'Being The Ricardos' Humanizes An Icon Of American Comedy

LAKEVIEW (Dec. 7, 2021) — No one tells a story like Aaron Sorkin tells a story.

In his latest film “Being the Ricardos,” the writer-director takes audiences inside a week of production on the 1950s smash hit sitcom “I Love Lucy,” lifting the curtain on the complex real-life relationships among its cast and creators.

Sorkin effortlessly spins several narrative plates while rarely leaving the Desilu Studios sound stage where “I Love Lucy” was filmed from 1951 to 1957, an era in which several Hollywood artists were blackballed for supposed associations with the Communist Party. On the Monday when we meet Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman), a news story is about to break about her decades-old Communist ties — a story that could destroy her legacy at the peak of her comedic career.

And that’s the least of the problems she needs to solve by Friday. Ball attempts to keep afloat both her hit show and her marriage to infamous philanderer Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), all while managing tension with the show’s writers (played by Tony Hale, Jake Lacy and Alia Shawkat) and fellow cast members (standouts J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda as the actors who portrayed Fred and Ethel Mertz).

If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is: a lot of pressure on Ball, and a lot of story arcs to manage. To another writer, the chocolates on the conveyor belt of “Being the Ricardos” might start to seem overwhelming — but Sorkin isn’t just another writer.

He wraps them all up in sweeping cinematic fashion, as he did more than 100 times in “The West Wing,” as his words do every night at the Shubert Theatre in the Broadway production of “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

But “Being the Ricardos” isn’t only for fans of Sorkin, or “I Love Lucy,” or television history. It certainly isn’t for the cynics who come to see if Kidman can pull off portraying an icon. She does, and it should never have been a question if she could.

Kidman is flawless in her interpretation of Ball, a brassy businesswoman whose ability to speak up in a room full of condescending men is equally matched to her comedic brilliance, which made 60 million people come back for laughs every Monday. She draws a line between the two Lucys with stunning clarity, subtly portraying both the comedy character and the real-life performer.

Bardem is also excellent as Arnaz, her on-and off-screen husband. Sorkin expertly balances the current state of their series and their marriage, while providing background into how they formed the sensitive power dynamics at play in their relationship. (The film is executive produced by the couple's children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.)

“Being the Ricardos” focuses on the title couple, but it gives Vivian Vance, Bill Frawley and the writers their due, shining a light on the meticulous joke-writing and group effort that made “Lucy” an iconic piece of TV history. The film also seamlessly shows that while Lucy was the star, she was also an uncredited writer and director long before women were allowed such titles.

“Being the Ricardos” will satisfy fans of its subjects and creators. But it’s also entertaining enough for any audience, and an education for viewers who need to be reminded that these public figures we praise and pillory are human beings with complicated backgrounds. Sorkin has brought to life the origins of Facebook and Apple, the trials of a “poker princess” and the Chicago 7. But he consistently finds the humanity in each one, whittling them down to their basic human needs and desires. He often says his projects don't take a photograph, they paint a picture; at a breakneck, breathtaking pace, with trademark dialogue and a classic structure.

Lucy’s story is no different. Even in a film built on tension, chaos and personal pain, there’s still a whole lot to love.

“Being the Ricardos” opens Dec. 10 at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema. It will begin streaming Dec. 21 on Amazon Prime Video.