Lucy (2003)

MOW about the life of Lucille Ball, focusing on the loving yet tumultuous relationship with Desi Arnaz.

Director:

Glenn Jordan

Writers:

Katie Ford, T.S. Cook

Stars:

Rachel York, Danny Pino, Ann Dowd

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rachel York	...	Lucille Ball
Danny Pino	...	Desi Arnaz
Ann Dowd	...	Dede
LaChanze	...	Harriett
Madeline Zima	...	Teen Lucy
Rebecca Hobbs	...	Vivian Vance
Merv Smith	...	Grandpa Fred
Russell Newman	...	Bill Frawley
Zoe Carides	...	Lolita De Acha
Christopher Brougham	...	Adult Freddy (as Chris Brougham)
Ray Woolf	...	Ed Sedgwick
Peter Mochrie	...	Don Sharpe
Andrew Robertt	...	Bob Carroll Jr. (as Andrew Mitchell)
Lauchlin MacDonald	...	Jess Oppenheimer (as Lachlan Macdonald)
Theresa Healey	...	Madelyn Pugh

Storyline

After her grandfather is financially ruined in a lawsuit over a shooting accident, Lucille 'Lucy' Ball pursues her dream of fame as actress. She succeeds in comical parts, often the girl who gets the cake in her face. Then she meets and soon marries the love of her life, Desiderio 'Desi' . Ricky, Latin band leader and aristocratic son of an exiled Cuban mayor. Desi proves a business genius, who gets a revolutionary method adopted to gain production control of the sitcom "I Love Lucy", a format devised for him and Lucy to star in. Despite offspring, their family life soon gets into stormy waters, mainly due to his infidelity, gambling and temper.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | nickname as title | lucille ball character | desi arnaz character | love | 

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Taglines:

When the comedy stopped...real life began.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Goofs

A placard featuring the famous I Love Lucy heart logo against a satin backdrop is visible in a scene set in 1951 or thereabouts; in reality, that logo was not used until show was released for syndication years later and up until then opening featured animated Lucy/Desi cartoon characters plugging various sponsors.

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Quotes

[on Desi's infidelity]
Lucy: That's your excuse? Because your daddy did it long ago on some Spic island?

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Connections

References The Big Street (1942)

User Reviews

Entertaining

I've read a lot of negative reviews of this film and I can only say that yes, there are some errors in the chronology and anachronisms regarding the cars used. If you can get beyond all that, the film will entertain you. The acting and the portrayals are quite good of Lucy and Desi, and acceptable for Viv and Bill Frawley. There are some not-bad impersonations of some legends like Eddie Cantor and young Bette Davis. A standout is the young woman portraying Carole Lombard, and the 20s period stuff looks good. I wish they would have gone more into Desi's background as his early life was filled with at least as much drama as Lucy's. The woman who plays DeDe Ball really looks exactly like the real thing. The re-creations of Lucy's best routines are pretty good. It must be hard to near-impossible to try an imitate a comic genius credibly, but Rachel York does a very good job. I've read nearly everything ever written about Lucy and Desi, and while this film is not perfect, it is generally pretty accurate.

Details

Official Sites:

CBS Primetime Movies

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lucy

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS, Film Factory Lucy Productions Ltd., Holiday Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1