Being the Ricardos | |
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Directed by | Aaron Sorkin |
Written by | Aaron Sorkin |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Jeff Cronenweth |
Edited by | Alan Baumgarten |
Music by | Daniel Pemberton |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Amazon Studios |
Release dates |
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Running time | 131 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Being the Ricardos is a 2021 American biographical drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, about the relationship between I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as Ball and Arnaz, while J. K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, and Clark Gregg are featured in supporting roles.
It received a limited theatrical release by Amazon Studios in the United States on December 10, 2021, prior to streaming worldwide on Prime Video on December 21, 2021. The film received generally positive reviews from critics who praised the performances of the cast, particularly those of Kidman and Bardem. The film received three nominations at the 94th Academy Awards: Best Actor for Bardem, Best Actress for Kidman and Best Supporting Actor for Simmons. It also received three nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards including Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for Bardem and Best Screenplay for Sorkin, with Kidman winning Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama.
The film is told from three perspectives: "present-day" interviews with I Love Lucy's lead writers Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll Jr.; flashbacks throughout Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's relationship; and preparations for filming an episode of the show in 1953.
In 1939, Ball is an actress contracted to RKO Pictures, earning the moniker "Queen of the B-Movies". Cast in the failed comedy Too Many Girls , she falls in love with her costar, Cuban singer Arnaz. He assures her of her talent as a physical comedian, and she confides her dream of simply making a home with someone. They marry and buy a house in Hollywood, but struggle to spend time together, with Arnaz busy fronting his Desi Arnaz Orchestra while Ball continues her film career with little success.
After serving in World War II, Arnaz resumes touring with his orchestra, and Ball lands a starring role in 1942's The Big Street . She meets with RKO President Charles Koerner, expecting to become an established star like Rita Hayworth and Judy Holliday. Instead, he terminates her contract, largely due to her age, and suggests she use her voice for radio. In 1948, she is cast in the radio show My Favorite Husband , which becomes a massive success.
CBS suggests turning My Favorite Husband into a television show, sponsored by cigarette company Philip Morris. Hoping to bring her and Arnaz closer together, Ball agrees on the condition that he plays her on-screen husband; the executives initially refuse to have an "all-American" star with a Cuban husband, but are forced to concede. By 1951, the show is renamed I Love Lucy and becomes a smash hit with nearly 60 million viewers each week.
Ball and Arnaz produce the show in Los Angeles through their company Desilu Productions, with a three-camera system designed by Arnaz allowing East Coast viewers to watch live without static, while accommodating a studio audience. Dealing with friction between her costars William Frawley, who is often drunk, and Vivian Vance, who resents Ball's attempts to make her less attractive, Ball clashes with the directors and writers over her exacting demands.
Walter Winchell's radio program claims to have evidence of Ball's Communist ties, alarming I Love Lucy's crew that their show will be shut down. Ball admits to registering with the party when she was young and influenced by a relative, and Arnaz frustrates her by announcing that she innocently marked the wrong box. They inform the writers she is pregnant with their second child, planning to integrate this into future episodes, but executives refuse to allow even the word "pregnant" on the air.
Ball confronts her husband for often staying out late, but he proves that a tabloid photo of him with another woman was taken months ago. After Frawley suggests that Arnaz's behavior stems from feeling emasculated by Ball taking over many of the show's business and creative decisions, she asks Oppenheimer, the official showrunner, to help save her marriage. Instead of offering him a producer credit, Oppenheimer assures Arnaz he has top billing as the "I" in I Love Lucy, but he rejects the patronizing gesture. Arnaz reaches out to the head of Philip Morris directly, securing permission to introduce Ball's pregnancy into the show.
The night of filming a new episode, a newspaper article declares Ball a Communist, though she was cleared during an HUAC hearing. Arnaz addresses the studio audience about the accusations and takes a live call with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who confirms that Lucy was cleared of all charges. Celebrating backstage, Ball confronts Arnaz with a lipstick-stained handkerchief, which he claims is hers, but she shows him another handkerchief with her own lipstick, and he finally admits to his infidelity.
As filming begins, Ball momentarily loses her concentration, triggered by Arnaz's catchphrase — "Lucy, I'm home". An epilogue reveals that Ball filed for divorce after the taping of their last show in 1960.
