Being There (1979)
Retro Review #54: Peter Sellers cultivates a classic comedy with savage satire and an enigmatic ending.
Being There (1979)
+ Feature film, 2h 10m🎖️
+ Based on literature (novel) Being There (1970)❗by Jerzy Kosiński
A+v
Grade: A+v (20.0) / HOF: 120
EQ 👍A+ | 📖A+ 👥A+ 📽️A 🎼A-
DW 😎8.1 | 🌚9 🌝8
POPCAP 💯n/a 🍿n/a 🧢n/a
L-R 💻⬆️1️⃣ 👀⬇️🔽 🛐⬇️1️⃣
Once again our overview of Dark Whimsy favorites brings us Peter Sellers in an iconic role, this time in the classic satirical comedy-drama Being There.
Sellers plays a gardener named Chance who has little more mental capacity than one of his potted plants. In this day and age, you are supposed to say that Chance has intellectual disabilities. But he’s a fictional character, so can we all not admit he’s a dim bulb who seems to be missing some topsoil?
Now Being There doesn’t mix metaphors like I just did. It’s all gardening all the time. Well, and also television. Because as Chance will tell you, he “likes to watch”.
Chance’s origins are lost in the past, but we meet him as a servant and gardener in the Washington, DC, household of a wealthy old man who has just died. Chance is apparently in late middle age himself, and though he may perhaps be an autistic savant when it comes to gardening, he has the mind of a child otherwise. He hasn’t left the house in years, with meals brought by a maid, and several televisions to watch when he isn’t tending the plants. Suddenly when the old man passes, he must leave and fend for himself on the streets of DC armed only with his trusty remote control, ability to mimic what he has seen on TV, and a healthy dose of good manners.
In a chance meeting on those capital streets our friend, soft in both heart and brain, introduces himself as Chance the gardener and Eve Rand, played by Shirley MacLaine, hears “Chauncey Gardiner”. The film shifts into another gear here, or shall we say sprouts a whole new branch, and by the time we’re done, we’ve got an entire garden overgrown with drama and comedy, all intertwined with biting satire of media, politics and the human condition.
The themes in this film are adult, by which I mean most teenagers will find them boring. Just as well, as a couple scenes are a bit “adult” in other ways. In the unlikely case your teen wants to see this, watch it first or research a little before deciding if it would be appropriate for your particular young viewer.
For the grown-up audience, the film is not boring at all. Even if the comedy isn’t your type or you find it a bit repetitive, the drama is charming. It’s a rare movie with no real villain, and even death is defanged to a large degree.
Jerzy Kosiński wrote the screenplay adaption of his own novel, and Sellers was reportedly obsessed with the novel, preparing extensively for the role of Chance. The part earned Sellers the Golden Globe for Best Actor, Comedy or Musical, but despite being nominated, he did not win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Sellers blamed his Oscar loss on the blooper outtakes that ran during the end credits. I usually enjoy those, but in this case, not only were they not that funny, they also distracted from a thought-provoking ending not found in the original novel. Director Hal Ashby filmed the original ending, but instead went with a different final version, giving us something to talk about.
And speaking of a conversation following from viewing this film, once you’ve seen Being There, you can’t not compare it to current events and marvel at the fine line between satire and prophecy.
I will start the conversation on both of these topics in the Chat. I’d love to hear from you too! Join us!
Onwards!
+ last viewed (4) 2025-03-18, HDX7, 1.85v, 1D
+ first viewed late 1980s, sd3, 1.85vv, 1
+ 😏😥🥸😛📺
+ ❌0️⃣ Problematic for teens and sensitive adults. | PGc
+ 😡+2 😵💫+1 🤬-1^ 🤭-0 🫣+0
+ 👀⬇️🔽
+ ✝️ +0
+ ✡️ +0
+ 🗽 -1 ➖(💻💲)🤎
Last updated 2025-04-14
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