Being There

1979
PG
2h 10m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

79K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:46

After the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in... Read allAfter the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.After the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

79K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,441

216

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 14 wins & 15 nominations total

Trivia
It took Peter Sellers nearly nine years to get this movie made by a studio, mainly because by the 1970s Sellers' career had hit rock bottom and no studio in Hollywood would work with him. After the revival (and success) of the Pink Panther movies, Lorimar Pictures finally greenlit the project.

Goofs
While at dinner for the first evening with Ben and Eve, Chauncey's wine glass fills and empties within seconds.

Quotes
[last lines]
President "Bobby": Life is a state of mind.

Crazy credits
Under the end titles of the theatrical release are outtakes of Peter Sellers as Chance recounting the encounter with Abbaz. Sellers breaks character and laughs during each attempt. The lines do not appear in the movie. Certain versions of the film have credits with white text on a black background without the outtakes.

Alternate versions
In different versions, the credits are either shown over retakes of Chance saying a line that was not in the movie, or (for TV and video) shown over TV white noise.

Connections
Featured in The 37th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1980)

Soundtracks
Basketball Jones Featuring Tyrone Shoelaces
Written and Performed by Cheech Marin (as Cheech) & Tommy Chong (as Chong)
Band: George Harrison (lead guitar), Carole King
(piano/background vocals), Billy Preston (keyboards) and Tom Scott (saxophone)
Background vocals (cheerleaders): Darlene Love and Michelle Phillips

User reviews377

Review

Featured review

8/10

The Great Peter Sellers

Peter Sellers should have taken home the Academy Award for his role in Being There. A lifetime of comedies behind him, Sellers ended his career as an actor and a comic legend with this classic. Hard to believe that this was made over 20 years ago, it is still as funny as ever. Since then, no other comedian has captured the raw talent of comedy that Sellers could create. The silent comedy and the physical comedy that Sellers made was not only timeless but funnier than most of the comedy we see in film today. Second to maybe his role in Lolita and in the Pink Panther series, Sellers is not only funny, but gives his best performance in Being There. A terrific story with interesting and real characters, Being There is a delight.