Film Review: "Being the Ricardos" (2021).

From the writer and director of The Trial of the Chicago 7 comes Being the Ricardos. This biographical drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. During one production week of I Love Lucy - from Monday table read through Friday audience taping - Lucy Ball and Desi Arnaz face a series of personal and professional crises that threaten their show, their careers and their marriage in this behind-the-scenes drama.

In September 2015, the project was first announced with Sorkin penning the script and Cate Blanchett to star as Lucille Ball. In August 2017, the film would be acquired by Amazon Studios. 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 was cast to replace Blanchett, Javier Bardem was cast to portray Desi Arnaz, and Sorkin was ultimately hired to direct. The casting of Kidman was met with some controversy on social media, to which Lucie Arnaz spoke out in defense of Kidman's casting. After seeing the movie, Lucie Arnaz released a video on her YouTube Channel, in which she called the movie "freaking amazing." She complimented Sorkin for making a great movie that really captured the time period and had wonderful casting. She also said that Kidman "became my mother's soul." She also said that Bardem didn't look like her dad but "he has everything that dad had. He has his wit, his charms, his dimples, his musicality." By late March, J. K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, John Rubinstein, Linda Lavin, Ronny Cox, Clark Gregg and Christopher Denham rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in May. Filming took place in Los Angeles, California.

The film stars Kidman, Bardem, Simmons, Arianda, Hale, Shawkat, Lacy, Rubinstein, Lavin, Cox, Gregg and Denham. Sorkin has always been an actor's writer, and Kidman revels in his dense-but-flowing dialogue. Her performance is the key to the film's success. Sorkin and Kidman managed to convey what it is like to have integrity and drive in equal measure as a woman in a world designed by men.

Despite the irritating editing choices, it's difficult to dismiss the design of the characters - and the exceptional performances by Kidman and Bardem. When it peaks, the film provides a thrilling, tension-filled glimpse into the glamorous and complicated world of I Love Lucy. It's unfortunate the film ends with a fizzle, not the pop it deserves. The film is a brisk, energetic, engrossing work, and even in those moments when it isn't, Kidman keeps things interesting. There are no Jedi, no Avengers, simply an intelligent story told from a very specific point of view. You feel like Hollywood doesn't make that kind of thing any longer? Go see the film, and you'll see that they never stopped.

Simon says Being the Ricardos receives:

See my review for The Trial of the Chicago 7.