The Distinguished Gentleman
Year: | 1992 |
Studio: | Hollywood Pictures |
Director: | Jonathan Lynn |
Writer: | Marty Kaplan, Jonathan Reynolds |
Cast: | Eddie Murphy, Lane Smith, Joe Don Baker, Grant Shaud, Kevin McCarthy, Chi McBride, Charles S Dutton |
He plays a small time con artist who realises he has a natural talent for the biggest con of all; US Congress, where lobbyists of every political ilk are desperate to stuff money into his pockets.
Predictably, the hero finds his conscience when the injustices of the system hit home in the form of a little sick girl, and he goes about setting things right by overturning the corruption to save the day.
A microcosm of America's (and certainly much of the world's) belief that their political representatives are shamelessly co-opted by corporate interests, with Murphy as the fantasy figure in the middle of it, doing what we'd all like to do to the system, complete with comedy, the battle of good versus evil, and getting the girl in the end.
A showcase of some of the most distinctive older male support acts in American film, but in a funny if lame movie.