The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)

This movie is cool. It is about a conman who decides that a lot of money can be made in politics and so he decides to become a politician. Fortunately he has a similar name to a congressman that just died and so using his name he rides the coat-tails of the late congressman and gets himself elected. Thus he goes into Congress with the belief that he is conning the nation only to discover that Congress is actually full of conmen. 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 is a very intelligent man and is able to squeeze his way into 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. They have no real goals or passions but lean towards those who throw the most money at them. Capital is the god in politics, not ethics, and those who try to push ethics end up in sticky situations. Eli, a politician preacher, stands for ethics and ends up on the wrong end of a sex scandal. Dick Dodgers, who is the bad guy in the movie, cares only for money and prestige. He says to the public that he will look into powerlines causing cancer and turns on his promise after because the electricity bosses are throwing lots of money at him.Jefferson learns slowly that ethics in politics does not exist, nor does free will. He is under the wing of Dick Dodgers to the point where people know that he does whatever Dick Dodgers tells him to. He believes that he has a freewill but in reality he does not. He is what is called "Dick Dodgers boy", he has no freewill were politics is concerned. 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. I enjoyed it the second time, having a greater idea as to where politics, and American History, is concerned. Though I cannot necessarily say that it is an original film (no film is really), but reminds me of an on 1930's movie, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, however there are a number of subtle differences. Namely Mr Smith is naive and innocent, and was elected as a part of a scam, which Mr Johnson is the scam. However, both come to realise what Congress is really all about, and the film finishes with them standing up for their beliefs, and through clever use of the rules, manage to shut the conspiracy down (if only for a short time).

every white person is evil and every black person is good. Thomas Jefferson Johnson: Chairman Dodge, please! Would you tell him that it's Mr. Joshua Benjamin from the NAACP on the line! Actually Mame, you could be a great deal of help, I have a few minor questions.Thomas Jefferson Johnson: Chairman Dodge, please! Would you tell him that it's Mr. Joshua Benjamin from the NAACP on the line! Actually Mame, you could be a great deal of help, I have a few minor questions. I would like to know how many members of the Chairman's committee are African American I would like to know how many members of the Chairman's committee are African AmericanThomas Jefferson Johnson: Chairman Dodge, please! Would you tell him that it's Mr. Joshua Benjamin from the NAACP on the line! Actually Mame, you could be a great deal of help, I have a few minor questions. I would like to know how many members of the Chairman's committee are African American

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. Murphy has rarely been better and he has surrounded himself with a superb supporting cast including Kevin McCarthy, Joe Don Baker, Charles S. Dutton, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Noble Willingham, and Grant Shaud. There is also a very funny cameo by James Garner as the congressman who Murphy succeeds. The movie is about 20 minutes too long, but for the most part, it is a very entertaining ride. 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.

...that the movies premise about power lines being linked to cancer turned out to be wrong. 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. Oh, well. 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.