48. Being There (1979)
Full Cast And Crew5 Sep 2019

48. Being There (1979)

Middle-aged, simple-minded Chance lives in the townhouse of a wealthy old man in Washington, D.C.. He has spent his whole life tending the garden and has never left the property. Other than gardening, his knowledge is derived entirely from what he sees on television. When his benefactor dies, Chance naively tells the lawyers that he has no claim against the estate and is ordered to move out.

Chance wanders aimlessly, discovering the outside world for the first time. Passing by a TV shop, he sees himself captured by a camera in the shop window. Entranced, he steps backward off the sidewalk and is struck by a chauffeured car owned by elderly business mogul Ben Rand. In the car is Rand's much younger wife Eve, who mishears "Chance, the gardener" in reply to the question who he is, as "Chauncey Gardiner."

Eve brings Chance to their home to recover. He is wearing expensive tailored clothes from the 1920s and 1930s, which his benefactor had allowed him to take from the attic, and his manners are old-fashioned and courtly. When Ben Rand meets him, he takes "Chauncey" for an upper-class, highly-educated businessman who has fallen on hard times. Rand admires him, finding him direct, wise and insightful.

Rand is also a confidant and advisor to the President of the United States, whom he introduces to "Chauncey." In a discussion about the economy, Chance takes his cue from the words "stimulate growth" and talks about the changing seasons of the garden. The President misinterprets this as optimistic political advice and quotes “Chauncey Gardiner” in a speech. Chance now rises to national prominence, attends important dinners, develops a close connection with the Soviet ambassador, and appears on a television talk show during which his detailed advice about what a serious gardener should do is misunderstood as his opinion on what would be his presidential policy.

Though he has now risen to the top of Washington society, the Secret Service and some 16 other agencies are unable to find any background information on him. During this time Rand's physician, Dr. Allenby, becomes increasingly suspicious that Chance is not a wise political expert and that the mystery of his identity may have a more mundane explanation. Dr. Allenby considers telling Rand this, but realizing how happy Chance is making him in his final days keeps him silent.

The dying Rand encourages Eve to become close to "Chauncey." She is already attracted to him and makes a sexual advance. Chance has no interest in or knowledge of sex, but mimics a kissing scene from the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair, which happens to be showing on the TV. When the scene ends, Chauncey stops suddenly and Eve is confused. She asks what he likes, meaning sexually; he replies "I like to watch," meaning television. She is momentarily taken aback, but decides she is willing to masturbate for his voyeuristic pleasure, thereby not noticing that he has turned back to the TV and is now imitating a yoga exercise on a different channel.

Chance is present at Rand's death and shows genuine sadness at his passing. Questioned by Dr Allenby, he admits that he "loves Eve very much" and also that he is just a gardener. When he leaves to inform Eve of Ben's death, Allenby says to himself, "I understand," but interpretation of that is left to the viewer.

While the President delivers a speech at Rand's funeral, the pallbearers hold a whispered discussion over potential replacements for the President in the next term of office and unanimously agree on Chauncey Gardiner as successor. Oblivious to all this, Chance wanders off through Rand's wintry estate. He straightens out a pine sapling flattened by a fallen branch, then walks across the surface of a lake. He pauses, dips his umbrella deep into the water under his feet (confirming for the viewer that it is not just a skim of water on the ground), then continues on, while the President is heard quoting Rand: "Life is a state of mind."

Avsnitt(248)

227. 'Caddyshack' (1980)

227. 'Caddyshack' (1980)

