This week on Alcohollywood, we take a break from video games, space cats and gangster lizards to take on something a little more sensitive – the 1979 Peter Sellers film Being There. One of his last roles, Sellers plays an unassuming, exceedingly ‘simple’ gardener named Chance, whose sheltered lifestyle is changed forever when his benefactor dies. Entering the harsh outside world, his tenuous grasp on reality and the nature of things manages to exert incredible influence on the people around him, including the President of the United States (Jack Warden). It’s a difficult (and utterly fascinating) film to describe, but we give it our best shot, along with writers/best buddies David and Clayton of Our Fair City! Also, check out our drinking game and custom cocktail below!
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THIS EPISODE’S DRINK: The Chaunce-tant Gardener
Since Being There is a gardener’s tale, we chose a suitably produce-heavy cocktail, with juiced cucumbers, celery and Golden Delicious apples to offer up some pleasant, aromatic flavors. The gin and green chartreuse act as a suitably WASP-y base for the upper-crust characters Chauncey encounters throughout the film. Also, the soda water and citrus gives it the nice bubbly lightness that you want most out of a summer drink.
1 part green chartreuse
3 parts gin
1 part triple sec
1 part honeydew-melon vodka
2 parts Golden Delicious apple juice
1 part cucumber
1 part celery juice
2 parts soda water
1 part sweetened lime juice
1) Juice the apples, cucumber and celery.
2) Combine in a Collins glass with ice; top with the soda water.
3) Garnish with slices of apple, cucumber and celery; serve.
DRINKING RULES FOR BEING THERE:
- Whenever Chance changes the channel
- Any time Chance says “I understand”
- Whenever Chance does something new for the first time
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
The President (Jack Warden) reads, “Life is a state of mind.”
Next week, we check out the oddball gangster kung-fu flick Bunraku, with special guest Nathan Rabin of The Dissolve – stay tuned for that!
