Distinguished Gentleman [1992]
"Mr. Murphy Goes to Washington." As a sly con man from Florida, Thomas Jefferson Johnson (a name he enjoys reciting), Murphy seems just about perfectly cast. And the notion that a crook would be drawn to Capitol Hill like a fly to honey is a cheap, cynical idea that could be milked for a few belly laughs. The chief bad guy, a greedy lobbyist aptly named Dick Dodge (Lane Smith), is a perfect, smarmy target, but the movie loses its cool and turns earnest and patriotic, striking a high-minded attitude that it has scarcely earned. It may have seemed a clever idea hiring a Brit, Jonathan Lynn (Clue) to direct, but he doesn't bring a fresh eye to the material. Sheryl Lee Ralph and Joe Don Baker bat cleanup. --David Chute