"Being The Ricardos"

Few people will argue that "I Love Lucy", which ran on network television from 1951 to 1957, and starring real life husband and wife Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, is probably one of the funniest, and certainly one of the most significant and groundbreaking situation comedies in the history of television.  And this is not just a generational thing, either.  A few years ago while working with a group of middle school age kids at the Caring Place, I met an eleven year old girl in the group whose idol was Lucille Ball.  We all know the iconic scenes:  Lucy and Ethel in the candy factory, Lucy stomping grapes, Lucy doing the Vitameatavegamin commercial, and on and on and on.  "I Love Lucy" has lived forever in reruns, and it is said that on every singe day of the year, an episode of the show is being shown somewhere in almost every part of the world.

All this leads up to the new feature film written and directed by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin, "Being The Ricardos".  Not a typical biopic, the movie focuses on one specific week in 1953 on the set of the filming of "I Love Lucy" when gossip monger Walter Winchell went on the air with the announcement that Lucille Ball had at one time been a member of the Communist Party.  Big news during the era of McCarthyism and the communist witch hunts of the House Unamerican Activities Committee , when such accusations and affiliations could and did ruin lives and end careers.  Now, such an accusation was being leveled against the biggest TV star in the country and the existence of the Number One show in America was now in jeopardy.  Oh, and at the same time, another Hollywood scandal sheet was writing about an alleged affair that Desi was having, and this was placing the Arnez' marriage in doubt.

The movie focuses on how Lucy, Desi, the other actors, writers, producers, sponsors, and CBS Network execs responded to and handled this crisis.   In flashback sequences, Sorkin also tells about how Lucy and Desi met, their courtship, and their tempestuous relationship. Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem play Lucy and Desi, and Kidman is sure to pick up an Oscar nomination for her role in this one.  Bardem also pulls off his portrayal of Desi, right down to the "'splain this, Loo-cee" Cuban accent and singing "Baba Loo" while banging on the conga drum. J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda are also quite good in portraying William Frawley and Vivian Vance.  Other roles of note include old pros Ronny Cox and Linda Lavin playing the older versions of writers Bob Carroll and Madelyn Pugh, and Jake Lacey, who was so detestable in HBO's "White Lotus", as the younger version of Carroll.

Kidman and Bardem

and the real

Lucy and Desi....

Simmons and Arianda

as Frawley and Vance,

"Fred and Ethel"....

If you are expecting to see recreations of classic Lucy bits from the TV show, you may be disappointed.  Sorkin uses black and white footage to focus on scenes from the "I Love Lucy" show, but mostly scenes from the show that is being filmed in that particular week when the movie takes place.   We only get one look at Kidman doing an iconic Lucy bit:  Lucy Stomping Grapes.

The movie is both a history lesson and a tribute to a landmark television show and its iconic stars without falling into the trap of being a fawning nostalgia piece.  It is a well written and quality production, exactly what you would expect from Sorkin, with very good performances from the actors, especially Kidman, who, as I said above, should get Oscar consideration for this one.

Three Stars from The Grandstander.

And if you are interested in learning more about Lucille Ball (and Desi Arnez, too), I highly recommend Season Three of the Turner Classic Movie podcast, The Plot Thickens, which is simply titled "Lucy".  A ten part series hosted by TCM's Ben Mankiewicz.  It just concluded and was excellent.