ComedyDrama

Being There

- Getting there is half the fun; being there is all of it!

A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.

Release Date : 1979-12-19

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : United ArtistsLorimar Film EntertainmentBSBCIPNatWest VenturesNew Gold EntertainmentNorthstar Media

Production Country : GermanyUnited States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Chance

Original Name : Peter Sellers

Gender : Male

Character Name : Eve Rand

Original Name : Shirley MacLaine

Gender : Female

Character Name : Benjamin Rand

Original Name : Melvyn Douglas

Gender : Male

Character Name : President 'Bobby'

Original Name : Jack Warden

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dr. Robert Allenby

Original Name : Richard Dysart

Gender : Male

Character Name : Vladimir Skrapinov

Original Name : Richard Basehart

Gender : Male

Character Name : Louise

Original Name : Ruth Attaway

Gender : Female

Character Name : Thomas Franklin

Original Name : David Clennon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sally Hayes

Original Name : Fran Brill

Gender : Female

Character Name : Johanna Franklin

Original Name : Denise DuBarry

Gender : Female

Character Name : First Lady

Original Name : Alice Hirson

Gender : Female

Character Name : Gary Burns

Original Name : Jerome Hellman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sidney Courtney

Original Name : John Harkins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kaufman

Original Name : James Noble

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dennis Watson

Original Name : Mitch Kreindel

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lolo

Original Name : Oteil Burbridge

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wilson

Original Name : Richard Venture

Gender : Male

Character Name : Colson

Original Name : Sam Weisman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Karpatov

Original Name : Elya Baskin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Man at File Cabinet at the Washington Post (uncredited)

Original Name : Hal Ashby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Perkins

Original Name : Kenneth Patterson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Baldwin

Original Name : Stanley Grover

Gender : Male

Reviews

Filipe Manuel Neto

@FilipeManuelNeto

2023-11-22

**Peter Sellers' big farewell in a film that highlights his more chivalrous side.** There are films that, even though they're good, cannot be consensual, and this is one of them. It's a film that conquers admirers as easily as it accumulates people who didn't understand it or didn't like it for whatever reason. I confess that I liked it, but I can understand both sides. The film has qualities, but it also presents a story that is not pleasant, and that is so far-fetched that it could never actually take place in real life. The film presents a friendly character who is not easy to be indifferent to: Chance is a gardener who loves what he does and is very good at taking care of plants, but who was educated in a very informal way, confined inside a man's house. boss he served his entire life, without ever leaving, without ever going to school, without having any idea of the world around that house. The only glimpse of the world he had was through television, which he watches daily and with pleasure. When the boss dies, he is evicted from that house by lawyers who were not even aware of his existence. Without education, home or even documents, he wanders around the city and, by luck, ends up in the house of a very rich banker, ingratiating himself with his family with his adages which, however vague and inconsistent they may be, are taken as authentic pearls. of wisdom. I have no doubt that there are very wise people in the world who have never set foot in school nor know how to sign their name. These are people who, having not had the opportunity to attend education in their lives, replaced it with a rich life experience and have very valuable empirical knowledge. I know people like that. However, it is inconceivable that someone has lived their entire existence within a house where they serve without ever leaving for anything, and without having documents of any kind. The script makes a mistake here, it exaggerates its proposition, and people's reactions afterwards are equally exaggerated and unreasonable. I recognize this. However, the beauty of the tale created around the figure of this gardener, who never loses his purity, his kindness, is undeniable. And we really have to surrender to Peter Sellers' magnificent performance. The actor provides us with a discreet and elegant work in which he highlighted his best features, a restrained, almost aristocratic posture and slow, absolutely clear and well-pronounced diction. Unfortunately, he is almost the only actor to deserve a positive rating: Shirley Maclaine, Melvyn Douglas and Jack Warden are good, but they appear absolutely bland and disinterested here.