Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining with a hidden message.
Review: A brilliant acting job by Peter Sellers. His control is amazing, and the final credit outtakes show how difficult it was for him to keep a straight face.
The film is an indictment on how people believe only what they want to hear, how we all behave like sheep and jump on bandwagons and mindlessly follow trends. The film is a harsh comment on the overwhelming power of TV in our lives, especially politics. (Chauncey is certainly mesmerized by TV). We can make heroes out of idiots! Are we all fools, duped into following certain people because they arrive at the right time when we are feeling particularly empty?
The ending is very controversial. Possibly, a very subtle attack on religion and its leaders. It took many days to sink in...reading the book to gain more insight. Then I read an interview by the author (who played a bit role as a Russian revolutionary in REDS.) What famous person in history walked on water? Is the author saying that Chauncey Gardner is analogous to Christ, or any religious leader? Is he saying Christ was an idiot and people were ripe to follow?
Politics and controversy aside, it is a brilliant performance by Sellers. One scene in particular stands out, when Chauncey, set out on the streets for the first time, defends himself with a remote control! Priceless, just priceless!
Rating:
Summary: Strange, Bizarre, Enchanting, Unforgettable!
Review: I guess this is a comedy, but it really defies categorization. I've heard it called dark comedy, but it doesn't fit with other movies I've seen that have been so labelled (e.g., "The War of the Roses"). Peter Sellers plays a gardener who has lived most (all?) of his life in seclusion at his employer's (relative's?) home until the employer dies. Knowing nothing of the world except what he has learned from watching television (and his minimal contact with the outer world makes it impossible for him to know what on TV is real and is not real, as he has no context to judge from), Sellers ventures forth into Washington, D.C. to find a new life. He stumbles into a very wealthy Washington broker (Melvyn Douglas) and his entourage/toadies/family. They interpret Sellers' naive comments on every little thing as sage, profound, obtuse, abstract philosophical wisdom. They look like idiots when Sellers is seemingly the simple-minded one. Just when you think you have the whole movie figured out, the astonishing ending forces you to re-think the entire movie. I'm not sure the movie is logical, but it leaves you wonderfully bewildered and charmed. Enjoy watching it several times, but you'll never be sure you have it figured out. Life is a puzzle to be enjoyed, and this is a prime example.
Rating: 
Summary: Silly
Review: The title of this movie may be "Being There" but the plot isn't there at all. Shirley MacLaine and Peter Sellers team up to form the story of a man who has been a gardener all his life that suddenly shows up on Maclaine's doorstep. Maclaines husband, dying from aplastic anemia, likes the man, and so they take him in. His name is Chance, but Shirley mistakenly mistakes if for Chauncy, hence the name, Chauncy Gardener becomes this man's own. No one seems to realize the man is a simple minded child, and he even gets to meet the President of the United States and go on a TV show. It is obvious to the most casual observer that "Chauncy" is simple minded, probably even retarded, but not obvious to anyone in the film. Because of this, the film lacks reality and the acting is flat.
Rating:
Summary: I'm so pleased I was...and could be again
Review: While seeing this film again recently, I was reminded of Oliver Wendell Holmes' observation that he cared nothing about simplicity this side of complexity but greatly valued simplicity on the other side of it. Once upon a time (probably in the 1970s), there was a live-in gardener named Chance. All he knows about the world is limited to his daily tasks and to the programs he watches on television. (Given his minimal IQ and reticent personality, that is about all his mind can handle.) After his employer dies, Chance's services are no longer needed and he is dismissed. While wandering the streets of Washington, D.C., he steps into the path of a car driven by the chauffeur of a billionaire's wife, Eve Rand (Shirley MacLaine). When she inquires who he is, he mumbles "Chance...gardner" which she understands to be "Chauncy Gardener." (Subsequently, that is how he is identified to everyone he meets. He accepts the new name with his new life.) Although "Chauncy" is not seriously injured, Eve insists that he recover at the suburban estate where she and her husband Benjamin (Melvyn Douglas) live. Given his circumstances at the time of the accident, Chauncy was at the right place at the right time. He recovers quickly, is warmly welcomed by the Rands, now has a new home and benefactor, and develops an especially close friendship with Ben who interprets his simple-minded observations (based entirely on his experiences as a gardener) to be the insights of a worldly-wise genius. Chauncy meets Ben's close friend (political protégé?) "Bobby," President of the United States. Over time, he is "discovered" by the news media who view him and treat him with the same deference and reverence Ben, President "Bobby," and other power brokers do. This is both a political satire and a contemporary fable such as Hans Christian Andersen would have written had he lived in the 1970s. It shares much in common with "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1837), except there is no Honest Boy to point out that Chauncy Gardner is not whom he is assumed to be. Actually, Jerzy Kosinski wrote the novel on which this film is based and it was skillfully directed by Hal Ashby. The acting throughout the cast is outstanding. Douglas received an Academy Award for best actor in a supporting role, Sellers a nomination for best actor in leading role. MacLaine is also terrific. Obviously, Eve is devoted to her husband as well as very fond of him but starved for attention and affection when Chauncy appears in her life. She is attracted to him just as everyone else is. (I have already noted that this is a fable.) I should point out, now, that at no time and in no way does Chauncy consciously and deliberately attempt to deceive anyone. Yes, he really is THAT dim. If contrasted with him, Forrest Gump would seem like Gore Vidal. Credit Ashby and Sellers for establishing and then sustaining precisely the right tone. The satire has an edge throughout the film but is nicely balanced with gentle humor and tender moments. As someone immortal once said, "All's well that ends well." Indeed, I cannot imagine a more appropriate final scene for Being There.
