Being There (1979)

Slow Moving But ...Ain't It The Truth?

This movie is uniquely funny and in my opinion the funniest Peter Sellers movie ever... it takes life and personal interpretation to the extreme; people will always make their own assumptions of what they think they hear and or experience!!! Too funny yet sadly so true!!! November 8, 2008

A Classic

Very comical film about a simple gardener who is misintrepreted by others who assume he is offering allegories on the economy when he is simply stating gardening facts. Hysterical at points. October 24, 2008

Been There, Seen That

I missed "Being There" when it came out and I never seemed to find it later on TV so I finally rented it to see what all the excitement was about. I now understand the reputation it has accrued and I must say that I really did enjoy it. I can't see my way to rating it with "5 Stars" but "4 Stars" is certainly an indication of my respect and appreciation of this quality film. I laughed out loud on several occassions but the more common reaction I got was one of curiosity. Although everything that takes place in "Being There" seems to be normal, I never knew what to expect next. That's because, in the midst of all these characters who play their expected roles, there is one person who is completely out of place. Right from the beginning we are aware of who this character is and why he is so out of place. We just aren't prepared for the places he goes, the people he meets and the things he does. At times we see the parody of lifestyles, at times the parody of philosphies, at time the parodies of relationships, and at times the parodies of something else (we may not fully grasp what the parody is of...but we know it must be a parody).

The movie, will draw you in if you let it. Although I am often too pragmatic for my own good, I found it easy to be drawn into "Being There". A cursory look at some other reviews tells me others were not. I think the way this movie succeeds is the way the character was set up for us. I recall seeing "The Sixth Sense" years ago when it came out. I was insulted not by the movie but by a trailer in which the writer and director reviewed scenes in which a deceased character was able to believe that he was actually alive based on his perceived interaction with living persons. Their contention was; See! You doubted that this could happen but we just showed you how it could! OK, I thought, that proves your point for those 7 or 8 scenes but they took place over several days at least and you don't account for what this character did the rest of his time. In "Being There" we never need to concern ourselves with such pragmatic issues because we know that Chance Gardner is usually going to be off by himself watching TV. We can accept that the only scenes with him interacting with others were the only ones that actually occurred. (My pragmatism often works overtime). We can accept him as he is which enables viewers like myself to then accept everything else that happens as well.

The ending is a bit peculiar and left me reviewing what I had seen. There is an opportunity to elevate the meaning of "Being There" depending on how you react to that final scene. Personally, I thought it was simply more parody only this time it was of us. September 27, 2008

So painful to watch that I

wanted to burst into tears. I like movies that are long, with character development, but this isn't one of them. I can't believe how many people gave this movie 4 or 5 stars. This is a movie/plot that could have been cut down to 90 minutes and STILL have been way too long of a movie. Lastly, what the heck was up with the ending?! I didn't get that at all. My family and I sat there and stared at each other blankly when the credits started rolling, then had to watch another movie to try to erase the painful memories of that one. Ugh. July 30, 2008

being there dvd

It is obvious that some portions of the movie were cut out on the dvd version of Being There which was disapointing to me. I don't know if the vhs version is the complete film or not, but I would have opted for vhs if it was a complete version of the film. July 28, 2008

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