Being There (1979)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Chris W

  
  Chance has spent his entire life working as a gardener for a millionaire. He has never left the estate. never been for a ride in a car, and all he knows of the outside world is what he has seen on television. That's all he does when not gardening- watch tv. When his benefactor… More
  Chance has spent his entire life working as a gardener for a millionaire. He has never left the estate. never been for a ride in a car, and all he knows of the outside world is what he has seen on television. That's all he does when not gardening- watch tv. When his benefactor dies, he is thrust out into the world, which becomes a strange and wonderous journey for him, made all the more curious by the fact that he's middle aged and still retains a great sense of childlike innocence and naivety. This film is based on a novel (with the screenplay penned by the book's author), and it's quite an odd and interesting piece of work. It's also the sort of thing that I think only Peter Sellers and Hal Ashby could really sell and make work. It takes the right kind of touch to pull such a weird thing off, but I'm happy to say they get the job done. The film is a journey of discovery, as well as a sharp satire about dependence on the media, and just how much it rules our lives. It's a funny film, but also a touch sad. It's also quite beautiful in a poetic kinda of way.In a lot of ways, it's kinda of a fantasy, though it's mostly pretty well (for the most part) grounded in reality. Well, if you can buy into the premise that is. I enjoyed this film a great deal, but as of now, I don't think this is the masterpiece that others make it out to be. I think I'd need to see this a few more times and really absorb it before I could make that call myself. For the most part I really bought into it, though I had a hard time totally accepting the way people react to Chance and his behavior and way of life. The perforamnces and cinematography are what really make it work though. Sellers is absolutely brilliant, and I can't think of anyoen else who could pull this off. SHirley MacLaine is also quite good in her role of a woman who takes a liking to Chance. There's some great scenes throughout, but my favorite is the long sequence that shows Chance's first steps out into the larger world abroad. That sequence alone is what had me sold on this movie. All in all, a fine piece of work, but I'm not really 100% sure what I make of it.. It's odd, and I don't quite get it, yet it means no harm, and is pretty sharp when trying to make a point about life and society.

• Adriel L

  
  Innocence, subtlety and a heartful of mirth substantiate this unique movie. Here is an insight unto life and its wonderful, simple truths, despite all the insipidity of modern humanity. For all the movies that only showed me something, this one actually taught me something.

• Tim S

  
  Another masterful performance from Peter Sellers and another wonderful film from the great Hal Ashby. Incredibly funny, insighful and captivating, Being There is a marvelously sweet picture...and the last of Peter Sellers' career.

• Jacob E

  
  THIS is Peter Seller's best role, not necessarily his best film. He was in many funny movies, but this was more a serious comedy. I can't really say anything beyond that because this is definitely worth giving a look for the conclusion. A couple words of warning though, it… More
  THIS is Peter Seller's best role, not necessarily his best film. He was in many funny movies, but this was more a serious comedy. I can't really say anything beyond that because this is definitely worth giving a look for the conclusion. A couple words of warning though, it can be incredibly awkward and painful to watch Peter Seller's character, Chance, interact due to his mentally challenged nature. Also, one scene in there would (if rated today by the MPAA) place it in the R category (I Like to Watch... Oh God...). Under all other circumstances, watch this film though. Easily worth your time.

• AJ V

  
  I had always heard good things about this movie, but seeing it, I wasn't too impressed. Sure the actors do a good job, but the story is slow and not that great. It's okay, but I didn't care for it.

• Thomas B

  
  The plot gets a little lost but Peter Sellers' performance and the biting social satire are fantastic. Full review later.

• familiar s

  
  Plot: "Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity." Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Well, at least, it did to me & I fell for it. More or less, I fell flat on my… More
  Plot: "Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity." Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Well, at least, it did to me & I fell for it. More or less, I fell flat on my face!!! Some movies require you to keep thinking & carry your brains with you if you wanna enjoy them. On the other hand, most movies require you to screw logic & put your brains aside for most of the part of the movie to enjoy them. 'Being There' falls under the latter category, the only difference being it requires you to ignore logic for almost every other minute of the movie. I mean, how long does it take for one to figure out that a man is just a simpleton & no wise guy? Okay, they might have misunderstood it for the first time. Okay, twice. But I gotta assume myself a real fool if they wanna make me carry this belief throughout the movie that everyone's nonsense to figure out something so apparent. My bad that I went for a classic that's beyond my talents. Yep, I lack the talent of leaving my thinking cap aside for 2+ hours non-stop. Surely, the movie did make me chuckle at times, but there weren't really enough of them. Final word? Check it out, it might work for you, for you may not have the flaws I possess.