Rating:
Summary: Being There
Review: Clearly you're watching a master of his craft deliver one of his best, if not his best ever performance, in this delightful film! Yes, I would agree with some former reviewers here, that it's slow of pace - but there is no other way, such a complex, deep and thought provoking film could have been made! Sellers pleaded for almost a decade to play this part, ...and it is a crime and a display of ridiculous incompetence, possibly bias, by the Academy Awards organisation that Peter Sellers did not win the Oscar for Best Actor in 1980 for this role - ...I believe that went to Dustin Hoffman for Kramer vs Kramer, enough said!! During the film, a fairly lengthy one at that, Sellers could have so easily broken the spell that was his character "Chance" the gardener - he never did! He is utterly, utterly, compelling and simply superb during the entire portrayal, ...indeed the part of the film when the aged and dying Billionaire, played by the excellent Melvyn Douglas passes away, is one of the most memorable in cinematic history -...as the apparent, seemingly non-understanding Chance, chokes with emotion with the passing of his admiring benefactor. The film's end, with Sellers walking on the water, offers several interpretations - certainly friends I have known that have watched this film, have differing opinions to it's true meaning - and perhaps that was always intentional, & therefore significant to it's charm? Whatever, ...it's a brilliant ending to a most brilliant film!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Loved Upon 1st Viewing & Every Viewing Since
Review: I am astonished to read here at Amazon that there are people who do not like this film. They sure were not in any of the audiences I was with, as everyone with me was absolutely broken up laughing. So many of the people involved in "Being There" have been dead for awhile, including Peter Sellers, the star, Melvyn Douglas, the costar, Hal Ashby, the director, and I believe the writer as well. For every single one of these people, "Being There" stands as one of their final works and also their best. But the key was Peter Sellers, who was wildly uneven in his total body of work but 100% "on" for this movie. That he had to play it straight for virtually the entire movie too is further credit to his ample comedic talents. Outtakes shown at film's end include his breaking into laughter while delivering some of his memorable lines, which ruined those takes. So even he wasn't immune from the comedy of his character, Chauncy Gardener. The reality of casting though was that there wasn't anyone but Sellers capable of playing this role whereas the other roles could have been cast with others. Chauncy Gardener takes his name from his sole occupation during life, tending a garden in a Washington DC home for a man who sheltered him all of his life because he was mentally slow or "challenged," in the vernacular of today. When his guardian dies, Chauncy "Chance," takes to the streets of DC and ends up in the hands of Douglas and his wife (Shirely McLaine), who are key players in the Washington DC political scene. Douglas adores Chauncy and takes all of his statements about his gardening as political statements and soon has all of Washington, including right up to the President himself, listening to Chauncy's advice. The President is hilariously played by Jack Ward. McLaine's character meanwhile is busy falling in love with Chauncy, putting all sorts of sexual innuendo implications into his lengthy silences while he is watching tv. He is literally addicted to tv whereas she interprets his addiction as his being "hard to get" and the "strong, silent" type. This acts on her libido like a Spanish fly. (I can't imagine that there is a woman alive who can't relate to her reading too much into him.) At one point in the film, Chauncy gets to literally walk on water. Since he's pulled off everything but that prior to his doing so, it now seems natural that he can walk on water too! Take it from me: If you miss this film, it is your loss.
Rating:
Summary: I'm so pleased I was...and could be again
Review: This is both a political satire and a contemporary fable such as Hans Christian Andersen might have written had he lived in the 1970s. It shares much in common with "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1837), except there is no Honest Boy to point out that Chauncy Gardner is not whom he is assumed to be. Actually, Jerzy Kosinski wrote the novel on which this film is based and it was skillfully directed by Hal Ashby. The acting throughout the cast is outstanding. Douglas received an Academy Award for best actor in a supporting role, Sellers a nomination for best actor in a leading role. MacLaine is also terrific. Obviously, Eve is devoted to her husband as well as very fond of him but starved for attention and affection when Chauncy appears in her life. She is attracted to him just as everyone else is. (I have already noted that this is a fable.) I should point out, now, that at no time and in no way does Chauncy consciously and deliberately attempt to deceive anyone. Yes, he really is THAT dim. If contrasted with him, Forrest Gump would seem like Gore Vidal. Credit Ashby and Sellers for establishing and then sustaining precisely the right tone. The satire has an edge throughout the film but is nicely balanced with gentle humor and tender moments. As someone immortal once said, "All's well that ends well." Indeed, I cannot imagine a more appropriate final scene for Being There.