The project was first announced in September 2015, with Cate Blanchett announced to star as Lucille Ball and Aaron Sorkin writing the screenplay. [1] The film was acquired by Amazon Studios in August 2017. [2]
Production was originally given a tax credit to film in California in November 2019, [3] and producers were revealed to be meeting with directors in January 2020. [4] However, by January 2021, Blanchett had dropped out of the project, with Nicole Kidman in negotiations to replace her and Javier Bardem in negotiations to portray Desi Arnaz. Sorkin, having enjoyed the experience of directing The Trial of the Chicago 7 , had elected to serve as director himself. [5] The casting of Kidman was met with some controversy on social media, but Lucie Arnaz spoke out in defense of Kidman's casting. [6] In February, J. K. Simmons and Nina Arianda were cast to portray William Frawley and Vivian Vance respectively. [7]
Filming began on March 29, 2021, in Los Angeles, with Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, and Clark Gregg added to the cast. [8] [9] The production canceled filming at Chateau Marmont due to backlash against the establishment. [10] In September 2021, the film was in post-production. [11] The set design was led by Emmy-nominated set decorator Ellen Brill and production designer Jon Hutman. [12] Daniel Pemberton composed the film score, which was released by Lakeshore Records on December 17, 2021. [13]
The film premiered in New York City and Los Angeles on December 2, 2021, and December 6, 2021, respectively. [14] [15] It was released in a limited release exclusively in the United States on December 10, 2021, before streaming globally on Prime Video on December 21, 2021. [16]
Though Amazon does not publicly release box office grosses, the film made an estimated $150,000 from 450 theaters on its first day, and a total of $450,000 in its opening weekend. [17]
The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 68% based on 281 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Being the Ricardos can't hope to truly capture its subjects' brilliant star power, but Nicole Kidman has a ball with Aaron Sorkin's spitfire dialogue." [18] Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [19]
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a three and a half out of four stars, and pointed out how, despite unfavorable reactions in response to the casting of Kidman and Bardem in the lead roles, "Bardem does a solid job of capturing Arnaz' charismatic stage presence, business acumen and duplicitous ways with the ladies, while Kidman is outstanding at reminding us there were two Lucys [...] It's not an impersonation so much as it is a fully realized characterization." [20] Mark Feeney from The Boston Globe mentioned that Kidman gets "the smokiness of Ball's voice. And in the black-and-white that's used for scenes from the sitcom the physical resemblance is uncanny. It's Kidman playing one Lucy as that Lucy plays another", and mentioned how, although Bardem doesn't physically resemble his character much, "that's not a problem, since what Bardem does convey, and it matters a lot more, is Arnaz's babalu gusto and coiled-spring alertness." [21] Lindsey Bahr of the Associated Press stated that "while no one is going to mistake either Kidman or Bardem for either of their real-life counterparts, they were hired to be actors, not mimics and do a terrific job bringing to life the spirit of their characters off-camera lives, illustrating a full, complex, adult relationship." [22]
Stephanie Zacharek from Time mentioned how "Kidman makes a fine Lucille Ball in many ways", such as when "capturing Ball's smarts", and continued on by saying that "Bardem is terrific as Arnaz, finding complexities in the man that we might not have known were there." [23] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter stated that "the performances of Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as golden-age TV's best-loved couple can't be faulted", describing Bardem's performance as "oozing charisma" and showing "a roguish charm and a shrewd mind" as Arnaz. He also reiterated that despite Kidman not physically resembling Ball, "she plays the laser-focused professionalism and self-preservation with stirring conviction, and she nails the dual on- and off-camera personae in her movements, and above all, in vocal distinctions between the raspy heavy smoker in the writers' room and the squawking comic on TV." [24]
Reception of the casting of a European actor (Bardem) to play a Cuban-American character (Arnaz) was more negative, [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] with reporter Laura Bradley noting that "Hollywood has a well-established history of hiring Spanish actors to play characters from the countries the Spaniards colonized." [31] Director Sorkin defended the casting decision by saying that "having an actor who was born in Spain playing a character who was born in Cuba was not demeaning. And it wasn't just the casting consultant who agreed, Lucy and Desi's Cuban-American daughter didn't have a problem with it. So, I'm very comfortable with it." [32] A Cuban-American critic noted wryly that "a Spaniard portraying a Santiaguero was gonna be an uneasy pill to swallow for that most clannish of people known as Cubans. Everyone in Hialeah was probably having a fit." [33] Additionally, as a sign of the Hollywood view of Cubans, some Spanish-language media accused the film of having Bardem "darken" his skin to appear "more Cuban", when in fact Arnaz was lighter-skinned than Bardem. [34] It was also pointed out that it was the second time that Bardem has been cast to portray a Cuban (the first being a film about Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas). [34] A major newspaper in Spain accused Bardem of "cultural appropriation" while also noting that Arnaz was "a direct descendant of families from Spain." [35] On the other side of the casting controversy, a separate major Spanish newspaper endorsed the casting of Bardem as Arnaz, noting that Arnaz had "more in common with Bardem [lineage to Spain] than with any other Hispanic [non Spaniard] actor." [36]
Additionally, it was also pointed out that one of the key principal tenets of the film – the point that in 1953 Arnaz had personal issues with Communism [37] [38] because his family had been "kicked out of Cuba because of Communism" [39] [40] [41] – was incorrect, [41] [42] [33] [43] [40] [44] as the much later Cuban Communist Revolution did not take over the island until 1959 [45] and the Arnaz family had migrated to the United States in 1933 [42] [43] as a result of the "Revolt of the Sergeants", [44] [46] not the Castro Revolution.
