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The Distinguished Gentleman

Play trailer Poster for The Distinguished Gentleman R 1992 1h 53m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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13% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 37% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
In the conniving world of politics, even a professional shyster like Thomas Jefferson Johnson (Eddie Murphy) can find himself outmatched. After using name recognition to get elected, Johnson enjoys many of the same financial perks as other politicians. However, while investigating the connection between electric companies and cancer in young children, he unexpectedly develops a conscience. Unfortunately, fellow Congressman Dick Dodge (Lane Smith) isn't about to let him rock the boat.

Critics Reviews

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Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: C Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times This is screwball material, and Murphy, with his quick delivery, is ideal for a laughaminute roller coaster, but director Jonathan Lynn seems to stretch out the scenes instead of hurrying them along. Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Rated: 1/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant This lightweight political sitcom takes awkward narrative jumps and sags in the middle...despite some taut byplay between Lane Smith and Joe Don Baker, the outcome is too obvious to be gratifying. Jun 4, 2018 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jun 18, 2005 Full Review Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Rated: 2/5 Feb 26, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Brad C For the life of me I can't understand the low ratings for this movie. It's a masterclass in political satire, possibly the most accurate satire about the inner workings and corruption that exists in Washington. Not to mention it's just plain entertaining. If every voter watched this movie first, maybe we could make a bit of progress toward actually sanitizing DC. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/11/24 Full Review Paul C Clever plot though a bit unrealistic deals with corruption in Congress. Many laughs. Eddie Murphy is entertaining throughout the film. James Garner sets the stage for the main plot in a rather brief appearance. Lane Smith turns in a solid performance. In all, I think that this is seriously underrated by the critics. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/11/23 Full Review John C Funny as hell and probably very much the way things are done. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/23/23 Full Review luna s a movie that predates george santos by 30 years Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Jay H Super underrated movie. One of my childhood favorites of Eddie Murphy's. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/05/22 Full Review travis b I love this movie. The low ratings are a real surprise! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Distinguished Gentleman

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The Distinguished Gentleman

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the conniving world of politics, even a professional shyster like Thomas Jefferson Johnson (Eddie Murphy) can find himself outmatched. After using name recognition to get elected, Johnson enjoys many of the same financial perks as other politicians. However, while investigating the connection between electric companies and cancer in young children, he unexpectedly develops a conscience. Unfortunately, fellow Congressman Dick Dodge (Lane Smith) isn't about to let him rock the boat.
Director
Jonathan Lynn
Producer
Leonard Goldberg, Michael Peyser
Screenwriter
Marty Kaplan
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 13, 2004
Box Office (Gross USA)
$46.5M
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Surround