Rating: 
Summary: "I like to watch..."
Review: Peter Sellers is wonderful as the simpleton gardener who in middle age finds himself in the real world for the first time and through a series of coincidences is hailed as a genius with all cures for mankind's problems. As a confidante to a wealthy philantropist, Chance the gardener is introduced to the President of the United States. Paraded through formal dinner parties, invited as talk show guest, and eventually investigated by the CIA, "Chance Gardener" becomes an unprecidented enigma . A star-studded cast includes a beautiful Shirley MacLaine as the tycoon's wife who is very attracted to the "inexperienced" Chance. Melvyn Douglas took the Best Supproting Actor Oscar (his second) for his role as the dying philantrophist. The slow moving yet poignant film offers many observations about people and how they are perceived by new acquintances. Peter Sellers' character benefited greatly from his handsome, classy attire when forced out of his home of many years. His simple speech would have been taken as foolish babble, had the man been dressed in rags. There is a particularly moving scene near the end of the film, when Chance's benefactor is layed to rest. Seemingly disinterested in the ceremony, Chance wanders off, examining nearby plant life, to see what improvements need to be made. The DVD version offers a hilarious set of "bloopers", showing how Sellers can't get through the lines without laughing out loud. "Being There" is certainly quite a departure from any standard comedy/drama. Not for everyone, but worth a chance!****
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Movie
Review: This movie was wonderful. Peter Sellers did an extrodinary job playing the simple yet mystical man called Chauncy Gardiner, otherwise known as Chance. Peter Sellers seemed to know just how to pull this role off. Most actors probably couldn't because Chance's character is so simple. But Peter Sellers does very well with it. One thing I found that detracted from the film was Shirley McLaine's character Eve. The part that was written for her varied from the book and McLaine couldn't pull it off. She didn't have the emotion that the book did. Her character seemed bored with Chance instead of being mystified and curious like EE was in the book. The other thing that really bothered me in the movie is the fact that the doctor at the Rand house, says some of Eve's lines. He does actions that she was doing in the book. That didn't make sense to me. Benjamin Rand was wonderful as well. Melvyn Douglas did the best job of making a dying man seem alive again. He brought a life to this character that I didn't get from reading the book. The music did a lot for me while I was watching this film. The score was beautifully written and there wasn't a scene where it didn't play an important role. One of the things that I noticed in the film was the lighting and how it is opposite of almost every other film in some spots. The one spot that comes to mind right away is when Ben is getting his blood. The room is so bright that you would never guess it's a dying man that's talking. Usually when one is dying in a film, you see darker colors and dimmer lit rooms. Just an interesting quirk. Overall I thought the acting was good. The only actor that I didn't like was Shirley McLaine. I'm not sure if it was her or the parts that were given to her though. I just didn't enjoy her character. I would strongly reccommend this movie to someone just to see. It's entertaining though slow at a couple points.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and haunting.....
Review: This film is like none I have ever seen before. In the past, when I thought of Peter Sellers (who plays lead character "Chance the Gardener"), my mind automatically went to Inspector Clouseau from the Pink Panther series. I thought of the bumbling, clumsy and silly detective in hot persuit of the pink panther jewel. What a terrific change of pace! I really got a sense of Peter Sellers' depth as an actor in this brilliant film. Sellers, Melvyn Douglas, and Shirley Maclaine were all strong leads in this story, along with a great supporting cast. BEING THERE tells the story of Chance, the Gardener, a simple man who spends his entire life gardening in the backyard of his boss' house, until one day the old man passes away. When a couple of journalists come around to find out more about the former master of the house, Chance is the only one there. The house must close, and for the first time the man must make strides into the big, wide world. This world is like nothing he could have ever imagined outside of the house where he worked. One thing that keeps him tranquil and holds his attention is the television. As Chance says, "I like to watch." (this line is misinterpreted a few times during the course of the movie.) By chance, Chance meets up with Shirley Maclaine the wife of an elderly billionaire. This is just the beginning of an intriguing series of events where Chance--renamed Chauncey Gardner--the simple man who speaks of plants and their growth (the only real knowledge he has about the world) becomes central as wise sage in one of the most intriguing political ventures. This film has moments of laugh-out-loud comedy, and serious elements as well. (The final scene is chilling.....that is all I am going to say......)
Check it out if you are in the mood for something completely different. In the words of Chauncy, this is definitely a film "I like to watch."
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