• Chris G

  
  Sometimes movies are like a crystal ball. They take a deep, dark look at our future and end up nailing it right to the wall. It always seems to be films about the media that do this. Films from thirty years ago that at the time seem totally ridiculous are now standard fodder for T.V.… More
  Sometimes movies are like a crystal ball. They take a deep, dark look at our future and end up nailing it right to the wall. It always seems to be films about the media that do this. Films from thirty years ago that at the time seem totally ridiculous are now standard fodder for T.V. Guide (which in itself is a parody anymore). Network is the first to come to mind with its over the top obsession with getting ratings at the expense of the people on the tube. Another is the almost unknown sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show called Shock Treatment in which a town is actually a television audience and real people play out the broadcast days entertainment. Those two films sandwich in what should have been Peter Seller's farewell performance (we'll pretend it is) in Being There, a film that is partly about media perception and partly about people hearing what they want to hear. Peter Sellers plays Chance, the gardener in a Washington, D.C. home of an old man. Chance has spent his entire life at this house, which leads to the first question: Is he the old man's son? The thing about Chance is that he's rather slow in the head and his entire life revolves around two things: gardening and television. His life can't function without the tube as it plays non stop throughout his day. When the old man dies Chance is unceremoniously thrown out of the home and forced into the streets of Washington for a day that ends with him falling into an accident with the wife of a prominent billionaire (Shirley MacLaine) who brings him home to recuperate. Unintentionally re dubbed as Chauncey Gardner, Chance's simple statements about gardening and non-responses are interpreted by many as financial and political gospel and he begins to ascend a ladder of success by chance (pun intended, of course). I think a ton of today's politicians and media people have taken a course from Chance. He says nothing that sounds like something. He has two interests and neither one of them will bring you money or power. Even sex has no business in his world. The film is basically people hearing what they want to hear. We don't want to hear things are bad, we want the good even if it's a bunch of bullshit. Chance is just there for the walk and the ride that he doesn't even know he's on. It doesn't interest him. He even flips the channel on himself because he isn't interested. Maybe he IS the perfect human being since he's not self absorbed and has no ambitions except where to find the next television set. The is the cap to Peter Seller's career. Seller's plays Chance in a way that you fear that he's going to fail after finally walking into the world, but he always comes out smelling like a rose. What's striking about Seller's performance is that he doesn't play Chance as a character with something overly wrong. When we first meet him we don't know that he's a bit slow between the ears. We figure it out the longer we get to know him. Seller's performance is rather striking when compared to the two Oscar winning performances that can be compared to Chance during the following fifteen years, Dustin Hoffman for Rainman and Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump. Those guys play it up. Sellers is more subdued and it works. Sadly, he was nominated but did not win an Oscar in 1979 (ironically losing to Dustin Hoffman for the craptastic Kramer vs. Kramer). Being There is kind of a lost gem of Sellers' career. You know about Clouseau and Strangelove, but this one just about tops both of those (well, I can't put it over Strangelove). It's a quirky satire that has become standard in the thirty years since its release. The cast is great and it has some fine direction from Hal Ashby, who gives us a little message at the end of the film. It's funny and thought provoking, proving that you can do both at the same time. It's great.

