Being the Ricardos

 

Being the Ricardos (Amazon Prime)

The film is a drama bio, pseudo-documentary. The drama part incorporates story points to deflect some unpleasant realities. When the story starts there are three older individuals who worked with Lucy on the show. They intermittently  narrate the story presenting facts or fiction.

Lucille Ball was a phenomenal comedian. She was a master (mistress) of physical comedy. At the height of “ I Love Lucy” the  show had sixty million viewers. She was a perfectionist and to the chagrin of her comedy writers micromanaged scenes.  She was  an adroit businesswoman and a brutal negotiator. She was the first  pregnant woman on a TV program which was taboo at the time. The ending is a whitewash  to rehabilitate Ball’s reputation.

Arron Sorkin is the writer director. The film is disjointed. This is unusual  for Arron Sorkin who is an award winning writer. The film centers on a critical week. The days of the week serve as chapters.  Then the story pivots to other parts and the transitions are not quite clear. Lucy is portrayed as supporting her husband, Desi Arnaz, and desiring a home life. Desi’s philandering is an undercurrent in the movie but its toxicity is peripheral to the story.

Nicole Kidman plays Lucy hard. Lucy is a difficult  actress and a tough businesswoman. She does not shy away from consequences. Some nuanced reflection of her actions would have benefited the character. Javier Bardem is Desi Arnaz. He is a natural for the role with his Latin background. He plays Desi more as a businessman than an actor and the film suggests he was overshadowed by his wife. Wonderful performances were delivered by J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda and Tony Hale.

Unless you a fan of “I Love Lucy” ,which was excellent, or a big Lucy fan, I would not spend twenty dollars to see this film. It was for free on Amazon Prime. I do not know why the movie is for free but I suspect it is a way to advertise the movie and get feedback.