Being There (2009)

This is my favorite movie of all time. And I don't particularly like Peter Sellers!

It's a slow starter. First time I saw it, I remember being somewhat puzzled by the opening, where Chance is revealed as a very retarded middle-aged man, trained as a gardener, who apparantly has reached his full--and extremely limited--potential. He loses his livelihood and his sheltered place to live when "the old man"--his mysterious benefactor--dies, and the lawyers in charge of the estate evict him.

My first chuckle came soon after, when he tried using his TV remote on a mugger, trying to change the experience into something more pleasant; it wasn't until this point in the film that things began to make sense to me.

Throughout the rest of the movie, scene after scene shows 'Chauncy Gardener' as a complete misfit--and highlights how we human beings, in all our frailty, create ourselves and our world through what we decide to believe. When Chancy speaks, his words are mysterious because they are short and puzzling--when those around him try to make sense of them, they take what he says as metaphors, and read wildly profound meanings in his words.

(This leads to Jerzy Kosinski's purpose for writing the novel, to highlight the foolish way people blindly swallow whatever tripe the media--and our politicians--serve up. IMO director Hal Ashby caught Jerzy's intention with this movie even better than the book did.)

At the same time that people read wisdom into his simple words, Chauncy is fully present and honest in the moment, and the other characters--to whom this is foreign--treasure that, even while they completely miss that Chance is totally clueless as to what's really going on (with one notable exception).

The irony is that those people closest to Chauncy are led by the meanings they insert to personal growth and transformation--even, in a performance that won Melvyn Douglas a well-deserved Oscar, acceptance of approaching death, as just another season in the eternal cycle of life.

Other reviews I've read on Amazon villify the walking-on-water scene, at the end of the movie; I believe they completely miss the point.

Chance has, by chance, walked out on a stone quay in the lake, and doesn't even know that he should be drowning. He slowly bends over, inserting his umbrella into the water, and looks at it with some puzzlement; he is once again demonstrating that his total innocence is protected--and he gives the audience the experience that the characters in the movie have, namely, to read into this enigma of a film whatever meaning they choose to see.

"Being There" is one of my favorite movies of all time, starring Peter Sellers in his last major film role. How Sellers was cheated out of an Oscar is still a mystery to me, as this has to be one of the greatest performances by an actor in the last 40 years. Maybe voters for the Academy Award weren't in the mood for a black comedy, which this show is, or maybe they didn't like its political overtones? Or, maybe they just couldn't give such a serious award to someone who'd played Inspector Clouseau? In any case, this movie was way before its time in style and substance; Academy voters missed the boat. Among other things, they should have asked themselves if anyone else could have played this part so well? Could anyone else have done the blank, languid stares so convincingly? Could anyone else have delivered the dead-pan lines so flawlessly? The answers would have been a resounding, No.

The movie tells the story of a half-retarded gardener, Chance, whom one supposes is the illegitimate son of a prominent business man in Washington, D. C. This occurs in 1979, when the Carter Administration was in its last stages of faded glory. Chance, played by Peter Sellers, is left homeless when the old man dies. He then wanders the streets of the big city in search of his new life. Whatever he has learned has come from watching TV and he uses his remote control to change channels. While roaming the streets of Washington, Chance even tries his clicker in real life situations, which is very funny.

Chance then stumbles upon one of the main power brokers in D. C., a gravely-ill Ben Rand. He is played by Melvyn Douglas who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in this portrayal. Rand's wife Eve, played by Shirley MacLane, falls for Chance and a tawdry affair (on her side) ensues. Later on, Chance becomes a media sensation, of sorts, and appears on late-night TV to present his simplistic views. They're all couched in terms of keeping a garden prosperous which rings a responsive chord with all concerned. Almost everyone takes Chance for a modern day genius when he really is just the opposite. Various private and government security agencies do research on Chance's background and can find nothing. He wears expensive clothes and underwear, dating from the 1930's, that apparently are hand-me-downs from the old man. It's as if Chance suddenly dropped out of the sky, which he practically has.

At Mr. Rand's funeral, the surviving power brokers talk of making Chance the next U. S. President. The closing scene shows Chance stepping out onto a lake appearing to walk on water. Maybe this is to serve as final proof that he deserves the #1 job? As far as I know, no one has ever explained the significance of the scene which is as it should be. As with the best art, it's up to the viewer to decide its meaning.

To me the movie shows the power of television and other forms of mass media in shaping the public mind. Taken to the extreme, a total idiot might be foisted off on the public to hold the highest political office if only he has the right handlers and avoids any whiff of scandal. The biting sarcasm and irony of "Being There" would not appeal to everyone's taste but most thinking adults should be captivated by the story and by Sellers' amazing performance.

Before buying the DVD, I tried to find out either on websites or on the outside of the package, if the hilarious out-takes appear on this recording. These were superimposed over the closing credits in the original version shown in theaters but often do not appear when the film is shown on TV. To my relief, the out-takes are there are and just as hilarious as I remember them.

Buy Being There (2009) Now

This is a wonderful film that I saw theatrically some 30 years ago. This blu-ray is sharp and film like, with muted colors appropriate to the story, but still very nice to finally watch in hi def. Don't expect it to look like a modern day film. I saw several subtle things I hadn't noticed before, because of the sharp resolution.

The extras are nice, but brief. One short scene and one 'extension' plus the alternate (original) ending. Also, there's a promo piece for distributors with Peter and Hal Ashby. Nice to have these, but I'm wondering what happened to all those hours of videotapes of alternates of the whole film that I read about before. Were they poor quality or impossible to find? I heard some crumbled into dust when played back so perhaps they're gone for good.

The making of only has Illana Douglas (granddaughter of Melvyn)who was on set as a youngster. (Where is Shirley Maclaine? Most of the others are, of course, no longer with us.)

A no brainer buy for fans and if you haven't seen it rent it!

A great performance from Peter Sellers and all involved.

Read Best Reviews of Being There (2009) Here

I don't intend to question the movie, which is excellent indeed. My rating is based on the fact, that this so-called "Deluxe Edition" is only a hoax, a bluff package.

The only bonus material are the recollections of Melvyn Douglas' granddaughter (16 minutes runtime, intercut with scenes from the movie) and the trailer.

Sorry, that's not luxurious, but simply ridiculous. Thanks Warner Bros. for another rip-off.

Want Being There (2009) Discount?

This is a comedy classic. It is arguably the best film about television ever made. And it is clearly the best film about "the suit makes the man" to the extreme.

And it looks better than it ever has before.

But it could look better. Black levels are poor, with murky grays everywhere, and noise reduction has been over-used. One professional review notes: "the studio applied some aggressive Digital Noise Reduction. The problem is quite severe in some scenes, especially the opening. Film grain freezes in place while the action of the scene moves around it. Detail is mushy, and objects smear when in motion."

The sound is good. You really get the clear-but-clanky presentation of the TV shows that form the backgroun or foreground of many scenes. But beware, for some bizarre reason, the default soundtrack is not the lossless track, but the DD1.0 track. Whose silly idea was that?

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