''The Distinguished Gentleman'' is a 1992 American

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

. The film was directed by

Jonathan Lynn Jonathan Adam Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English film director, screenwriter, and actor. He directed the comedy films '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', '' My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He also co-created and co-wrote the ...

. In addition to Murphy, the film stars

Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', collaborator entrepreneur Nathan Bat ...

Sheryl Lee Ralph Sheryl Lee Ralph (born December 30, 1956) is an American actress and singer. Known for her performances on stage and screen, she earned acclaim for her role as Deena Jones in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), for which she was nomi ...

Joe Don Baker Joe Don Baker (February 12, 1936 – May 7, 2025) was an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" characters on both sides of the law. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles in the Westerns '' Guns of the Magnificent ...

Victoria Rowell Victoria Lynn Rowell (born May 10, 1959) is an American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She began her career as a ballet dancer and model before making her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film '' Leonard Part 6''. In 1990, Rowell ...

Grant Shaud Edward Grant Shaud III (born February 27, 1961) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of the character of Miles Silverberg on the television sitcom ''Murphy Brown''. He's also had notable roles in the films '' The Distinguished Gentl ...

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...

, and Charles S. Dutton. The film's plot is centered on politics, specifically what members of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and lobbyists do to get what they want in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Plot

Florida

con man A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...

Thomas Jefferson Johnson crosses paths with Congressman Jefferson Davis "Jeff" Johnson at a party and becomes intrigued after overhearing just how wealthy members of Congress can become through corruption. After Congressman Johnson dies of a heart attack while having sex with his secretary Kimberly Carson, con man Johnson decides to run for Congress in the election to replace him to take advantage of money from

lobbyists Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

. 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 endorse him. 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 In politics, name recognition is the ability a voter has to identify a candidate's name due to a certain amount of previous exposure through various campaigning methods. It can be described as the awareness voters have about specific candidates r ...

, 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. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, he starts to see how the greed and corruption makes it difficult to address issues such as campaign finance reform,

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

, and the possibility that

electromagnetic fields In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

from

overhead power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more conductors (commonly multiples of three) suspended by towers or poles. ...

s may be giving kids in a small town

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, which the electric power company is concealing. Johnson finds out it is true when he meets one of them. In trying to address these issues, Congressman Johnson finds himself double-crossed by the powerful 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 on account of his previously unknown criminal record, but he defiantly declares, "I'm gonna run for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

!" then

breaking the fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th centu ...

Cast

as Thomas Jefferson Johnson *

as Dick Dodge *

as Loretta Hicks *

as Olaf Andersen *

as Celia Kirby *

as Arthur Reinhardt *

as Terry Corrigan * Charles S. Dutton as Elijah Hawkins *

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

as Jefferson "Jeff" Davis Johnson * Victor Rivers as Armando *

Chi __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...

as Homer Norton * Sonny Jim Gaines as Van Dyke * Noble Willingham as Zeke Bridges * Gary Frank as Mike Strangland *

Daniel Benzali Daniel Benzali (born January 20, 1946) is retired Brazilian-American stage, television and film actor. Early life Benzali was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the son of Lee, a cook, and Carlo Benzali, a salesman who had also been an actor in Bra ...

as Barclay "Skeeter" Warburton *

Cynthia Harris Cynthia Lee Harris (August 9, 1934 – October 3, 2021) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series '' Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' and the sitcom ''Mad About You''. Life and career C ...

as Vera Johnson * Susan Forristal as Ellen Juba * Autumn Winters as Mickey Juba *

Doris Grau Doris Grau (October 12, 1924 – December 30, 1995) was an American actress and script supervisor from Brooklyn. After moving to Hollywood in 1940, she began her career supervising film and television scripts. She continued to do this until the ...

as Hattie Rifkin * Frances Foster as Grandma Johnson * Sarah Carson as Kimberly Meadows * Brad Koepenick as Rafe Simon * Mel Owens as Bo Chandler *

Nina Totenberg Nina Totenberg (born January 14, 1944) is an American legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) focusing primarily on the Supreme Court of the United States. Her reports air regularly on NPR's news magazines ''All Things Consid ...

as Election Anchor * Julianna McCarthy as Blue Haired Lady * Daniel Petrie Jr. as Asbestos Lobbyist *

Della Reese Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early; July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017) was an American singer, actress, television personality, author and ordained minister. As a singer, she recorded blues, gospel, jazz and pop. Several of her singl ...

as Elevator Operator

Production

Eddie Murphy appeared in this

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

-produced film after a string of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

star vehicle In the motion picture industry, a star vehicle (or simply vehicle) is a film written or produced for a specific star, either to further their career or simply to profit from their current popularity. It is designed to optimally display that star's ...

s. Bernard Weinraub, film reviewer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', offered his opinion that Murphy wished to "move beyond the tepid material" he had been given by Paramount. Writer and producer

Marty Kaplan Martin Kaplan (born August 21, 1950) is an American professor and former studio executive and writer. He teaches at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and is the founding director of the Norman Lear Center for the study of ...

said of Murphy's involvement "I feel like I've come close to winning the jackpot". The film was shot at various locations in Washington, D.C.;

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

;

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

;

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. Director

later said: "It was the unlikely combination of Eddie Murphy and politics that drew me to it. The script was by a Washington insider, Marty Kaplan, who had been Vice President Mondale's speech writer. I loved working with Eddie, whom I had admired since '' 48 Hours'' and ''

Trading Places ''Trading Places'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott, and Jamie Lee Curtis, the film te ...

''. He was a superbly inventive comedy actor, and a delight to work with."

Reception

Box office

''The Distinguished Gentleman'' was released in December 1992 and went on to gross approximately $47 million in the United States and Canada. Internationally, the film grossed $39 million for a worldwide total of $86 million. In an interview in 1996, Eddie Murphy said that the movie did not work like his previous movies because "it appeals to a different audience".

Critical response

Critical reaction to the movie however was mostly negative.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' liked the premise and what it had going for it, but criticized it for its "slow pacing", despite its being a

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1950s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary charact ...

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' called it "a sterile, joyless comedy, photographed in ugly, made-for-video close-up and featuring a farce plot so laborious it suggests

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978), The Blues Brothers (f ...

on a bad day". On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 13%, based on 16 reviews, and an average rating of 4.03/10. The movie won the feature film Environmental Media Award in 1993, and in 2001 the Political Film Society gave the film its special award of the year.

Legacy

In November 2023, the film's co-writer Marty Kaplan argued in a ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' column that life imitated art, drawing parallels between the film's plot and the election of George Santos to Congress.

References

External links

* * *
What Congress Could Learn From An Obscure 30-Year-Old Eddie Murphy Movie
at

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Distinguished Gentleman, The 1992 comedy films 1992 films 1990s political comedy films 1990s political satire films American political comedy films American political satire films 1990s English-language films Films about identity theft Films about elections Films about corruption in the United States Films about cancer in the United States Films directed by Jonathan Lynn Films scored by Randy Edelman Films set in Washington, D.C. Films shot in Baltimore Films shot in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Films shot in Washington, D.C. Fiction about government Hollywood Pictures films 1990s American films Films with screenplays by Jonathan Reynolds (writer) Films about con artists