Being the Ricardos 4 ½ stars
Aaron Sorkin brings his quick pacing, high drama style to the subject of the TV show I Love Lucy in Being the Ricardos. It’s not a true biopic as most of the story takes place in a one week period in a fictionalized take on the lives of married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz as they and the TV show staff produce an episode of the hit TV sitcom that made Ball and Arnaz stars. Nicole Kidman portrays Ball brilliantly as the woman who was a master at creating comedy with her wit and sight gags and Javier Bardem is convincing as the Cuban bandleader who mesmerizes a crowd and is popular with the ladies. Sorkin, the writer and director uses creative license in bringing the red scare accusation against Lucy at the same time that she announces she is pregnant and she suspects that Desi has been cheating on her. The matter of the pregnancy is most memorable as the two insisted that the pregnancy be part of the show against the will of the network and the corporate sponsor. The accusation from Walter Winchell of Lucy being a communist is a reminder of the time period of this film, when Hollywood was racked by such charges. The best part of the movie involves the interaction of the actors and writers as they engage in heated discussions of how to change the script and action to get the most laughs out of the 30 minute episode. It is made clear that every aspect has to meet with Lucille’s approval. The other actors, William Frawley (J. K. Simmons) and Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda) bring their own character and issues to the show. Frawley with his off screen wisecracks and Vance who is uncomfortable playing second fiddle to Ball. Though most of the action focuses on the single week early in the TV’s show’s long run, we also get plenty of background about how Lucy and Desi met and how the movie studio exec’s treated Ball until she got her chance to break through on “I Love Lucy”. Don’t listen to the critics about the casting. Nicole Kidman is completely convincing in bringing Ball’s character to the screen.