Being the Ricardos

Being the Ricardos

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.

  • Released: 2021-12-10
  • Runtime: 132 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, History
  • Stars: Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Jake Lacy, Nina Arianda, Alia Shawkat, Linda Lavin, Clark Gregg, Tony Hale, Robert Pine, Ronny Cox, Nelson Franklin, Christopher Denham, John Rubinstein, Jonah Platt, Matt Cook, Jamie Miller, Pamela Mitchell, Renee Pezzotta, Ron Ostrow, Breanna Wing, Kate Ellie Fitzgerald, John Funk, Dana Lyn Baron, Dan Sachoff, Jenya Chaplin, John F. Carpenter, Gail Rastorfer, Shiree Nelson, Lori Dorfman, Jeremiah Ripley, Angela Leib, Evie Nicholson, Louis Delavenne, Jeff Holman, Brian Howe, Ron Perkins, Baize Buzan, Joshua Bednarsky, Max Silvestri, Chris Wolfe, Caroline Anderson, Russ Burd, Guido Cocomello, David Saenz, Stephanie Lesh-Farrell, Lawrence Novikoff, Jack Benza, Peter Onorati, Rick Batalla, Melinda Sullivan, Christian Roberts, Gus Lynch, Allan Wayne Anderson, David Jonathan Fine, Val Chmerkovskiy, Asiel Hardison, Reina Hidalgo, Jenna Johnson, Will Loftis, Noelle Marsh, Leo Moctezuma, Nayara Núñez, Britt Stewart, Eddie Torres Jr., James Patrick Duffy, Emily Marsh, Cece Camps, Daniel Armella, Molly Meyer, Jenna Johnson, Christian Roberts
  • Director: Aaron Sorkin
 Comments
  • moviesfilmsreviewsinc - 4 May 2024
    Love Lucy and Desi so much and We all love I LOVE LUCY.
    Watching Being the Ricardos, 3 words come to mind.. I LOVE LUCY. Lucille Ball, the biggest star of the 1950s TV show I Love Lucy, was a hapless TV housewife. Aaron Sorkin's Lucille Ball movie explores the fragility of her stardom, as her real, imperfect self could potentially intrude on the illusion. The story takes place over a week, with flashbacks and flash-forwards, and takes place during a time when the government was hunting down reds, making Ball's career and marriage vulnerable. Lucille Ball, known for her 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy, is portrayed by Nicole Kidman in a film that focuses on her serious side rather than her physical comedy. The film takes place over a single episode of the show, from Monday's table read to Friday's live audience taping. It also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the crumbling relationship between Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz. The film is focused on deconstructing good screenwriting, line lands, and character motivation. Fans of Sorkin's writing will enjoy watching Alia Shawkat and Jake Lacy trade zingers in the writers' room. Sorkin's script explores various themes, including power dynamics, Hollywood misogyny, corporate hypocrisy, and media manipulation. He maintains balance by focusing on Lucy and Desi, a couple with multiple faces, and tries to understand their love but collectively too much to fit into one marriage. The film's witty approach keeps the pace moving. Nicole Kidman, despite her red hair, is a versatile actress who plays Ball's conflicted wife, balancing her power and fear of losing her husband. Bardem's Arnaz provides depth to the character, making her a versatile addition to the cast. Being The Ricardos is a compelling biopic that delves into the Ricardos family's life, revealing an entire industry and a transformative time in history. It requires minimal prior knowledge of its subjects, making it enjoyable for all, even those not fond of Lucy. Critics argue that Sorkin's grand speeches and earnest streak are his best work when the context is right, and the legendary TV couple's drama provides ample material for his best work. Aaron Sorkin's Crocodile Dundee is a comedy-drama inspired by the iconic US TV show I Love Lucy, which starred real-life married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The movie portrays Ball dealing with tabloid rumors about her husband's infidelity and career-endangering rumblings from the press. Nicole Kidman portrays Ball, while Javier Bardem plays Arnaz. Nina Arianda and JK Simmons play their neighbors, Vivian Vance and William Frawley, while Tony Hale plays their executive producer Jess Oppenheimer. Alia Shawkat plays head writer Madelyn Pugh. Sorkin, known for his situation comedy work, has a reputation for writing films and TV shows. However, his verbose dialogue, often deemed "screwball serious," can be exhausting. This was a major issue in his previous film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, but Sorkin emphasizes that Ball's forte was physical comedy. The film also features a mockumentary framing device, where older actors play supporting characters interviewed in the present day, using the phrase "What you gotta understand is..." This hectoring form of language is particularly hectoring when important subjects, like Ball's current political opinions, are left unexamined.
  • dana_leah-68649 - 28 May 2023
    The best part was watching Nicole Kidman Imitate Lucy
    Lucy is depicted as overly aggressive, sexual, controlling, crude, vulgar, and eccentric/ not all there mentally.

    Desi is portrayed as a juvenile, superficial, self-obsessed Latin, who can't sing, dance, or act worth beans.

    The overall cast, crew, and writers of I Love Lucy are all portrayed as juvenile and vulgar, and fighting like cats and dogs 24/7, almost all hating each other.

    The order and structure of the scenes is confusing, non-chronological, and chaotic to say the least.

    If you want to subconsciously destroy your previous memories and mental portrait of the true geniuses behind "The Show" watch this, for which the underlying message is not "I Love Lucy," but rather, "I Can't Stand Another Minute of Lucy". This is a very poorly done, warped and distorted portrayal of a supposed ordinary week in the life of the creation of I Love Lucy.