'Caddyshack', it turns out, is kind of a miracle of last-minute producer-led stitching together and salvaging, resulting in one of the more quotable films in comedy history.   Hard to believe that at the time, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield were not yet the massive film stars they'd become as a result of this movie.   This episode delves into the coke-fueled nonstop party that was this film's production, a production that would contribute to the untimely death of co-writer Doug Kenney on a cliff in Hawaii where he'd gone to dry out.  Doug's death was one of the first casualties of this scene due to drugs, soon followed by John Belushi's. SUBSCRIBE to my free, funny and informative weekly newsletter, filled with my personally curated reccommendations for movies, tv shows, books, and music: https://mailchi.mp/7f16ba1ac360/indistinct-chatter-newsletter-66 LINKS: Watch Caddyshack: https://youtu.be/ROfwYphXTC4?feature=shared&t=67   Great Book on Guber and Peters:  https://www.amazon.com/Hit-Run-Peters-Peter-Hollywood/dp/0684809311     More on Peters:  John Schnepp's The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFNJ-9EVe74   Chris Nashawaty's book Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story   https://www.amazon.com/Caddyshack-Making-Hollywood-Cinderella-Story/dp/1250105951

24 Apr 1h 15min

226. 'A Minecraft Movie'

226. 'A Minecraft Movie'

Why doesn't anyone believe me when I say I loved going to see this movie??

8 Apr 37min

225. Val Kilmer: I'm Your Huckleberry

225. Val Kilmer: I'm Your Huckleberry

An episode in memoriam of Val Kilmer, who died this week. Mentioned in this episode: 'Val', the excellent, moving, insightful, thoughtful documentary compiled from decades of Val Kilmer's home movies. 'Tombstone' is many people's favorite Kilmer film. 'Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's The Island of Dr. Moreau' is a fantastic making-of-a-trainwreck documentary about one of the most hilariously troubled film sets in Hollywood history. Watch 'Heat'. It's always good for you. Enjoy Val as Gay Perry in Shane Black's 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'. One of the best 80's comedies is 'Real Genius'. Read the Digital Renegade newsletter.

4 Apr 1h 31min

224. Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess

224. Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess

Don Simpson was one-half of one of the most successful production partnerships in Hollywood history. His reality-distortion-field helped bring about films like Flashdance, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, The Rock, Crimson Tide, and Days of Thunder, films that collectively grossed more than $3 billion dollars. Don Simpson's life is a cautionary tale with an ignominious ending forever ensconced in Hollywood history. His appetite for drugs, prostitutes, plastic surgery, black Levi's 501 jeans (worn once and discarded), wrecking Porsches, pharmacology, peanut butter, and pizza got the best of him at age 52. Listen in for the outrageous tale of how a pudgy kid from Alaska talked his way into transforming big-budget Hollywood blockbusters for a new decade. LINKS: Buy my guest Charles Fleming's definitive book about Hollywood in the 80's, High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess. Don & Jerry on Charlie Rose, less than a year before Don's death. A pretty good but exploitational multi-part tv documentary about Don Simpson. Now-cancelled Hollywood gadfly James Toback's 'The Big Bang', starring Don.

2 Apr 1h 12min

223. 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' (1979 BBC Series)

223. 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' (1979 BBC Series)

What does it say about your favorite podcast host that he considers the 1979 BBC adaptation of John le Carre's seminal espionage novel 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' to be COMFORT VIEWING?? Nonetheless, as Smiley would say, there we are. In this episode, curiously one in which I am still totally unresolved as to how best to approach this series in episodic fashion, I explore the myriad genius aspects of the production.

18 Mars 1h 55min

222. Gene Hackman Appreciation Episode

222. Gene Hackman Appreciation Episode

Considering the versatile, endlessly watchable and iconic American actor Gene Hackman.

6 Mars 1h 58min

221. Oscar Recap 2025!

221. Oscar Recap 2025!

HERE IT IS! Your most-anticipated episode of the year.

3 Mars 45min

220. OSCAR SPECIAL: Ranking The Best Picture Nominees w/ @vhsrevolution

220. OSCAR SPECIAL: Ranking The Best Picture Nominees w/ @vhsrevolution

I'm joined by David Schumann of the IG and YouTube accounts @vhsrevolution as we each offer up our Top Five out of the 10 Best Picture Nominees ahead of Sunday night's Academy Awards telecast. And yes, I will be doing my Postmortem Recap episode following the broadcast.  Follow David on Instagram here. Check out David's YouTube Channel here.

28 Feb 1h 22min

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