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Plot:
Meet Other Fans
Recent Reviews
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MCT:September 22, 2008Peter Sellers is superb (of course), Ashby's direction is artful (of course), and the satire is biting (of tacos). I would have no qualms about granting it a five, were it not for the inclusion of Shirley MacLaine masturbating.
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MCT:September 12, 2008
This film was very enjoyable. Enter an autistic gardener (Chance) who had been working for a man who died, making the gardener leave the house he had been working and living at for his whole life. Chance leaves the home for the first time and embarks on a journey that will bring him eye to eye with the president, as his ramblings are mistaken for profound statements.
I liked it because Chance is a really simple man of few words. When he speaks throughout the film, it is either a very simple statement, a television inspired quotation or a mimicking of other people. If you liked Rain Man or Forrest Gump, you should seek this one out, too. -
MCT:August 31, 2008What the hell did I just watch? I didn't really get it. It was really slow and I couldn't buy the story. All I kept thinking was impossible. Maybe that's the point, I don't know. I know for sure I will never watch this film again.
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MCT:August 21, 2008
This is the third movie of Hal Ashby that I've seen, after "Harold and Maude" and "Coming Home", and I love this one too.Wonderful satire!
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MCT:August 21, 2008
Lo más notable de la actuación de Peter Sellers en Being There (1979), es lo simpático que resulta sin tener mucha intención de serlo. Su personaje es un tipo alrededor del cual girará el mundo, causará intriga en los medios de comunicación y la política de los E.U., a partir de simples reflexiones entorno a su principal pasión: la jardinería.
La realización de Hal Ashby (Shampoo) es de una fina sencillez. Chance (Sellers) es un dedicado jardinero en una residencia, que luego de quedarse sin trabajo al morir su anciano patrón, inicia la aventura de su vida al ser visto como un hombre fascinante por todas las personas que se cruzan en su camino, a pesar de ser, según las palabras de la sirvienta de la casa: ?un tonto con aserrín en la cabeza, que nunca aprendió a leer ni a escribir?.
El libro de Kosinski invita a elaborar varias reflexiones que tienen que ver con los procesos de comunicación verbales, sobre cómo se pueden malinterpretar las palabras al sacarlas de su contexto (esa hilarante escena con el impresionado embajador de Rusia). Being There mantiene su tono de fábula intacto, en contraste con la tranquila presencia de Peter Sellers, sin duda en una de sus mejores actuaciones.
Más en pantallanueve.blogspot.com -
MCT:June 26, 2008
I was only first interested in this film because of a reference on Arrested Development's "The Ocean Walker" episode, but was not surprised to find a very funny and very, very lovely story. This will always be my favorite Peter Sellers performance ever.
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MCT:May 31, 2008
A magical and bittersweet comedy with a superb Peter Sellers, in the most mature and concise role of his career, even if he's portraying a childish man who's suddenly deified by an empty, artificial society. A supremely sincere and pleasantly understated film that engages all us in careful thought, about how absurd, pointless and obtuse our lives can be, and how the most unexpected person in the whole world can make us be aware of it. everlasting fable, parallel to the fisher king.
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MCT:April 8, 2008
"being there"Peter Sellers as mr Chance makes the difference between innocence & stupidity!Many ,even talented, actors misconceived of innocence by "playing wrong" screenplay-characters that have been given to them!Sharp(unique) screenplay+Peter Seller's genious acting=priceless result
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MCT:March 28, 2008
a sharp, touching, clever film. poignant yet subtle social commentary on perception and interpretation...sometimes the simplest things really are simple, without all the hype and spin. beautiful acting from Sellers--his usual witty self and yet remarkably oblivious and naive. the end scene is also fantastic. great movie.
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MCT:March 24, 2008
this is one great film which should of won the oscar the year it was released but didnt because as seller's believes , that the end credit outtakes were the reason it didnt win.
i kinda agree , even though the outtakes made me laugh but it should of been left out .... still an amazing film possibly my favourite sellers film
i am now a hal ashby fan!!!!! -
MCT:March 23, 2008
This is an incredible film i loved every minute of it.................except for the scene with Shirley MacLaine masturbating, that'll haunt me for the rest of my life.
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MCT:March 22, 2008The last great work of the director Hal Ashby. After that he fell down the stairs, directing bad movies. This is the best and the last performance of the genius Peter Sellers. An incredible satire with a clever and very well-developed screenplay.
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MCT:March 17, 2008
An effective and high-level movie.It is a tragedic comedy!Peter Sellers shines as Chancy gardener.Unfortunately he didn't won oscar for his performance(I think Dustin Hoffman won the oscar of that year)and died one year later.He was one of the most talented actors of his generation.God bless him!see the last masterpiece of Peter Sellers.
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MCT:March 17, 2008
[Riding in a car for the first time]
Chance the Gardener: This is just like television, only you can see much further.
