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The Distinguished Gentleman

The Distinguished Gentleman

Comedy · 1992

A Florida con man uses the recent death of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a last name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, the U.S. Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists.

Movie details

The Distinguished Gentleman

“From con man to congressman.”

1992 Comedy 1h 52m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

A Florida con man uses the recent death of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a last name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, the U.S. Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Distinguished Gentleman?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Ladies Man

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Thunderstruck

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The Comeback Trail

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jonathan Lynn

Written by

Marty Kaplan · Jonathan Reynolds

Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy

Thomas Jefferson Johnson

Lane Smith

Lane Smith

Dick Dodge

Sheryl Lee Ralph

Sheryl Lee Ralph

Miss Loretta

Joe Don Baker

Joe Don Baker

Olaf Andersen

Victoria Rowell

Victoria Rowell

Celia Kirby

Grant Shaud

Grant Shaud

Arthur Reinhardt

Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy

Terry Corrigan

Court is in session

Put The Distinguished Gentleman on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.