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Plot Summary
In his last great performance, Academy Award and Emmy-nominee and Golden Globe-winner Peter Sellers ("Dr. Strangelove," "The Pink Panther" features) stars as Chauncey Gardner, a child-like manservant (and progenitor to "Forrest Gump") whose hermetic existence is shaken when he is cast out upon his employer's death, and seems to encounter the outside world for the first time as he tries to reconcile reality with what he's seen on television. His enigmatic behavior from being autistic savant is taken for brilliance, as he profoundly affects the lives of his newfound friends and benefactors: a dying multimillionaire and political advisor to the president, portrayed by Melvyn Douglas in his Academy Award-winning role, and his wife, played by Academy Award, Emmy and Golden Globe-winner Shirley MacLaine ("Rumor Has It," "In Her Shoes"). Variety says: "a highly unusual and unusually fine film...Sellers' performance stands as the centerpiece of the film, and it's a beauty."
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
96%- Reviews Counted: 45
- Fresh: 43
- Rotten: 2
- Average Rating: 8.5/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: Hal Ashby directs Being There at an unruffled, elegant pace, the better to let Mr. Sellers's double-edged mannerisms make their full impression upon the audience.
Fresh: Here is a comedy that valiantly defies both gravity and the latest Hollywood fashion.
Fresh: A highly unusual and an unusually fine film.
Fresh: Satire is a threatened species in American film, and when it does occur, it's usually broad and slapstick, as in the Mel Brooks films. Being There, directed by Hal Ashby, is a rare and subtle bird that finds its tone and stays with it.
Customer Reviews
Perfect
Perhaps Peter Sellers’ greatest role, elegant proof as to his superlative acting skills, an excellent screenplay, and an excellent supporting cast. One of his best — if not his greatest — of roles.
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- View In iTunes
- $14.99
- Genre: Drama
- Released: 1979
- © 1979 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.