• Daniel M

  
  With the arrival of alternative comedy at the end of the 1970s, it was tempting to write off Peter Sellers as a complete comedy has-been. But in the midst of seeming obsolete, and suffering from various health problems, he produced one of his very best performances in Hal Ashby?s… More
  With the arrival of alternative comedy at the end of the 1970s, it was tempting to write off Peter Sellers as a complete comedy has-been. But in the midst of seeming obsolete, and suffering from various health problems, he produced one of his very best performances in Hal Ashby?s Being There. One of the strange things about Seller?s performance is that it is strangely un-comedic ? or at least, it?s not the sort of comedy we have come to expect from Sellers. There is none of the outrageous characterisation of The Goon Show, or any of the farcical slapstick of The Pink Panther series. This is much, much more subtle, and as a result it is tempting to see Sellers as playing the straight man, in one great admission that he was no longer funny. But this just adds to the sense of ambiguity which flows throughout the film. Two examples of this are to be found at opposite ends of the film. Firstly, near the start, with the meeting with the President of the United States. It?s a perfect example of both Chance?s childlike naivety, and of the willingness of the other characters to accept his ?words of wisdom?. Where does the comedy lie? Are we supposed to laugh as Chance for being an idiot, for saying things which are completely out of context and meaningless in everyday life? Or it is a satire on the gullibility of the ?sane?, ?rational?, ?normal? people who are endlessly searching for meaning in this life and will hence belief anything? The greatest masterstroke of this film is that it can be enjoyed as both a light-hearted portrait of the ?stupid? and ?simple?, and as a much-deeper piece of social commentary, which pokes fun at and questions the values our society holds dear. In many ways, Forrest Gump owes its biggest debt to this film. The second example is the famous final shot of Chance wandering from his master?s funeral and then walking on water. This is a scene which has caused much debate since the film?s release. Some have claimed that Chance is a Christ figure, and that the film is an allegory of the Christian story before the build-up to the resurrection. It raises the question that if Christ came back into our society today, would we recognise him? Would we accept him as the Messiah, or would be reduce him to a flavour-of-the-month celebrity? Others have claimed the opposite, saying that he is walking on a submerged pier, or that the film simply gave up because it couldn?t think of a proper ending. All and none of these are true. As Roger Ebert explained in his review, the film shows us an image, rather than an explanation for the image. We can dispute its meaning, but we cannot offer our own reasoning which explains the image away. Just as the ending of 2001 cannot just be written off as Stanley Kubrick ?giving up? because he couldn?t think of a way to put the original story on screen, so the ending to Being There is part of its very essence. It is the very nub of what the film means: do we really know anything about anyone? Or, more to the point, can we know? Sellers? performance, which is easily his best since The Magic Christian, is complimented beautifully by Melvyn Douglas as the ailing tycoon and Shirley MacLaine as his wife. They provide the ideal starting point from which Chance?s influence can inadvertently spread, with MacLaine seeking a new outlet for her capacity to love and Douglas looking for a companion to ease him into death. And while the speed at which Chance becomes a celebrity is a little contrived, one has to accept it in the end as a necessary evil in condensing the novel for the screen. The film is not a masterpiece, or if it is, it is a flawed one. Ebert has written before about the scene in which MacLaine expresses her love to an otherwise engaged Sellers, which is not completely unnecessary but is perhaps overdone for the sake of pandering to an audience. It is a mistimed attempt at eye candy or comic relief which sits at odds which much that precedes or follows it. The other real fly in the ointment is that the film doesn?t develop the character of Chance?s guardian nearly enough. In her final scene of the film, sitting in an old folks? home and watching him on television, she is one of the few people in the film to see him as a fraud. Depending on your interpretation, she is either blind to his real nature through her cynicism, or is seeing the truth (or neither ? she may just have missed the point in a whole other way). Unfortunately the film does not develop this scene, and chooses instead to wrap it up quickly with a cheap shot about racial politics. We never see her again and that?s a shame. Despite these two blemishes, Being There is a poignant, bittersweet comedy which offers its audience both food for thought and light relief. It?s a great mix of comedy and intellect, demonstrating that comedies can be about something rather than just a loose conglomeration of jokes. In many ways, this is like a lighter, more relaxed version of Monty Python?s Life of Brian. Neither are the creative peak of their stars (The Magic Christian and Holy Grail respectively), but both are great comedies which manage to be funny while making very serious points about religion, power, and the way that societies work. Had Sellers not died, he could well have gone on to an autumnal renaissance in his career, winning a Golden Globe for his performance and being both Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated. Disregarding his last two films, which do him no justice at all, Being There is a very fitting farewell.

