The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
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
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
5.9 / 10
17.8K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
12 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
45 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
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?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
Easy Money
Comedy · 1983
To inherit his mother-in-law's colossal fortune, a hard living gambling addict must change his unhealthy ways before it gets the best of him.
American Dreamer
Comedy · 2022
In this winsome comedy, an entitled Economics professor pursues a tactic to buy an ailing widow’s mansion for nothing, but he quickly realizes that his seemingly foolproof strategy won’t be as easy as he thought.
Duplex
Comedy · 2003
When a young couple buys their dream home, they have no idea what the sweet little old lady upstairs is going to put them through!
Taking Care of Business
Comedy · 1990
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Oscar
Comedy · 1991
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
Thunderstruck
Comedy · 2012
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
The Comeback Trail
Comedy · 2020
Two movie producers who owe money to the mob set up their aging movie star for an insurance scam to try and save themselves. But they wind up getting more than they ever imagined.
9 Dead Gay Guys
Comedy · 2002
The story of two lads from Belfast as they stumble their way through the London gay underworld in search of 'gainful employment'. This being the offering of sexual favours to older gay men in order to subsidise their respective giros. 9 Dead Gay Guys is a high-camp send-up of gay stereotypes.
Stark Raving Mad
Comedy · 2002
A crook quietly plots his revenge against the boss who murdered his brother while working for him.
The Hustle
Comedy · 2019
Two female scam artists, one low rent and the other high class, compete to swindle a naïve tech prodigy out of his fortune. A remake of the 1988 comedy "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jonathan Lynn
Written by
Marty Kaplan · Jonathan Reynolds
Eddie Murphy
Thomas Jefferson Johnson
Lane Smith
Dick Dodge
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Miss Loretta
Joe Don Baker
Olaf Andersen
Victoria Rowell
Celia Kirby
Grant Shaud
Arthur Reinhardt
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 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.