Chance the Gardener (Peter Sellers) is a man who has lived a sheltered life. Born to a personal servant, and seemingly of low intelligence, Chance’s bosses protected him from the outside world by allowing him to live in a single house for the entirety of his life. When they finally die, and the house sold off, Chance is kicked out on his ass, and has to deal with the realities of 1970s America. By accident, he gets mixed in with a political crowd, who see him as the next Jesus because of his vague Fortune Cookie musings based on what little knowledge he possesses.

Hal Ashby’s Being There is a sublime satire of our political system, where ignorant simpletons can be seen as wise men for making intellectually devoid sentences. Since we’re going through one of the silliest presidential elections in my lifetime, Being There takes on an increased resonance as vague statements interpreted as meaningful. With a slow burn approach to comedy, Being There is hardly modern in its style, though its brand of cynicism still feels fresh after all this time.

Being There airs on TCM at 10:15pm.