Stu Shostak, the host of the podcast "Stu's Show" and a personal friend of Lucille Ball, had negative things to say about the movie. As someone who extensively studied vintage TV and interviewed many people who were involved with I Love Lucy, he expressed criticism at how the cast was portrayed, the factual inaccuracies of the script (J. Edgar Hoover never called on the set), and how the actor's relationships with each other weren't as frosty (nor as chummy, in some situations) as they were portrayed in the film. Ultimately, he found the film to be a disgrace to Lucy and Desi's legacy, and hoped that people would "let them rest in peace" going forward. [47]
The film achieved significant success for Amazon, debuting at No. 1 on Prime Video during its opening weekend and becoming one of the top debuts for a movie drama release. [48]
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III, known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom I Love Lucy, in which he co-starred with his wife Lucille Ball. Arnaz and Ball are credited as the innovators of the syndicated rerun, which they pioneered with the I Love Lucy series.
Nicole Mary Kidman is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses since the late 1990s. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards and one Screen Actors Guild Award. She became the first Australian actor to receive the AFI Life Achievement Award honour in 2024.
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian Vance and William Frawley, and follows the life of Lucy Ricardo (Ball), a young, middle-class housewife living in New York City, who often concocts plans with her best friends and landlords, Ethel and Fred Mertz, to appear alongside her bandleader husband, Ricky Ricardo (Arnaz), in his nightclub. Lucy is depicted trying numerous schemes to mingle with and be a part of show business. After the series ended in 1957, a modified version of the show continued for three more seasons, with 13 one-hour specials, which ran from 1957 to 1960. It was first known as The Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Show, and later, in reruns, as The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour.
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In a career spanning over three decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, seven Goya Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin is an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a writer for stage, television, and film, Sorkin is recognized for his trademark fast-paced dialogue and extended monologues, complemented by frequent use of the storytelling technique called the "walk and talk". Sorkin has earned numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globes.
William Clement Frawley was an American vaudevillian and actor best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the sitcom I Love Lucy. Frawley also played "Bub" O'Casey during the first five seasons of the sitcom My Three Sons and the political advisor to the Hon. Henry X. Harper in the film Miracle on 34th Street.
Vivian Vance was an American actress best known for playing Ethel Mertz on the sitcom I Love Lucy (1951–1957), for which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, among other accolades. She also starred alongside Lucille Ball in The Lucy Show from 1962 until she left the series at the end of its third season in 1965. In 1991, she posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is most commonly identified as Lucille Ball’s longtime comedic foil from 1951 until her death in 1979.
Jessurun James Oppenheimer was an American radio and television writer, producer, and director. He was the producer and head writer of the CBS sitcom I Love Lucy.
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, better known as Desi Arnaz Jr., is an American retired actor and musician. He is the son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Lucie Désirée Arnaz is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Madelyn Pugh, sometimes credited as Madelyn Pugh Davis, Madelyn Davis, or Madelyn Martin, was a television writer who became known in the 1950s for her work on the I Love Lucy television series.
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour is a collection of thirteen black-and-white one-hour specials airing occasionally from 1957 to 1960. The first five were shown as specials during the 1957–58 television season. The remaining eight were originally shown as part of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Its original network title was The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show for the first season, and Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Presents The Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Show for the following seasons. The successor to the classic comedy, I Love Lucy, the programs featured the same cast members: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, and Little Ricky. The production schedule avoided the grind of a regular weekly series.
I Love Lucy is a 1953 American comedy film that is a spin-off of the sitcom I Love Lucy. Except for one test screening in Bakersfield, California, the film was never theatrically released and was shelved.
The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum,, formally The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum & Center for Comedy and commonly known as the Lucy Desi Museum, is a museum at 2 West 3rd Street, Jamestown, New York that is affiliated with the nearby National Comedy Center with which it shares executive director Journey Gunderson. The museum is dedicated to the lives and careers of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Jamestown was Ball's birthplace.
Lucy is a 2003 television film directed by Glenn Jordan. It is based on the life and career of actress and comedian Lucille Ball. The film premiered on May 4, 2003, on CBS.
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by Time in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for her work in all four of these areas. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She earned many honors, including the Women in Film Crystal Award, an induction into the Television Hall of Fame, a Kennedy Center Honor, and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
American-born Australian actress and producer Nicole Kidman has appeared in numerous film and television projects, as well as in theatre productions. She made her film debut in the Australian drama Bush Christmas in 1983. Four years later, she starred in the television miniseries Bangkok Hilton, for which she received the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama. Her breakthrough role was as a married woman trapped on a yacht with a murderer in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. She followed this with her Hollywood debut opposite Tom Cruise in Tony Scott's auto-racing film Days of Thunder (1990). Her role as a homicidal weather forecaster in Gus Van Sant's crime comedy-drama To Die For garnered Kidman a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical in 1996. She worked with Cruise again on Ron Howard's Far and Away (1992) and Stanley Kubrick's erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut in 1999.
Lucy and Desi is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Amy Poehler in her documentary directorial debut. The film explores the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Being the Ricardos (Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2021 film Being the Ricardos directed by Aaron Sorkin, about the relationship between I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, played by Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem. The score composed by Daniel Pemberton was released by Lakeshore Records on December 17, 2021. It received a nomination at the 75th British Academy Film Awards for Best Original Music.