Monsieur le député

Thomas Jefferson Johnson is a small time con artist who realises the money in politics when he overhears Congressman Jeff Johnson during one of his scams. When the Congressman dies between his secretary's legs in his office while "poling the electorate" Thomas sees his opportunity. Dropping his first name in the hope that name recognition will see him through, Thomas and his crew go to work and it is not long before they slide their way to Washington. Once in town he gets on the gravy train straight away – joining his colleagues in Congress, he is soon up to his neck in contributions and fund raisers but is this really what it is all about?

Although it starts out with plenty of big, easy targets the first half of the film is lively and quite funny. The broad satire is never that cutting or intelligent but it does the job for an Eddie Murphy comedy. Unfortunately, around the halfway mark the obvious plot suddenly has Thomas develop a heart and the film grinds to a halt. Happily it gets its senses back in the final section and is a return to the lively first part – this is not to say that it is brilliant because it isn't, but it is amusing and pretty enjoyable apart from the narrative arch having a massive hole in the middle of it.

The cast are mixed dependant on their material. Murphy himself is on good form. His con artist character suits his on screen personae and he works the dialogue really well – he is all at sea when he has to convince the audience of the change in his character but he moves through that as quickly as he can. The supporting cast are all in his shadow on this but at least there are plenty of famous faces. Smith, Dutton, McBride, Baker, Ralph and McCarthy all add an ensemble feel to the film even if it is very much Murphy's vehicle. Lynn's direction is OK but he can't do much of real intelligence with the basic tools presented to him by the writers.

Overall this is not the sharpest of satires but the big simple targets are still enjoyably hit. The middle section is poor but Murphy ensures that the majority of it will be good enough to please his fans even if it could have been so much better.

As a political wonk, I found this movie perfect! I think this is the best Eddie Murphy movie ever! Actually, I am disappointed it took me so long to see it (today, 12/28/02). I was amazed at the negative reviews. What is these people's problem? That the US government doesn't work like this? Or that Eddie's character could actually realize that screwing ordinary citizens is different from swindling corporations and rich people?

This overlooked Eddie Murphy from 1992 gem is much better than most critics would have you believe. Murphy plays a charming con man who swindles his way into Congress through voter inattention -- they think he's the incumbent, who is actually deceased. What starts as a game to merely soak the job for all it's worth turns into an unlikely effort to make a real difference. Several scenes are laugh-out-loud, particularly early on. Though a shade overlong, the story is engaging enough to keep the viewer's attention, and it serves up some nice potshots at how bloated and self-serving government has become. One of Murphy's best 'non-family' entries.

Eddie Murphy is a great actor and he proves it in this movie. In it, Con man Murphy decides he can make more money as a United States Congressman than a hood. Victoria Rowell as Murphy's lawyer-activist love interest, Lane Smith as his double-dealing "political" mentor, and Joe Don Baker as the power magnate who tries to put both men in his pocket, bat great cleanup. All of this movie, coming from a pure political buff like myself, is great. For all you Alan Keyes fans out there, watch this movie for Charles S. Dutton's great performance as Eliah Hawkins, a preachy minister-Maryland congressman who I think is like Keyes in every way.

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.