Peter Sellers stars as a man named Chance. He has lived his entire life inside the house he works as a gardener in, until the old man who owns it dies. Chance has been raised purely on TV, but must now fend for himself in the real world.
After a chance encounter (see what I did there) Chance becomes the guest at a large mansion where a dying businessman, Melvyn Douglas, and his wife, Shirley MacLaine, live.
These two see Chance as one of the kindest, intriguing, and most optimistic person they have ever met, and accept him and his curious senses.
[upon walking out of an elevator]
Chance the Gardener: That was a very small room.
The businessman happens to also be good friends with the US President, and introduces him to Chance, known now as Chauncey Gardener due to a misunderstanding. Chance's words are considered to be great words of wisdom for the president concerning the economy of the country, and Chance is later quoted by the president in a speech.
This brings much acclaim to Chance, who becomes the talk of the nation, being seen as a man of genius for the kind of ideas he has spoken of.
As the film moves on, Chance's encounters with various characters seem to have an affect on everyone he meets.
Peter Sellers could be compared to Jim Carrey for today's audience. They are both known for the popular comedic roles, but have also attempted to branched out for more serious parts that are more meaningful to them.
Here, Sellers brings a wonderful performance to this film, however he still believes he did not receive the serious credibility he could have hoped for, going as far to believe that he lost the Oscar for best actor due to the outtakes reel at the end of the film, which Sellers himself wanted to be taken out.
The rest of the actors are all also very good in their roles. Particularly Douglas, who is very believable as the old man inspired by Chance.
There are many memorable moments throughout, adding to the overall themes of the film and providing it with more and more reasons to see Chance as one of the biggest fishes out of water of all time.
The end of the film puts it at an even higher level, as it stirs thoughts and conversations among those who have seen it, and suggests that there may even be more to Chance than meets the eye.
Wonderful film.
President "Bobby": Life is a state of mind. -
MCT:March 17, 2008
The comedy was smart and effective. The actors were all brilliant. The story kept me engaged and entertained. I was going to say that the story is plagued by unbelievability, but the final scene tells the viewer that if you believed everything that happened up to this point, here's showing you that you shouldn't have. That's my interpretation of it anyways.
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MCT:March 16, 2008
A delicious satire containing one of Peter Sellers's best performances!
Memorable quote: "I like to watch." -
MCT:January 19, 2008
A truley funny movie. The out takes at the end are worth sitting through the movie to see. But the movie is pure Sellers entertainment. His facial expressions will crack you up.
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MCT:January 12, 2008
Simple mind uncluttered and simple answers added to make common sense ? Hmmm. Can it be that simple? Lovely film .
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MCT:January 1, 2008
Slow moving, but a sweet story. The ending was interesting - was he...Jesus, or something? But anyway, the performances were really good and it's definitely a movie worth watching if you've got nothing else to do and you've watched everything else in your DVD collection a thousand times.
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MCT:December 31, 2007
"In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again." - Chance
For me, one of the funniest film actors of all time was Peter Sellers. The man was unbeatable when it came to comedy. He made me laugh so hard I cried in 'The Pink Panther', he made me laugh even harder in 'Dr. Strangelove' for which he received a coveted Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and he also made me constantly chuckle during his scene-stealing role in Kubrick's controversial 1962 venture 'Lolita'. He was a real king of comedy, but who knew he was actually an immensely talented dramatic actor. In his final film 'Being There' Sellers was given a chance to do what he had always wanted to do -- show people he could act serious. Sellers succeeded with flying colors with 'Being There', giving the finest performance of 1979 which should have earned him the Best Leading Actor Oscar but unfortunately didn't. 'Being There' surrounds a simple minded idiot savant, Chance (Peter Sellers), who is the gardener for an elder gentleman who feeds, clothes, lets him watch television (which Chance is obsessed with) and looks out for him. One day the old man dies, and Chance is left homeless. He wanders the streets then finds the gold-digger wife (Shirley MacLaine) of a old, rich and dying businessman (Melvyn Douglas - who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in this). The wife mistakes him for a rich gentleman and takes him home. Over the next month or so, Chance profoundly effects the lives of the wife, the husband, the President of the United States (Jack Warden) and television viewers everywhere. 'Being There' is a heart-felt and powerful film with a strong positive message that is only flawed due to some pacing issues. I highly recommend renting this film to see a different Sellers that is every bit as brilliant as the usual slap-stick Sellers everyone seems to know. Grade: B+ -
MCT:December 31, 2007
a really serious but genuine film about people when they manage to communicate well. peter sellers plays a man with the mind of a child (performance of his career) and has excellent support from shirley maclaine. hal ashby seems like a pretty decent director
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MCT:December 9, 2007
Solid movie based on a great novel that you can and should read in an evening... that's what I did after seeing this movie.
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MCT:November 24, 2007I've only seen two of hal ashby's films but i was really impressed by the quality of the story in both.
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