Review of Being There (1979) by Christopher C — 27 Nov 2011

For myself, growing up in the 1990s, the quintessential film simpleton is Forrest Gump, but before him there was Peter Sellers in the 1979 film BEING THERE. Sellers plays Chance, a dim-witted gardener who, after the death of his employer, finds himself cast into Washington D.C. society. Unable to offer more to a conversation than a few remarks about gardening, Chance ends up being a rising political star, as his interlocutors (and eventually the American public) treat him as the mirror of their own opinions.

All in all, I found BEING THERE an enjoyable film but no unmissable classic. The cinematography isn't memorable, and there are two exceedingly lame scenes of sexual humour. Sellers' performance as this man-child is solid, though one wishes for more of the variety of other roles. Sadly, the film's message -- that in American politics people latch on to vacuous soundbites instead of seeking competent leaders -- is still as timely as it was several decades ago.