The Distinguished Gentleman (1992) (original) (raw)
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Original title
The Distinguished Gentleman
Year
1992
Running time
100 min.
Country
United States
Director
Screenwriter
Cast
Music
Cinematography
Producer
Genre
Synopsis
"Mr. Murphy Goes to Washington." As a sly con man from Florida, Thomas Jefferson Johnson (a name he enjoys reciting), Murphy seems just about perfectly cast. And the notion that a crook would be drawn to Capitol Hill like a fly to honey is a cheap, cynical idea that could be milked for a few belly laughs. The chief bad guy, a greedy lobbyist aptly named Dick Dodge (Lane Smith), is a perfect, smarmy target, but the movie loses its cool and turns earnest and patriotic, striking a high-minded attitude that it has scarcely earned. It may have seemed a clever idea hiring a Brit, Jonathan Lynn (Clue) to direct, but he doesn't bring a fresh eye to the material. Sheryl Lee Ralph and Joe Don Baker bat cleanup.
Critics' reviews
- "Murphy's comic brilliance is at the service of the story and he positively shines with a number of diverse and zany impersonations"
- "All The Distinguished Gentleman has is Eddie Murphy doing his best to be the life of the party. By the end of the movie you wish he would just go to another party"
- "While the result is inevitably middle of the road, it still manages to be the funniest picture Murphy has made in quite some time."
- "Uneven but occasionally quite funny political satire"
- "The film is content to remain at the level of the mildly entertaining, with no real surprises and not much sass"
- "It has a few good laughs in it thanks to Murphy, but mainly depends for its appeal on an uncomfortable manipulation of racial stereotypes."
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