Truly Dreadful Film

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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).

Here is yet another in a long, long line of Hollywood films in which all the black people are smarter than the stupid white folks, and all the politicians are corrupt. Wow, Liberal Hollywood has something original. Yes, to them two wrongs always make a right so let's show what good people we are by reversing the racism. Let's also get one of the hotter black stars of the era to play the "hero," too, and have him show all those corrupt politicians how it should be done, even though that "good guy." played by Eddie Murphy, is a crook, too. That's another familiar Hollywood theme since the '60s: make the hero morally unsound but someone to root for. Throw in some ludicrous "conspiracy theories" like power lines causing cancer, and you have another Looney Left delight.There are so many bad messages in here, it would make your head swim. It's also too profane, but that's no surprise with Murphy in the lead role and a total unknown - who has remained such in the last 15 years, Victoria Powell - as the female lead.This is a poor man's "Trading Places," another movie in which a nobody, here a slimeball con man, can turn into a somebody, a man elected to congress. Except in Massachusetts or some other elitist state, I'm sure that could never happen!One positive thing about this film: Murphy is actually low-key and much less abrasive than his normal characters. That was nice to see-and hear! He's a talented actor and doesn't always need to scream and shout to get laughs. The film gets a few stars for that alone, even though most people prefer the wise-ass Murphy.

Let's talk about Eddie Murphy's career, shall we? First off, the 80s movies - Beverly Hills Cop (which I've never seen), 48 Hours (which is OK), Trading Places (which is overrated). Then a batch of movies I really like (although Boomerang is just pointless). Then The Nutty Professor, and it all goes wrong. But this is a great comedy, lots of fun, until it gets political, when it only just stays shy of mawkish to deliver a big finish. But the central premise - of some buffoon con-artist scamming his way to power - is more relevant today than it was then.

Being a Government teacher, I was curious about this film. As an Eddie Murphy vehicle, I was what somewhat curious to see if it would be an educational movie or just a comedic flick. Well, it was both. The story is funny and the plot is politically sharp. We see how the congressional committees work and how money influences our legislative process. Eddie Murphy has arrived as an actor that is still capable of making quality films.