Review of Being There (1979) by Bill T — 27 Sep 2010
"Being There" is a movie of such awesome simplicity that could EASILY of been taken another direction (think of what direction, say, Will Farrell might have taken it) Peter Sellers stars as Chance, a gardener thrown onto the street when his employer dies.
He's known nothing but life within his employer's house for all his life. When he is hit by a car, a wealthy politico and his wife take him in, and they are charmed about his, well, simplicity.
Chance the Gardener (mistakenly renamed Chauncey Gardener by the couple) doesn't say much and is obsessed by tv. The couple take his simple language as metaphorical dialogue. Pretty soon, everyone up to the President of The United States is wowed by him.
Again, this could have been taken to slapstick double-entendre heights, but Ashby and Sellers play it low-key, to amazing results. Sellers is so good here. No wonder he got an Oscar nomination for it.
This is probably Sellers' last great role (he made The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu after this, but let's forget about that one).
This review of Being There (1979) was written by Bill T on 27 Sep 2010.
Being There has generally received very positive reviews.
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