Being the Ricardos
Rated R
I love Lucy is an iconic show, that even now, 64 years later most people know what you are talking about. What many people don’t know is how hard Lucille Ball worked for her carrier. How hard she worked as a wife and as a creator. This movie gives us great insight into the world of Lucy and Desi and what they went through to be on television and tell the stories they wanted to tell.
Nicole Kidmen totally disappears in the roll of Lucille. She is great at showing how hard working, smart and no-nonsense she was. She showed that Lucy was not just a funny lady, but a sexy and talented actress. In my opinion she was better at playing Lucille than Lucy but I am only nit picking. This was a great fit for casting and it was nice to see Kidman back doing something that pushes the boundaries of her talents.
Desi Arnez is played by Javier Bardem and totally embodies the essence of Desi. Desi was every person's guy. Ladies loved him, men wanted to be him or work with him. His smile closed deals. But even with all of his success and talent he could not get a leading role on television back then because he was a Cuban American. So, he meets Lucy, a strong talented woman who wants to play in the big boys pool of the 1950’s and she marries a Cuban American and they both want what they want. And they get it. It was so original for its time. To have a person of color and a woman be the spotlight of a show was just unheard of.
One of the best parts of this film is getting a seat at the table. We, as an audience, get to see what happened behind the senses. And the director took such care in knowing that the audience loves all of these characters but also wants to know what we don’t know. There is a lot many don’t know. You get all of the secrets and hard times and who hates who and who is struggling. But it is told in the most human way that we can still love our memories we hold so tight.
This is a spoiler free review so I don’t want to get into too much of what makes this movie relatable. Two of the shining lights of this film are J.k. Simmons, William, and Nina Arianda as Vivian or as most of know them Fred and Ethel Mertz. Their behind-the-scenes dynamic is tense and it is incredible to think they went to many ears acting like they loved each other, all the while hating each other off screen. These two actors played them so well. One of the things I wish I would have seen more of was J.K. Simmons.
If you are a fan of the show, I think you will be more than satisfied with this movie. It was warm and emotional and reminds us that we are all human.
In theaters December 10th, on Amazon Prime Video December 21st.
Grade B+