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This film is one the subtlest satires that I’ve ever seen. The poignant and funny comedy comes from a very simple premise, one that director Hal Ashby handles with great precision. Too broad it would have been a disaster. This is why star Peter Sellers is such a key to the films success. He plays his character straight without a hint of irony, making him all the more successful and funny.

Adapted from his own novel by Jerzy Kosinski, the story follows simpleminded gardener, Chance (Sellers, DR. STRANGELOVE), who has never left his place of employment since he was a boy, learning all socialization from what he has seen on TV. His employer (the old man) dies and he’s kicked out of the only home he has ever known into a world in which he doesn’t understand. Through a mistake, he is believed to be a rich businessman and taken in by a very wealthy and influential dying man named Ben Rand (Melvyn Douglas, HUD). Chance’s simple statements about gardening are mistaken as profound statements about the government and economy. Eventually, he begins to consult the President (Jack Warden, THE VERDICT). Because of his relationship with Chance, Rand feels better about dying, because his wife Eve (Shirley MacLaine, THE APARTMENT) likes the gardener and will have someone to be with after he passes.

In these days of politicians trying to boil down complex and important issues into a sound bite, this film skewers the idea of any form of real intelligence in politics. Desperate for easy answers, these important men are quick to believe the simple yammerings of a dimwitted gardener like they where gospel. If you have the right name and wear the right clothes, you can go anywhere in America. The film has some great classic moments especially when Ben’s wife tries to seduce Chance. The greatly debated final shot gives the viewer a profoundly new way of looking at the story’s themes.

As I mentioned at the start, Sellers is completely dedicated to his performance. One of the great comedic actors, Sellers never goes for the laughs, trusting in the material. Douglas won an Oscar for his performance, which was very well deserved. He is a kind and brave man in the face of the end of his life. Though he allows himself to be duped by Chance, it seems based on a need for simple truths in his end days and not ignorance. MacLaine is a trooper, putting herself in positions that are truly embarrassing… and hilarious.

Because satire is so tough, even the good ones are rarely perfect. This film’s deliberate pace makes the less interesting scenes feel painful too long. Moreover, the one joke premise does feel repetitive when the material isn’t hitting perfectly.

Nonetheless, BEING THERE works despite its flaws, because its ideas are so strong. A metaphor is at its most profound when it is simple and hits the truth in an unexpected way. The larger metaphor of the film works that way, as does the smaller ones. Take notice to the way Chance treats black people and what the old man’s African-American maid says once she sees Chance on TV — it pretty much sums up the whole philosophy of the film.

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