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IMDbPro

Being the Ricardos

  • 20212021
  • RR
  • 2h 11m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
40K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,389
90
Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in Being the Ricardos (2021)
BiographyDrama
Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
40K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,389
90
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • Writer
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • Stars
      • Nicole Kidman
      • Javier Bardem
      • J.K. Simmons
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • Writer
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • Stars
      • Nicole Kidman
      • Javier Bardem
      • J.K. Simmons
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 634User reviews
    • 178Critic reviews
    • 60Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 11 wins & 58 nominations total

    Videos8

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:48
    Official Trailer
    Watch the Trailer
    Trailer 1:48
    Watch the Trailer
    Teaser Trailer
    Trailer 1:18
    Teaser Trailer
    Being The Ricardos
    Trailer 1:48
    Being The Ricardos
    Being The Ricardos
    Trailer 1:18
    Being The Ricardos
    How the Cast of 'Being the Ricardos' Became the Cast of "I Love Lucy"
    Clip 3:41
    How the Cast of 'Being the Ricardos' Became the Cast of "I Love Lucy"
    The Most Anticipated Movies and TV Shows to Stream in December 2021
    Clip 2:51
    The Most Anticipated Movies and TV Shows to Stream in December 2021
    Lucille Ball's Lasting Legacy & Her Biopic Details
    Clip 4:15
    Lucille Ball's Lasting Legacy & Her Biopic Details

    Photos33

    Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in Being the Ricardos (2021)
    J.K. Simmons in Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Javier Bardem in Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Aubrey Plaza: June 26
    Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, Kathryn Hahn, and Aubrey Plaza at an event for Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban at an event for Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Taika Waititi and Rita Ora at an event for Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Nicole Kidman at an event for Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban at an event for Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Javier Bardem in Being the Ricardos (2021)
    Alia Shawkat in Being the Ricardos (2021)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nicole Kidman
    Nicole Kidman
    • Lucille Ball
    Javier Bardem
    Javier Bardem
    • Desi Arnaz
    J.K. Simmons
    J.K. Simmons
    • William Frawley
    Nina Arianda
    Nina Arianda
    • Vivian Vance
    Tony Hale
    Tony Hale
    • Jess Oppenheimer
    Alia Shawkat
    Alia Shawkat
    • Madelyn Pugh
    Jake Lacy
    Jake Lacy
    • Bob Carroll
    Linda Lavin
    Linda Lavin
    • Older Madelyn Pugh
    Ronny Cox
    Ronny Cox
    • Older Bob Carroll
    John Rubinstein
    John Rubinstein
    • Older Jess Oppenheimer
    Clark Gregg
    Clark Gregg
    • Howard Wenke
    Nelson Franklin
    Nelson Franklin
    • Joe Strickland
    Jeff Holman
    Jeff Holman
    • Roger Otter
    Jonah Platt
    Jonah Platt
    • Tip Tribby
    Christopher Denham
    Christopher Denham
    • Donald Glass
    Brian Howe
    Brian Howe
    • Charles Koerner
    Ron Perkins
    Ron Perkins
    • Macy
    Baize Buzan
    Baize Buzan
    • Mary Pat
    • Director
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • Writer
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Prior to filming, Lucie Arnaz (daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) had told writer/director Aaron Sorkin that it was okay to make Lucille stubborn and headstrong in the movie, as this was how she was in real life. After seeing the movie, Arnaz released a video on her YouTube Channel on 17 October 2021, 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 Nicole Kidman "became my mother's soul." She also said that Javier Bardem didn't look like her dad but, "he has everything that dad had. He has his wit, his charms, his dimples, his musicality."
    • Goofs
      The movie portrays Lucy's contract at RKO being dropped after her performance in The Big Street (1942) and has RKO's head of production state that at 39 years old she should try radio. In reality Lucy was only 31 when "The Big Street" was released in 1942. Her contract was not dropped by RKO, but rather bought out by MGM, who was impressed by her performance. While working for MGM, Lucy became a redhead. She remained under contract to them until 1946. Additionally, Lucy did not seek out radio until 1948 while concurrently working in movies as a freelance actress.
    • Quotes

      Lucille Ball: I am the biggest asset in the portfolio of the Columbia Broadcasting System. The biggest asset in the portfolio of Philip Morris Tobacco, Westinghouse. I get paid a fortune to do exactly what I love doing. I work side by side with my husband, who's genuinely impressed by me. And all I have to do to keep it is kill every week for thirty-six weeks in a row. And then do it again the next year.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Javier Bardem/Gang of Youths (2021)
    • Soundtracks
      She Could Shake the Maracas
      Written by Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers

      Produced by Michael Andrew

      Performed by Javier Bardem with The Michael Andrew Orchestra

    User reviews634

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    Sorkin wrings the love out of Lucy
    IMDB where getting over a hundred votes for a movie by big name Hollywood talent gets the review deleted. Am I right, IMDB? Is that how A listers keep you paying to see bombs like this one?

    If this movie wins Oscars, it will be the "Shakepeare In Love" of 2022. I know it and the 119 people who upvoted my review (before it disappeared) know it. So why does it keep disappearing, IMDB?

    Bad casting is the least of the problems in this Sorkin polemic on the 1950s. But it is the bad casting where I will start.

    First, it isn't "ageism" to be so distracted with an actress's bad plastic surgery that a show becomes unpleasantly jarring. Kidman is so frozen that all she can do is stare into the camera when she makes a point. No matter how well Kidman mimics Ball's husky voice, she looks like a doll wearing a mask. It's okay when she's playing Lucille Ball in a serious script read, but it completely falls apart when she plays Lucille Ricardo. Kidman's own features are so robotically flat, that she looks like she's an animated drawing mimicking a human mimicking a the world's most famous comedienne.

    To the other miscasting issue, Javier is an older, masculine Spaniard who lacks the litheness and charm of the boyish Desi Arnaz. The scenes of him doing a very bad imitation of Cuban English with Desi as a young man are as jarring to the Spanish ear as the idea of Jackie Gleason suddenly appearing as sexy young Paul Newman in a remake of "HUD." (He can't even sing "BABALU" for Cuban Pete's sake!!!!!)

    Third, Sorkin's standard "rata tat tat" dialogue performed by two people who are both uncomfortable with their accents makes the chatter between Lucy and Desi at times unbearable. It's stilted and uncomfortable. It's also full of exposition, which is the hallmark of very lazy writing. These two people were trailblazers, but they were real people. That Sorkin wants to use them as a metaphor might work, if he would stop beating us over the head with what he wants us to know. He should just let the story, which is remarkable, tell itself.

    Last, yes. I know Lucie Arnaz did a video defending the casting and Sorkin. And i might take that the endorsement Sorkin's fans want it to be, if she had disclosed in that video that Arnaz and her brother were principal investors in the film. Kidman may have "crawled up in" Lucie's mother's head, but Lucie paid her to be there.

    Who wasn't miscast? Nina Arianda shines as Vivian Vance and J. K. Simmons becomes drunk Bill Frawley. Linda Lavin owns the screen as the aged Madelyn Pugh. They make me really want to love this film, but I don't.

    Do you love Lucy? Watch the many "Lucy" series and then read the many biographies written about the two actors. You won't have to waste your time with Sorkin's ego trip, and you might learn something.

    Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz deserve better than being Aaron Sorkin's object lesson. I wanted a movie about real people, not a sideways lecture from wannabe professor Sorkin.
    helpful•132
    56
    • aarpcats
    • Dec 21, 2021

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 21, 2021 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Lucy and Desi
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Amazon Studios
      • Escape Artists
      • Big Indie Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 11 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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