Rating: 
Summary: Ahead of it's time!
Review: My parents took me to see this film when I was nine--and I remember loving it then. It is a comedy, but also a scathing essay on the media, politicians, and the extremely rich. It was also very prophetic--we were on the cusp of the Reagan years, and if people had paid heed to the basic premise of the movie maybe the 80's would have been different. So much of it still applies today. I heard that Peter Sellers would write letters to the director years in advance of this film being made and sign them Chance the Gardner. The prep time for this role is obvious--he nailed it. A wonderful, wonderful film!
Rating:
Summary: Reality TV for Politics
Review: This is my all-time favorite movie. Eight years in government have proven the truth of this movie. Reality is not far off the mark.The quality of the film and the acting is outstanding. The outtakes at the end are hilarious. Nevertheless, it is a "deep" movie that could be easily dismissed by people who don't deal with high-level officials. That it reveals so much truth can be troubling for people who want to take politics seriously. I've been there, and this movie is more real than most people want to admit. As strange as the movie is, reality is sometimes even more strange.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than "Gump"
Review: Sellers is a comedic genius. When Forrest Gump first came out,
only a few people commented on the similarities of that film
with this one. This is really a better film, let me tell you.
Far less of a Hollywoodization than most anything else you
see on a first run in a theater these days, this movie grows
more out of the slapstick style of much older traditions, even
with the funniest bits really coming in the dialogue. Go get it,
you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: This is a masterpiece...
Review: I have watched this film many times and always come away feeling that it is one of the very best films ever made. Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine etc., they are all hillarious. The premise of the film is so true: we give people "celebrity" for non-sensical reasons. We create guru's and stars out of thin air to satisfy the desires of a culture demanding new and fresh "talent". Well Peter Sellers takes it all to the max and makes fools out of everyone. In the end (final scene) you wonder, can he really walk on water? In my opinion, he should be able to after what he pulls off. I still miss him and his talent.
Rating:
Summary: My "Being There" Review
Review: Excellent movie. One of the best of all time. I has everything in it; comedy, drama, romance, and more. Directed by the late Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) this wonderful satire has superb acting, wonderful cinimatography, an excellent plot, great stars, and one of the all-time best movie endings you'll ever see. You can't take your eyes off the screen! Melvyn Douglas earned an Oscar for best supporting actor (his second) and Peter Sellers earned a National Board of Review Best Actor Award, a Golden Globe Best Actor Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The film ranked 26th funnist movie of all time according to the American Film Institution (AFI). This truely is an excellent film. So don't just borrow it or rent it...buy it. You'll be glad you did!
Rating: 
Summary: This first Forrest Gump
Review: A sleeper when first released, I think people who like Forrest Gump would like this film. Not much it terms of extras. It seems that outtakes and deleted scenes for this film would have made an excellent addition. None-the-less, a very good value for a DVD with good sound and picture for the price.
Rating:
Summary: You'll like to watch...
Review: This is a small, quiet film that will really get into your head. It's a simple, formulaic comedy premise, kind of the forerunner of Forest Gump in a way: an apparently imbecilic man (played to understated perfecton by Peter Sellers) gets taken for more than he is by the type of people who always take things for more or less than they are. This leads him into outrageous situations ending in the most outrageous, unthinkable position of all. This type of script could have been a very different film if played for slapstick with a different actor in the lead. It might have even been a funnier film, but it wouldn't have been a more memorable one. Being There is more than the sum of its parts, thanks to great acting and directing and a certain... something. Perhaps an uncertainty that Sellers' "Chauncy Gardner" really isn't the wisest of the lot? Watch and decide for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: One of the VERY best of 1979
Review: Excellent film!...simple as that. Peter Sellers is FANTASTIC as Chauncy Gardner (Chance the gardener.) I saw this movie in 1979; I was 13 years old. I THANK Hollywood AND the 70's for films like this. Movies aren't made with this kind of delicate but brilliant subtlety anymore and for me, at that age, watching "BEING THERE" was edifying and engrossing. I always tell my friends ** "Yeah, we may be 34 or 35 years old now but we DID get to grow up during a very stimulating and *high quality* time for entertainment and I wouldn't trade that in for any amount of years." We soaked in alot of greatness and this film is no exception. BUY IT. p.s. don't miss the hilarious bloopers as the credits roll (Peter Sellers cracking up, trying to get through chauncy's lines. Excellent stuff!)
Rating:
Summary: What happen to the widescreen version?
Review: I was informed that Being There would be released on DVD with widescreen, showing the entire movie. Does anyone know if it will be there? I like to watch...
Rating:
Summary: A FILM THAT DOES'NT LEAVE YOU
Review: Most of my favorite films are the ones that not everyone gets -"Harold and Maude" was one (directed by Hal ashby as was this one) and he tells this story in a brilliant fashion. It's a very gentle movie that speaks volumes about the world we live in and the people we live with. The powerful characters in this film are reduced to the human beings that they really are. They come away no more powerful than you or I. Peter's character forces them to re-think their own existence as well as their hunger for money and power. I would give this film 5 stars but I feel the VERY ending of the film (with the creits rolling over outtakes) takes away from the final scene. WARNING: DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER REVIEWS IF YOU HAVE'NT SEEN THIS FILM. THERE ARE SOME THOUGHTLESS MORONS WHO GIVE AWAY THE ENDING IN THEIR REVIEWS.
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