• Anthony L

  
  This is a subtle satire that needs repeat viewing, not because its complicated to follow but because there are lots of little, sometimes hidden, splashes of symbolism and hidden meaning. It doesn't however, need to be watched more than once to be thoroughly enjoyed and… More
  This is a subtle satire that needs repeat viewing, not because its complicated to follow but because there are lots of little, sometimes hidden, splashes of symbolism and hidden meaning. It doesn't however, need to be watched more than once to be thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated for what it is, one of the most beautiful films ever made. The cast is fantastic but its Sellers who really steals the show in his greatest, and unfortunately, his last performance. Absolutely brilliant.

• Cindy I

  
  Need to see this again. Saw it on pay TV in the early 80s. My tastes and film knowledge have increased DRAMATiCALLY since then. I might feel differently about it now.

• James A

  
  The pacing is horrible leaving you to not care at all about the main character. As overrated as the social commentary in a Romero film.

• Mike S

  
  All right, let's do some math here: bland story plus boring main character, minus fun locations and good comedic material equals what? That's right, a bleak, long-winded and very overrated snoozefest of a movie. Some solid acting by Peter Sellers, I'll give it that… More
  All right, let's do some math here: bland story plus boring main character, minus fun locations and good comedic material equals what? That's right, a bleak, long-winded and very overrated snoozefest of a movie. Some solid acting by Peter Sellers, I'll give it that much, but it's unfortunately not enough for me to call it worthwhile. So unless you're looking for a highly effective sleeping pill, or happen to love really dry humor, my suggestion is to take a pass on this.

• Robert C

  
  A beautiful film that evolves slowly and lures you gently into the world of it's protagonist. He is aptly named Chance, for his life (it would seem) has relied entirely on chance and his simplistic outlook on life and delightfully droll demeanor seems to have always gotten him… More
  A beautiful film that evolves slowly and lures you gently into the world of it's protagonist. He is aptly named Chance, for his life (it would seem) has relied entirely on chance and his simplistic outlook on life and delightfully droll demeanor seems to have always gotten him through. While the film is ultimately a satire on life, politics and interpersonal relationships in general, one can not help but admire the warmth and subtle humor with which it is presented. Peter Sellers is delightful. I'm a bit embarassed to admit that my LOATHING of the Pink Panther films has kept me from seeing any of his other work. This film has made me want to re-think my opinion of him and see his (non pink panther) work. It is a slow, quite film so it may not be for everyone. But I would recommend it to those who (like me) are content with a good solid character study.

• Luke B

  
  A very simple man who has never left his house becomes a beacon of hope to America during a difficult financial crisis. Being There is a highly observational political satire that still holds truth 30 years on. Sellers does a remarkable job at creating a very sympathetic and… More
  A very simple man who has never left his house becomes a beacon of hope to America during a difficult financial crisis. Being There is a highly observational political satire that still holds truth 30 years on. Sellers does a remarkable job at creating a very sympathetic and accidentally intelligent man. His simplicity is mistaken for true wisdom and from here much of the humour is derided. Despite the OTT nature of the story it is grounded in realism and is never afraid to push it a bit further. An unforgettable film that has you smiling and thinking throughout the running time.

• Jennifer X

  
  It's like a warmer, more humanistic version of The Graduate. Instead of cold apathy we get effortless charm. I enjoy its slow stagnancy, and the warmth of it just sort of seeps into you. Hal Ashby is an original who never compromises his vision; I sense his gentle optimism and… More
  It's like a warmer, more humanistic version of The Graduate. Instead of cold apathy we get effortless charm. I enjoy its slow stagnancy, and the warmth of it just sort of seeps into you. Hal Ashby is an original who never compromises his vision; I sense his gentle optimism and soft satire. Amorous Shirley Maclaine is hiLARious and whoever picked all the tv programs chose excellently. Somehow they're all relevant, but tangentially at best.

• Pierluigi P

  
  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… More
  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.

• moon r

  
  "i like to watch."

• Ken S

  
  Oh my god this movie is amazing. It's charm creeps up on you...Fantastic

• Aaron N

  
  [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… More
  [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.

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