Being There

Pros: cinematography, supporting cast
Cons: implausibility and subglacial pacing

Once upon a time (the early 1970s), I was mildly amused by a blessedly short novel Being There bylined Jerzy Kosinski.* I saw the movie that Hal Ashby directed from a screenplay credited to Kosinski during its 1979 theatrical release and was ...

Pros: hilarious spoof on the foibles of society and politics
Cons: none with the movie, but bad, bad computer!

Life...or death...or even gardening, I submit, is a state of mind.

In 1979’s Being There, these three instances occur simultaneously for a bemusing and irrepressibly bewitching comedy. Peter Sellers (Pink Panther movies) embraces...

Pros: an great performance by Peter Sellers in a thought provoking film
Cons: a little slow

Earlier this month I did a book vs. movie comparison of The Magic Christian. I wrote that I wanted to do an ongoing series on comparing book versions to movie versions. The second entry in the series is Being There. This is a novel ...

Pros: Sellers is the film!
Cons: There are a few...

Peter Sellers has always been one of the comic geniuses in the last 50 years. No one can nail accents as well as he did. Nor could they create as many distinct characters either. And based on his comedy, it is not hard to see the influence that he has ...

Pros: Ashby, Script, Look, Score, Cast, & Peter Sellers.
Cons: A Bit Soft at Times and a Bit Slow.

One of the most gifted and brightest British comedians of international cinema, Peter Sellers has been known as a chameleon for playing quirky characters with the use of slapstick comedy. In the 1960s, Sellers rose to the international cinema circuit ...

Pros: Melvyn Douglas's performance, a few smile-worthy moments.
Cons: The film suffers from slow pacing and a ridiculous protagonist.

Director Hal Ashby’s Being There was one of Peter Sellers’s last film and he was passionate about it as well. The problem is, there is very little to be passionate about. The story could have had been more if the characters actually had ...

Pros: Multi-layered symbolism yet simple, funny
Cons: None

There are movies that you enjoy once and forget, and there are movies that invite your return, revealing subtle plot nuances and new details of characterization with each viewing. Being There (1979) is such a movie. I've given it at least 15 attentive...

Pros: Peter Sellers' best work as a comedian
Cons: I could not find any

Peter Sellers SHINED in this, his final movie before his untimely death.

The movie opens with a TV screen, and pans to different areas of a large home and garden, with TV's in every location. (All are in the ON position.) The reason for this...

Pros: Refreshing, humorous, and well made.
Cons: None spring to mind. Maybe one or two slightly weak characters.

Imagine what it would be like to grow up without knowing who you are or where you came from. In your entire life you have only known two people and your only connection to the outside world was television. You're a simple person. You seem well spoken,...

Pros: A very charming, witty movie.
Cons: None.

Peter Sellers has long been a favorite actor of mine. From his performances in “Dr. Strangelove” to “The Pink Panther”, and “The Magic Christian”, his comic genius and brilliant acting have always kept me in stitches. So, as a matter of course, I have...

Pros: Writing, acting, directing
Cons: not on DVD

"Being There" is a one of a kind movie. It's a very intelligent dark comedy from 1979 that stars Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine. Sellers plays the role of Chance the gardener, an innocent simpleton who's lived his entire life in seclusion -...

Pros: Peter Sellers
Cons: None

I recently had the chance to take a second look at this old 1979 black comedy, which provided the late Peter Sellers with the finest role of his career.
This film was adapted from his own novel by Jerry Kozinski.

“Being There” casts...

Pros: Rock solid acting, very funny
Cons: A little slow

I can't in all good concience give this movie 5 stars. I would really like to, but it's just not one of the very best films I have ever seen. It is, however, very, VERY good. Just a little too slow for my tastes.

Peter Sellers (apparently...

Pros: Brilliant acting, perfect directing, a marvelous script
Cons: that I did not see this on the big screen

After seeing this movie, which is Peter Seller's swan song, one can't help but wonder why in the humorous heaven Seller's did not do other comedies of such high caliber. This is simply the best comedy that I have seen Seller's do. Seller's is Chance...

Pros: Funny plot, funny acting. That sounds like a lot less pros than there are - this is a great movie!
Cons: Perhaps a bit slow moving at times - but that is debatable.

Wow! This movie is FUNNY! I loved the whole idea of the plot and Peter Sellers' spectacular performance. He was a comic genius, especially in this film. I saw this movie because I knew Peter Sellers was great and it was recommended to me by several...