The Distinguished Gentleman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Distinguished Gentleman

The movie poster for The Distinguished Gentleman.
Directed by Jonathan Lynn
Produced by Marty Kaplan,
Leonard Goldberg,
Michael Peyser
Written by Marty Kaplan,
Jonathan Reynolds
Starring Eddie Murphy,
Lane Smith,
Sheryl Lee Ralph,
Joe Don Baker,
Victoria Rowell,
Grant Shaud,
Kevin McCarthy,
Charles S. Dutton,
Victor Rivers,
Chi McBride,
Sonny Jim Gaines,
Noble Willingham
Music by Randy Edelman
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s) December 4, 1992
Running time 112 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

The Distinguished Gentleman (1992) is a comedy starring Eddie Murphy. The film was directed by Jonathan Lynn. In addition to Murphy, the film stars Lane Smith, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Joe Don Baker, Victoria Rowell, Grant Shaud, Kevin McCarthy, Charles S. Dutton, Victor Rivers, Chi McBride, Sonny Jim Gaines, and Noble Willingham.

The film's plot is centered around politics, specifically what members of Congress and lobbyists do to get what they want in Washington, D.C.

The film was shot at various locations in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, CA; Harrisburg, PA; Maryland, and Pasadena, CA.

[edit] Synopsis

A Florida con man named Thomas Jefferson Johnson uses the passing of the long time Congressman from his district, Jeff Johnson (who died of a seizure while having sex with his secretary), to get elected to Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists. Shortening his middle name and calling himself "Jeff" Johnson, he receives the endorsement of a political party comprised mostly of senior citizens called the "Silver Foxes."

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 Power and Industry chairman Dick Dodge. Johnson decides to fight back the only way he knows how, with a con.

[edit] Critical reception

It was released in December of 1992 and went on to gross over $40 million at the box office. The movie was panned by film critics for showing the true nature of politics and depicting an ordinary conman with more conscience than a country representative. It came at a time when Murphy was experiencing a slump at the box office and this movie is considered one of his failures, though the film did win a couple of awards: the Environmental Media Awards granted the movie with the award for feature film of 1993, and in 2001 the Political Film Society awarded the film its special award of the year.

[edit] Trivia

  • This is the first film starring Eddie Murphy that was not released by Paramount Pictures.
  • The film ends with a possible set up for a sequel of Eddie Murphy running for President as an Independent candidate.
  • The film's premise is loosely based on a florida bus driver named John Plummer who succesfully won a seat as a florida representative.