The Distinguished Gentleman (1992) on Netflix
A Florida con man, Thomas Jefferson Johnson, shares a last name with the congressman from his district. When the incumbent dies, he runs for the seat as Jeff Johnson.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb5.9/1018,070 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes13%
Trailer
Plot summary
Thomas Jefferson Johnson makes his living in Florida running cons. At a party he crosses paths with Congressman Jefferson Davis Johnson and overhears how much money members of Congress can collect through corruption. When the congressman dies, Johnson decides to run in the election to replace him, and to trade on the shared name. He drops his first name and shortens his middle one, campaigning as Jeff Johnson. A seniors group, the Silver Foxes, endorses him, putting him on the ballot. He runs on the dead congressman's old campaign material, counting on voters who recognize the name, and wins by a narrow margin. In Washington, lobbyists' donations and campaign contributions come his way.
Cast
- Sonny Jim Gainesas Van Dyke
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- In November 2023 the film's co-writer Marty Kaplan argued in a Politico article that life had imitated art, drawing parallels between the film's plot and the election of George Santos to Congress.
- The script was written by a Washington insider, Marty Kaplan, who had previously worked as Vice President Mondale's speech writer.
- Eddie Murphy appeared in this Disney-produced film after a string of Paramount Pictures star vehicles, and had to be loaned out by Disney from his then-exclusive contract with Paramount.
- The movie won the feature film Environmental Media Award in 1993, and in 2001 the Political Film Society gave the film its special award of the year.
