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Rating: 4.75 out of 5
There used to be an animated show called Pinky and the Brain. It revolved around two genetically enhanced laboratory mice who lived in a lab. Brain was the brilliant, self-centered, and scheming one of the pair whose dream was to rule the world. On the other hand, Pinky was kind-hearted but dimwitted or feeble-minded. In every episode, Brain devises a new plan to take over the world, and no matter what he thought of, would fail miserably. In one episode, Brain allows Pinky to make the plan to take over the world. I can’t remember what happened in the episode, but I think Pinky starts some type of farm and ends up on the world’s biggest television network. I think his plan succeeds until Brian messes everything up. Case in point is that the one that is the most insane and had a dimwitted idea was the one to rule the world.
I watched Being There, and all I could think of was the episode of Pinky and the Brain. How does a gardener who is mentally handicapped and all he knows is from television becomes the ideal candidate to be the President of the United States. You can’t make this shit up. Being There is a funny ass film directed by Hal Ashby and based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Jerzy Kosiński. The film is about the sudden rise of Chance (Sellers). Chance is a mentally challenged person living in Washington, DC. While living in the house, the only person who knows of his existence is the only other household servant, a maid/cook named Louise, who tends to all his meals. He has lived his entire life in the home where he grew up and never learned how to read or write. From the beginning, he has worked as a gardener for his long-time employer Mr. Jennings. Everything he has learned was from television. When Chance is not gardening, he watches everything and anything on television. When Mr. Jennings dies, Chance’s life changes as he is evicted from the house. Not understanding his situation and his new life, Chance ventures out looking like a broke down butler. While walking through the streets, he notices himself on TV. Surprised, he walks backward and is struck by a limo. This eventually leads him to meet wealthy Eve Rand (MacLaine). Worried, Eve invites Chance back to her seriously older husband’s place. When asking his name, rather than hearing Chance the Gardener, she hears “Chauncey Gardner.” Chance meets Ben Rand (Douglas), an extremely sick man, on his deathbed but also has a friendship with the President of the United States. When Chance and Ben talk, Chance talks about gardening, which Ben thinks is fiscal policy and is extremely direct. Ben decides that Chance is a great man of wisdom and decides to introduce Chance to the President and have the world know his brilliance. When questions arise about his identity, “Chauncey Gardner” becomes the ideal public representative.
As one of the characters stated, “It’s for sure a white man’s world in America.” This quote couldn’t be so true while watching this film. I found that this movie explained privilege and the belief that if anyone spews out anything, people will listen, accept it and then conform to that very idea. It explains the naïve thinking of people who claim they are educated. I feel like, more than ever, this movie can resonate as people get on TV and spew anything or spew anything they want on social media.
In the film, Chance spent his whole life tending the garden and has never left the property he grew up on. His only knowledge is gardening and entirely what he saw on television. When he gets evicted, he goes out to find wherever he is going. He accidentally gets hit by a car. Honestly, it was a mere scratch; by chance, he meets a wealthy man by the name of Ben Rand, who is the freakin a confidant and advisor to the President of the United States. You can’t make this up as Ben believes Chance is an upper-class, highly educated businessman who has fallen on hard times. Oh, and these so-called educated people get his name wrong. They believe he is very insightful because he talks about gardening, and they take it as great philosophical knowledge about policy. The dude is an IDIOT!!
That is what makes this film so great. I had to give it a standing ovation and laugh because you are watching an absolute idiot rise through the ranks with ease because he is dressed in old clothes. Yet, everyone believes him. I literally turned on the news or went on social media and started pointing out many Chauncey Gardiner. The sad part is that people believe these people like they did with Chance. All you can do is watch as person after person believes this fool. It is insane to think that people believed Chance. It is laughable because it is done in such a way that it is absurd and adds a comedic element to the
Several scenes showed the insanity of this film in a laughable way. The first one is when Chance gets hit by a car. He really didn’t get hit, but he makes a mild scene, and this is where the insanity becomes crazy. I didn’t think much until he meets the President, and they are talking about fiscal policy. He tells EVERYONE that he is just a gardener and gives gardening advice. The President takes it and does a press conference with the information. The craziness becomes crazier when Chance goes on television to share his views or people force him to do it. Once again, he tells EVERYONE he is a gardener and gives gardening advice, and people believe him. Homeboy even meets a Russian ambassador, and they strike up a friendship. In the end, people think he should be President and is the only one to save the world. Make America Great Again, huh? All you can do is sit back and laugh.
Some other crazy scenes are the so-called sex appeal that Chance has. Women and even gay men are attracted to him. Eve Rand develops feelings for him, and shit gets crazy. She thinks he is playing hard to get, but he knows nothing about love or women. One minute he is making out with her because a scene of two people kissing is on the television screen. Then when he changes the channel, he stops and moves on. The wild scene is when Chance tells Eve he likes to watch. She takes it as he wants to watch her masturbate when in reality, he just wants to watch TV. She proceeds to masturbate as he watches television.
I must give it to Peter Sellers; he played Chance the gardener beautifully. The way he looked at people and sounded was the best because you really believed that Chance was dimwitted. Some of the looks he gave people showed he wasn’t all there in the head. The tone of his voice was also greatly used by Sellers. He never raised his voice as Chance and showed genuine love for all plants.
I will say that Melvyn Douglas as Ben Rand was a delight to watch. He played Ben as an old man who took a liking to Chance. He was a man with a good heart and loved how he thought was direct. It is crazy for a man to make so much money; he fell for Chance. Not so bright, are you?
Shirley MacLaine as Eve Rand was funny. I was surprised to see her in this film as I had just watched her in the Apartment. MacLaine was funny as a woman who loved her husband, but she was still young. She was like a woman in heat, and she found her love in the wrong place in Chance because he was not all emotionally there.
Being There is one of those films that is hilarious to watch because of the crazy idea that a simpleton could go from being a gardener to one of the highest offices in all the lands. Then you think that it happens pretty frequently in America. Sellers was fantastic as the lead character, while the supporting cast of Douglas and MacLaine was equally excellent. Like I said earlier, this whole film made me think of that episode of Pinky and the Brain. Damn, “It’s for sure a white man’s world in America.”
