Being the Ricardos

Are you a fan of the old 1950’s sitcom, “I Love Lucy?”  If so, I think you will enjoy this movie.  If you are asking yourself, “Lucy who?” this may be one to skip.  As I am a fan, I totally enjoyed “Being the Ricardos.”  The whole thing takes place in one week  during the filming of an episode of the hit show.  It starts with the script read  on Monday and takes us all the way to the final live performance on Friday.  Much happens in that week though.  First, Lucille Ball is accused of being a communist.  This revelation could be, and was, the kiss of death for a lot of 50’s actors, writers and directors.  Second, the tabloids had published pictures of Desi out on the town with another woman.  Last of all, Lucy finds out that she is pregnant, and she and Desi have decided to write the pregnancy into the show. This is absolutely unprecedented and shocking to their network and sponsors who were afraid even referring to her as pregnant would  lose viewers (and revenue!).  All of this drama is woven in and out of the performances of the four key players.  And they are all marvelous!  Nicole Kidman does not do an imitation of Lucille Ball, she becomes her.  You really get to see the difference between the ditzy Lucy Ricardo and the tough as nails Lucille Ball.  Javier Bardem surprised me.  I never felt he parodied Desi Arnaz in any way.  J.K. Simmons was the curmudgeonly William Frawley as Fred Mertz.   Nina Arianda is heartbreaking as Vivian Vance who played Ethyl Mertz.  Even though she and Lucille Ball were around the same age, it was always her fate to play older, dowdier and dumpier.  On top of everything else, there are flashback scenes which were my favorites.  These scenes showed how Lucy and Desi met, how much in love they were, and how astute they were as business people. The two Arnaz children apparently approved of this vision of director Aaron Sorkin and they are the executive producers.   If you are looking for a documentary, this is not the movie for you, although you may want to check it out if it streams on Hulu or Netflix.  If you are a fan, you will definitely want to check this one out.