Movie Review: Being There (1979)

If having Netflix has taught me anything, it's that there really is nothing good on television. We don't have "cable," per se, though we do have the basic package of ten channels just so we can see the local news and "regular" television. Last week when I was struggling to find something worth placing in my queue for home delivery, I happened upon Being There (1979). (While I would consider myself a fan of late Sixties-Seventies American movies, sometimes my ability to recall films worth watching is lacking.)

Though I was only ten when this came out in theaters, I do vaguely remember my parents looking forward to seeing it when it eventually made its way to HBO about a year later. Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau movies were always playing at our home, but I had little interest in watching what appeared to be a "big peoples" movie. I am glad I came back to it now that I am a just a tad "bigger" myself.

Directed by Hal Ashy, Being There stars Peter Sellers as Chance the gardener, who mistakenly becomes re-branded during the film as Chauncey Gardiner. Seventies movie regular Jack Warden plays the current POTUS and Shirley MacLaine is the wife of the elderly millionaire (Oscar Winner for Best Supporting Actor that year, Melvyn Douglas) who unwittingly brings Chauncey to international acclaim. Both Sellers and MacLaine give haunting, yet hopeful, performances, supported by a solid cast of supporting actors all doing very good work.

Following the death of his employer, the illiterate and dim-witted Chance, whose only education and contact with the outside world for the entirety of his life has been what he has learned through incessantly watching television, finds himself with no home, job or family. Given his naivete, this situation bothers him not in the least.

Following a series of unusual circumstances, Chance, now dubbed Chauncey Gardiner, finds himself living with Ben (Douglas) and Eve (MacLaine) Rand. Because of his plain spoken approach to life (in truth it is all he is capable of ) and sweet disposition, Chance find himself acting as a confidante to the President of the United States (Warden).

This film also has two things I did not see coming: First, Shirley MacLaine is a wonderful actress capable of being fragile, sexy and sad. My only memories of MacLaine on screen are movies like Steel Magnolias and I had not expected this from her. Secondly, the last seen is one of the most thought provoking (and open to interpretation) WTF scenes I can recall.

The bottom line? If you enjoyed Forrest Gump, and enjoy solid satire, you could do MUCH worse than taking a chance on Being There.