By: Andrew Wing
Being the Ricardos is a 2021 American biographical drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game, The Trial of the Chicago 7), about the relationship between I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!, The Hours, Big Little Lies) and Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Skyfall) star as Ball and Arnaz, while J. K. Simmons (Spider-Man films, Whiplash), Nina Arianda (Goliath, Stan & Ollie), Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep), Alia Shawkat (Search Party), Jake Lacy (The White Lotus), and Clark Gregg (best known for playing Agent Phil Coulson in the MCU) appear in supporting roles.
The film takes place during one production week of I Love Lucy – from Monday table read through Friday audience taping – all while Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz face a series of personal and professional crises that threaten their show, their careers, and their marriage.
Being the Ricardos 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. For Kidman’s performance of Lucille Ball, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama. Also, Kidman, Bardem, and Simmons all received Academy Award nominations for their performances.
THE GOOD
Before getting into the review of the film, I have to come clean and say that going into this, I didn’t really know anything about the lives of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I have obviously heard of I Love Lucy, but I have never watched an episode of the show. With that said, the main selling point here to me was Aaron Sorkin writing and directing and the fact that both Kidman and Bardem were starring in it. Add in the fact that it’s a biopic made to be an awards contender, and I was chomping at the bit. So without further ado, let’s dive into my full review on Being the Ricardos!
With any biopic that gets reviewed, you have to address the elephant in the room first. The elephant is the performances, and the lead performances we got from Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem were equally fantastic. First with Kidman as she plays the star of stars, Lucille Ball. As I said, I am no expert about Lucille Ball and I Love Lucy, but it was extremely clear that Kidman just transformed into Ball for this film, and I found the physical resemblance to be decent if I say so myself. It was less of an impersonation like we see in other biopics, but more of a fully realized characterization. Kidman did well at expressing her humor in ways Ball did for the show that we see in the black-and-white scenes, but I thought Kidman really shined in the more dramatic parts of the film. In the parts of the film where she is dealing with both the personal and professional crises, Kidman is outstanding at reminding us there were not one, but two Lucys. Now Kidman has already won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama, and she has as good a shot as any to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, which would be her second. And while I’d prefer to see Kristen Stewart win for her performance she gave in Spencer (see my full review here), I wouldn’t mind seeing Kidman win as it would be very deserving.
Now onto the performance from Javier Bardem. I have brought this up in past reviews, but I think Bardem is responsible for the single greatest performance in a film ever, and that would be for his portrayal of Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. That just goes to show how talented I think he is as an actor, and he put his talents on full display in this. Bardem, a native of Spain, plays Desi Arnaz who was a Cuban-American, and while Bardem might not look a lot like Arnaz, he sounded just like him. His accent was flawless to me, and it was extremely impressive. He also did a good job at conveying and capturing Arnaz’ charismatic stage presence, business acumen, and also, his deceptive ways with the ladies. Also, similar to Kidman, he shines in the more dramatic moments, especially at the very end of the film. And with yesterday’s Academy Award nomination announcements, Bardem was nominated for Best Actor and it is obvious why he was after watching him in this. I’d be shocked if he won though because of Will Smith’s performance in King Richard (see my full review here), and also Benedict Cumberbatch in The Power of the Dog (see my full review here), but anything is possible.
Continuing with more performances, not only do Kidman and Bardem shine in their lead roles, but the entire supporting cast brings something to the film. J. K. Simmons was the best of the bunch though. Similar to Bardem for No Country for Old Men, Simmons is responsible for one of the best supporting performances of all time in the 2014 film Whiplash. He is just unreal in that film and he is just one of the best when it comes to supporting roles and he strengthens his case even more in this. Simmons plays actor William Frawley, who plays the landlord Fred in I Love Lucy, and he was just awesome. His character is really funny with his constant wise comments and facial expressions, and I am very happy that he got nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Tony Hale and Nina Arianda were also great in more dramatic supporting roles, while Alia Shawkat and Jake Lacy brought numerous laughs with their neverending back-and-forth banter with one another.
This is only Aaron Sorkin’s third feature film as a director because he has definitely been a writer first throughout his career. He served as a writer for critically acclaimed films The Social Network, Moneyball, and Steve Jobs, but he is most known for creating and writing The West Wing. And if there’s one thing you know for sure with any film that Sorkin is attached to, it is that it’s going to have a great original screenplay that’s heavy on dialogue, and that is absolutely the case here for Being the Ricardos. I will just never get tired of the fast-paced dialogue and extended monologues that all take place while walking, which are referred to as “walk and talks.” Everything I just mentioned is only aided by the film’s superb editing done by Alan Baumgarten, and I just really liked how Sorkin decided to make the film take place just during one week of the show. I’m honestly shocked his original screenplay didn’t receive an Oscar nomination.
Lastly, just some other things that I enjoyed about the film that are worth mentioning. First, the production design was super cool. I am just a sucker for these films that take you back in time with their production sets, especially when they deal with movie/production studios where the show was shot. It’s production reminded me of the Coen brother’s film Hail, Caesar! that takes place in MGM studios. Second, I loved the original score from Daniel Pemberton. Maybe I’m biased because Pemberton provided the original score for one of my all-time favorites Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but I was just vibing with the score here from start to finish. In closing, I just got to discuss the film ultimately not receiving a Best Picture nomination. Yes, I would’ve liked to see it get nominated because it is deserving, but 2021 was just jam-packed full of amazing films, so it is what it is.
THE BAD
I honestly have a hard time believing that somebody might not enjoy this film. It is a great watch boosted by some incredible performances, but there were definitely some minor flaws. First, and while it is so incredibly minor, Javier Bardem really doesn’t look a lot like Desi Arnaz. It is just a fact, and at least on my end, it looked like they tried some sort of de-aging process in some of the flashback scenes and they just distracted me more than anything. With that said, Bardem still kills his role, and I am happy he was the one to play the character despite no physical resemblance.
Also, the film has a runtime of 131 minutes and it did get slow at times for me. But it is a biopic at the end of the day, and good luck finding a biopic under 2 hours long! Lastly, the end just sort of comes out and smacks you in the face. Again, it is a dramatic biopic and it’s not their fault that Ball and Arnaz’s relationship didn’t have a happy ending, but I just would’ve liked it handled differently. Maybe in a way that would’ve had viewers leaving with smiles on their faces rather than the face I had when the credits began to roll. Despite all that though, it was still a solid film in my book.
THE VERDICT
Being the Ricardos is the third feature film from Aaron Sorkin as a writer-director, and it was just a blast from start to finish as it follows the relationship between I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz with Sorkin’s trademark fast-paced dialogue. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as Ball and Arnaz and they both give brilliant performances that were both Oscar-nominated. Speaking of nominations, J. K. Simmons is great again in his supporting role. All in all, it was just an engagingly fun film throughout and I think it is Sorkin’s strongest directorial effort yet!
TED TAKES RATING - 8.5/10
Being the Ricardos is only available on Amazon Prime Video. Check out the latest trailer below.