Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd
323.857.6000
This event has passed.
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Being There
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Tuesday Dec 18, 2007 (1pm)
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Reviving Peter Sellers' curious career before his death, Being There is director Hal Ashby's odd stab at political satire. The plot orbits around an innocent gardener named Chance — or, as Shirley MacLaine mishears, Chauncey Gardiner — who has gleaned most of his worldly knowledge through watching TV. After the death of his benefactor, Chance is thrown into a real-world whirlwind when Eve Rand (MacLaine) and her Washington-insider husband strike a benevolent bond with the well-dressed, articulate wanderer. People begin to interpret Chance's simple (gardening-inspired) observations as pearls of deep insight, and a case of political "Emperor's new clothes" ensues. Ashby's endearing film offers a time capsule of retro television spots and a transcendent message that life is a state of mind.
