a few minor questions.Thomas Jefferson Johnson: Chairman Dodge, please!
"My husband never gave me any, since he was doing the secretary, now its MY turn!" If you replay the scene where Eddie Murphy approaches Mrs Johnson of obtaining the campaign items, the flow later suggests she like to hit on a black man.
I enjoyed the movie when I first saw it but the end just grates on me now, as the bad guys are actually right and the good guys are the ones who want to spend millions of dollars fixing a non-existent problem.
The opening part of the film is still funny, and matches up pretty good with how I expect politics to be like in real life.Still funny, just a shame that history has changed the moral of the story to - don't trust the well meaning caring people, the crooked politicians have it right..
Murphy goons his way through this film more of a caracature than a character of a conman elected to congress.
A good story line and supporting cast make for an enjoyable movie, in spite of Murphy's muggings and lack luster romantic partner..
The Distinguished Gentleman is one of those movies that was a little too smart for its audience.
I think its one of Eddie Murphy's better movies.The story: Eddie Murphy plays Thomas Jefferson Johnson, a small-time crook that runs for Congress and wins.
This being after he meets up a cancer-stricken girl that is a victim of the power lines over her school.Eddie Murphy is great as the slick con man and he looks like he wants to be in this movie not like these later flicks where he phones in his performance.
Eddie Murphy plays a naive but slightly corrupt huckster who believes getting into office in Washington will give him the kind of cushy job that will pay him well to do very little actual work.
Eddie Murphy and political satire.
For all this, it's worth watching for Eddie Murphy's performance..
Eddie Murphy goes to Washington.
The scene in which he arrives in Washington, and is then praised by his peers for getting elected on somebody elses' name goes to show how this con is not treated with suspicion, but with praise.It is an interesting movie because it attacks politics and politicians.Thomas Jefferson Johnson (Eddie Murphy) is a conman and believes that he is in control of everything.
He gets into Congress and then manages to promote himself into the Power and Energy Committee, the one with the most money.This movie makes politicians out to be people with no real ambitions other than to make money.
He is to sit down and shutup.The Distinguished Gentleman is a very funny movie, and interweaved with the comedy are scathing attacks at politicians.
(Eddie Murphy) was nice.
Clearly with (The Distinguished Gentleman) the man wanted to make comedy with something serious in the mix this time.
Wanna hear something good; this is way WAY better than Murphy's other movie from the same year, the supposed romantic comedy, (Boomerang)!.
This is passable 80's Eddie Murphy winding its way into the 90's.