Being the Ricardos
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, Bardem and Simmons. 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. Plot. The film is told from three perspectives: interviews with the show's three lead writers: Jess Oppenheimer (who was also the show runner), Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll Jr.; flashbacks; and  preparations for a live filming in 1953. In 1939, Ball, 28, is an actress contracted to RKO Pictures. She gets small parts in big studio productions, but featured mainly in low budget films which gives her the moniker "Queen of the B-Movies." She is cast in the comedy "Too Many Girls", a film Pugh describes as a bad stage play made into an even worse movie. She meets one of the film's cast, charismatic 22-year-old Cuban singer Desi Arnaz and they fall in love instantly. Months after filming, they marry and buy a home in Hollywood . Arnaz has a successful stint fronting the Desi Arnaz Orchestra that tours around the country, while Ball continues her film career with little success. After Arnaz serves in World War II, he resumes his success with his orchestra, with Ball having to accompany him because of his infidelity. Ball finally gets a break when she is cast in 1942's "The Big Street". The film is only a modest hit, but Ball's performance is praised. She meets with RKO President Charles Koerner confident she will get better scripts on par with established stars like Rita Hayworth and Judy Holliday . Instead he terminates her contract as several actresses RKO loaned to other studios will be returning and there will be nothing for her. He suggests she use her voice for radio, and with no substantial film roles coming, she does. In 1948, she is cast in the radio show "My Favorite Husband", which becomes a massive success. The show draws interest from CBS and cigarette company Philip Morris, who suggested to turn "My Favorite Husband" into a television show. Ball agrees but only if Arnaz plays her on-screen husband. The executives initially refuse because Arnaz is Cuban, but later  concede after Ball refuses to give them the copyright of the show. She also hopes that working with Arnaz will decrease his infidelity and save their marriage. By 1953, the show is renamed "I Love Lucy" and becomes a smash hit with nearly 60 million viewers each week. A three camera system, designed by Arnaz, allows viewers on the East Coast of United States to see the show live and without static (since the show is filmed on the West Coast). During production, Ball deals with several issues on the show; Vivian Vance and William Frawley, who play the Ricardos ' married neighbors the Mertzes, do not get along, and Frawley is often drunk on the filming set. Ball also clashes with the directors and writers during table reads and scene blocking. Particularly troublesome is a scene where Arnaz comes home and covers Ball's eyes while she is setting the table, and she names several different men before he reveals it's him. The couple announce to CBS and Phillip Morris executives that Ball is pregnant. The executives insist Ball hide the pregnancy behind large objects, but the couple refuses and proposes the pregnancy be shown (though they are never  allowed to say the word "pregnant" on air). Ball also deals with Arnaz staying out late, and a photo emerges in the tabloids of him with another woman. Desi tells Lucy that he plays cards on a boat with some other celebrities and sleeps there when he is too tired to come home, and that the picture was taken six months ago. She reluctantly believes him. Frawley has Ball understand that Arnaz's infidelity may stem from her making the business and creative decisions on the show which makes him feel emasculated, though she explains to everyone that he is  the one who makes all the decisions. She asks Oppenheimer to give Arnaz a producer credit, hoping it will stop Arnaz's infidelity and save the marriage. Instead, Oppenheimer reminds Arnaz he has top billing, as he is the person saying "I" in "I love Lucy", in attempt to placate him. Arnaz responds by sharply scolding Oppenheimer for trying to patronize him. The night of the live filming, a newspaper article deems Ball a Communist, though she was cleared during a HUAC hearing months ago. Ball admits she registered as a member of the Communist Party when she was young  and influenced by a relative, but Arnaz insists she lie to the public and claim she accidentally marked the wrong box. Ball refuses to lie to the public, fearing she will be humiliated. Arnaz cancels his usual show warm up with the audience, and instead addresses the audience about the accusations. He takes a live call with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who assures all of the audience that Lucy has been cleared of all the charges. As the couple celebrates backstage, Ball shows Arnaz a handkerchief with lipstick on it. Arnaz says it's hers, but Ball shows him  another handkerchief with her own lipstick on it, proving Arnaz's infidelity. When filming begins, Ball momentarily loses her concentration. They start over, with Ball being more focused. The film ends with a title card saying Ball filed for divorce after the taping of their last show in 1960. Production. The project was first announced in September 2015, with Cate Blanchett announced to star as Lucille Ball and Aaron Sorkin writing the screenplay. The film would be acquired by Amazon Studios in August 2017. Production was originally given a tax credit to film in California in November 2019, and producers  were revealed to be meeting with directors in January 2020. 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. The casting of Kidman was met with some controversy on social media, to which Lucie Arnaz spoke out in defense of Kidman's casting. In February, J. K. Simmons and Nina Arianda were cast to portray William Frawley and Vivian Vance respectively . Filming began on March 29, 2021, in Los Angeles, with Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, and Clark Gregg added to the cast. The production canceled filming at Chateau Marmont due to backlash against the establishment. In September 2021, Sorkin stated that the film was in post-production. The set design was led by Emmy-nominated set decorator Ellen Brill and Production Designer Jon Hutman. Release. The film premiered in New York City on December 7, 2021. The film was released in a limited release exclusively in the United States on December 10, 2021, prior to streaming globally on Prime  Video on December 21, 2021. 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. Reception. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 68% based on 260 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." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average  score of 60 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film a 3.5 out of 4 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." 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." 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." 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." 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." Reception of the casting of a European actor (Bardem) to play a Cuban-American character (Arnaz) was quite  a bit more negative, 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." 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." 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." 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. 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). A major newspaper in Spain accused Bardem of  cultural appropriation while also noting that Arnaz was "a direct descendant of families from Spain." 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." 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 because his family had been "kicked out of Cuba because of Communism" - was incorrect, as the much later  Cuban Communist Revolution did not take over the island until 1959 and the Arnaz family had migrated to the United States in 1933 as a result of the "Revolt of the Sergeants", not the Castro Revolution.