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.
  • brendanchenowith-66538 - 15 January 2023
    IT'S NOT GONNA GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS
    I should say not. I've seen at least 2 or 3 other made for tv movies on Lucy and Desi making "I Love Lucy", and while I was impressed with them at the time, none of the previous films could hope to hold a candle to this cinematic masterpiece. I like Lucy, Desi, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. I like "I Love Lucy", i also like Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, the writing of Aaron Sorkin and the acting stylings of the great JK Simmons, so when this popped up on my Prime Video menu, I went for it, and over a year later, I still can't stop watching it. Last weekend, for instance, I switched it on because a particular line was running through my mind and I wanted to see it acted out (again). I ended up watching it in its entirety (again). I am such a fanboy when it comes to this movie. I have also just reviewed "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" with the subtitle "A Beautiful Movie in my DVD Player - Too Bad it's Not Mine", and put it right up there with Being the Ricardos as #1 Biopics in my opinion.

    The film is not a stright-out comedy, although it has a million one-liners and zingers and it was a joyous experience watching the actors recite this brilliant and snappy dialogue and make it look so easy.

    Of course we're all aware Lucille Ball was targeted and accused of being a member of the Communist Party simply for registering to vote "Communist" in 1936 to please her grandfather. She never went any further with it. Yet, Walter Winchell's Broadcast came out with this allegation and the week ahead was not going to be an easy one with Lucy, Vivian, Bill and Desi worrying about the fallout from the Winchell broadcast, but Lucy on her own shouldering the added burden of wondering if Ricky is actually cheating on her while claiming to be playing cards on the boat all night.

    I have never seen a better acted, more cleverly and intelligently written, and perfectly produced movie on the subject of "I Love Lucy" than this one. One line from the movie "It's not gonna get any better than this" says it all.

    As I mentioned earlier, this film is a joyous experience to watch and it's one of the best reasons to have a Prime Video account. Also fantastic is "Feud: Bette & Joan", which you have to purchase through Prime Video, but it's well worth it.
  • rmjonsson-91000 - 11 August 2022
    Bad choice of characters and story
    I'll admit I could not even finish five minutes of the movie because I turned it off. Nicole Kidman was a terrible choice for Lucy. She looks nothing like her and could not measure up to Lucille in terms of acting like her either.

    Javier Bardem wasn't too bad. He got the accent of Desi pretty well and seemed to play him good. But the beginning was upsetting to watch how they get straight into intercourse. You can tell the producers wanted to relate to the younger audience to capture their attention with that. It was just plain ridiculous and disappointing.
  • deloudelouvain - 4 May 2022
    Boring is an understatement... Three Oscar nominations, are they having a laugh?
    Being The Ricardos is the perfect example for a movie that gets Oscar nominations just because of the acting and not because of the story. I agree that Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem and J. K. Simmons are good actors but their performances are not worth an Oscar, not even a nomination. There are plenty better actors starring in a really good movie that deserve it much more. I don't know Lucile Ball, well only her name rings a bell, but I was curious about this movie because of those Oscar nominations. It was a mistake from me to watch this. The whole movie is boring, from start till finish. I honestly can't understand why somebody would enjoy this movie. It's full of repeating boring scenes that add absolutely no value to the story. Nobody cares if Lucile Ball wants flowers in a scene or not, so repeating that same process over and over gets old after awhile. I don't say the acting was bad because it wasn't but the movie is just really mediocre. I wish I didn't waste my time on this one.