Being the Ricardos – Budget Unknown – 2 hours and 11 minutes
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Lucille Ball waits for her husband, Desi Arnaz, with the morning paper in her hand. When he comes through the door, she wants an explanation. It shows him enjoying drinks and details a wild night out. Desi looks at the paper and tells her it’s an old picture of an event she with him attended months ago. Lucy remembers and kisses Desi. As they kiss, a news report comes over the radio. A well-known T.V. star pledges her allegiance to the communist party. They stop kissing and realize the news report said ‘her’ and ‘T.V. star.’ Lucy is the most-popular woman or man on television. They know the radio host is talking about Lucy.
Monday, Lucy and Desi go to the executives to convince them of the truth. Lucy tells them that 20 years ago, she lived with her grandfather, who fought for the little guy. She checked the communist box to please him. Since then, she’s never attended a meeting or associated with any other communist. The FBI investigated them for months and concluded that Lucy and Desi weren’t communists. Desi and Lucy leave the office and head to the table-read for episode 204 of I Love Lucy. They believe the show is ok, but this will be the most trying week of their marriage, T.V. show, staff, and cast.
It might shock people today, but I Love Lucy was a groundbreaking and provocative show for its time (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer). Lucy has to fight for a Cuban husband to marry an All-American girl before the show started. Then, she had to fight for Desi to get the credit he deserved on the show. When most networks never addressed pregnancy on T.V., Desi and Lucy decided to be the first. Lucy played a dopey woman on T.V., but she was a comedic genius battling tooth and nail for her art. However, this movie doesn’t make Lucy look like an angel. Her strong demeanor came at the cost of her writing staff and her co-stars, Vivian and Bill. You don’t need to know much about Lucy, Desi, or the show to enjoy this movie. But you will want to watch the show afterward.
I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars
I’m hazing you, Bob. It’s my way of saying I have no confidence in you at all – Lucille
Would you like to rumba – Desi
Trust me. You don’t want me reading this sober – Bill
You could be playing Ethel – Vivian
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Categories: Alia Shawkat, Being the Ricardos, Clark Gregg, Jake Lacy, Javier Bardem, jk simmons, movie, nicole kidman, Nina Arianda, review, Tony Hale, VOD
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