Being There (1979)

Cast: Peter Sellers (Chance), Shirley MacLaine (Eve Rand), Jack Warden (President 'Bobby'), Melvyn Douglas (Benjamin Turnbull 'Ben' Rand)

Director: Hal Ashby

Genre: Drama/ Comedy


I am willing to bet money that the writers of the movie Forrest Gump (1994) had taken at least some of there ideas from this movie. Tom Hank's character Forrest Gump popped into my head during a few scenes in this movie.

The film is based off of the book of the same name by Jerzy Kosinski. From what I understand, Peter Sellers had read the book, called up Kosinski about turning his story into a movie as he eagerly wanted to play the role of Chance.

The story line is very original and very well thought out. Peter Sellers was very entertaining. His character seemed somewhere in between a Buster Keaton and a Fred Rogers.
Chance is a simple minded gardener for an old man in a well-to-do house in Washington D.C. Oddly, Chance has never once left the house and his only experience and knowledge of the outside world is from television. The old man has passed on and Chance is forced to the streets after the old man's lawyers ask him to leave.

With no place to go and no gardens to care for, Chance wanders the streets looking for a new garden to tend. He gets injured by a limousine and ends up under the care of a very wealthy and influential older business man, Ben, and his wife Eva.

As the couple get to know Chance the gardener, and mistakenly refer to him as "Chauncy Gardner", his constant witless deliverances of T.V. based remarks are mistaken for philosophical profoundness. When the president himself stops to visit Ben, he is introduced to Chance and mistakes his remarks about garden care for deep economic and political insight. The president ends up quoting Chance in a speech which quickly brings Chance into the public eye. His attention suddenly becomes sought after by major news and media outlets. Nobody can find any background information on Chance. While he remains influential, he also becomes quite the national enigma.

But Chance remains completely ignorant of the powerful impact he has on those around him. All he wants to do is watch television and tend to the garden.

In the meantime, Ben is very sick and on his deathbed. Also, his wife is becoming rather fond of Chance and tries to seduce him into an affair. All the while, Chance remains ignorant.

The few instances of the immoral tendencies of the upper class portrayed made it unmistakably obvious just how self-seeking powerful people in the country can be. I don't think this was necessarily part of the story, but it was there.

As I said, the story line was original. The movie moved along nicely- not too fast, not too slow. However, the only entertaining element of the movie was watching Sellers. He fit so well into the part. His childlike expressions aroused a fair amount pity for the character. It was a role unlike any other role he has played in his acting career. But other than Sellers and perhaps the social commentary behind the storyline, the movie just seemed too lacking. Much of the movie was rather bland and distasteful- particularly a scene where Chance is approached by a gay man who mistakes Chance’s ignorance as an acceptance of an "offer." I would put other Sellers movies as Doctor Strangelove or The Pink Panther before Being There. I would call it another one of the movies that I’ve seen once but probably wouldn’t watch again.