Being the Ricardos was written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. Anything with Sorkin in it, it’s a must-see film. His writing style is incredible and genius. Some of his best works are A Few Good Men, The Social Network, Moneyball, The Newsroom, and the list goes on.
Being the Ricardos is about Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) and the multiple situations they go through in their complex romantic and professional relationship. In this film, we get a glimpse of how things were in the writers’ room, onto the soundstage, and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom “I Love Lucy.” Desi Arnaz made most business decisions.
In one scene, Lucille Ball dealt with age discrimination. She was told to consider doing radio. You can’t say to a woman, especially in today’s society.
Lucille also wasn’t the easiest person to deal with behind the scenes. She was very demanding and would constantly interrupt during table reads and rehearsals. However, the respect and admiration for Lucille are that she’s a person that’s not too submissive and doesn’t want to be treated like a puppet.
Nicole Kidman did a fantastic job playing Lucille Ball; Kidman delivered an Oscar-level performance. It’s one of my favorite performances from Nicole Kidman. Javier Bardem was also magnificent as Desi Arnaz. Lucille and Desi divorced the morning after their final performance together in 1960.
In one of the scenes, the writers mentioned different Latin names in the writer’s room. The way they were saying it could get them in trouble in today’s industry. Old school Hollywood was something else. The studios had lots of limitations. For example, Lucille Ball being pregnant was something that the studios or CBS weren’t ready for. Why? The studio didn’t want to see a pregnant woman shown on TV.
Hollywood was also racist back then, it’s still today, but back in the Golden Era of Cinema, it was a wild west. The industry has improved so much compared to old Hollywood, but more work needs to be done.
We know that when it’s a movie based or inspired by true events, it’s not always going to be 100% accurate. What’s so great about this movie is the writing, direction, and performance. Being the Ricardos is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
