Movie Reviews

‘BEING THE RICARDOS’ Review – Great for Aaron Sorkin Fans, Less Great for ‘I Love Lucy’ Fans

By Michael Cook
December 23, 2021
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Synopsis

During one production week of “I Love Lucy” — from Monday table read through Friday audience taping — Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) face a series of personal and professional crises that threaten their show, their careers and their marriage, in writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s behind-the-scenes drama.

At this point, you either like Aaron Sorkin or you don’t. Over the years, his distinct style of fast-paced, quippy banter mixed with lengthy monologues has proven divisive. And his new movie, Being the Ricardos, tends to feel like Sorkin at his most unrestrained – and also at his most self-derivative. A biopic about Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), Being the Ricardos explores a single, tumultuous production week of I Love Lucy.

And while all the pieces are there for a compelling biopic, the execution leaves something to be desired. For as good as the performances are, none of the main actors feel like the people they’re portraying. And as entertaining as the script is at times, it frequently feels unfocused and at odds with the subjects it’s covering. If you’re a hardcore Sorkin fan, you’ll probably love this. But if you were hoping for something that felt a bit more authentic to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Being the Ricardos might leave you a bit cold.

All of the Behind-The-Scenes Stuff is Great, if Derivative…

I’ll be the first to say that I love a good behind-the-scenes drama. There’s just something very fun about those kinds of stories, whether they’re based on real media or not. So, the idea of exploring a turbulent week behind the scenes of I Love Lucy is a great one. As the week begins, Ball gets accused of being a communist, a tabloid writes about Arnaz’s affairs, and the couple tries to convince CBS to allow the show to explore Lucy’s pregnancy. All while continuing production on that week’s episode. And honestly, these scenes are easily the best parts of the movie. Getting to see Arnaz and Ball at the height of success is endlessly fascinating. And the film deftly explores the highs and the lows that come with that success.

Unfortunately, much of Being the Ricardos also feels like Sorkin at his most self-derivative. If you’ve ever seen a Sorkin film/TV Show, you’ve already seen Being the Ricardos. It’s like he took The Social Network and mashed it up with an episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. There’s a framing device that clearly wants to be The Social Network‘s framing device, but pales in comparison. There are a bunch of flashback sequences that, while necessary to the film’s emotional center, tend to halt any sense of forward momentum, leaving the “present-day” scenes lacking in tension. And honestly, it’s all just the same formula he’s used before – in The West Wing, Studio 60, and The Newsroom. I like all of those shows, but this formula is very noticeable and feels directly at odds with these characters.

JAVIER BARDEM, J.K. SIMMONS, NINA ARIANDA, and NICOLE KIDMAN star in BEING THE RICARDOS Photo: GLEN WILSON © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

…But Ball and Arnaz Feel More Like Sorkin Characters than Real People

And that’s honestly the central problem of this film – the clashing of Sorkin’s unbreakable style and the needs of a biopic. While the film is billed as an exploration of a single week behind-the-scenes of I Love Lucy, it’s not. Instead, it’s more of an overview of Ball and Arnaz’s relationship. Sorkin excels with all of the behind-the-scenes drama. The political intrigue of the red scare and all of the creative decisions and negotiations between Arnaz, Ball, the studio, and the writing staff. All of that stuff is fascinating and feels right up Sorkin’s wheelhouse. It’s all of the character moments that he struggles with. They mostly happen in those previously mentioned flashbacks, all of which feel disconnected from the narrative thrust of the movie and result in an unfocused viewing experience, even though they do come to a nice culmination by the climax.

None of that would be a problem if the characterizations were superb. In a vacuum, the characters are fine. Being the Ricardos‘ Ball and Arnaz are well-written and nuanced. While neither of them emerges fully sympathetic, neither emerges wholly unsympathetic either. And the way their dynamic plays out is authentic and engaging. The problem is that Sorkin’s versions of Ball and Arnaz feel less like the real-life Ball and Arnaz and more like characters he dreamed up. Ultimately, I think the script is the problem. It turns out that Sorkin’s style of dialogue doesn’t work so well when given to real people with tons of easily-accessible footage that shows what they sounded like. Despite some genuinely impressive performances from Kidman and Bardem, neither of them manages to outshine the shadow cast by Sorkin’s script. They handle his dialogue remarkably well, but they never evoke the real Ball and Arnaz.

NICOLE KIDMAN and JAVIER BARDEM star in BEING THE RICARDOS Photo: GLEN WILSON © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

Good Performances and Impressive Visuals

Still, both actors do a remarkable job here, perfectly balancing the vulnerability of Ball and Arnaz with their more powerful public personas. Neither of them ever look or sound much like Ball and Arnaz, but it’s easy to overlook that. Both J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda are equally good as William Frawley and Vivian Vance, though they’re given significantly less to do. And a special shoutout goes to Tony Hale, Jake Lacy, and Alia Shawkat, who all find moments to shine in their fairly small roles as head-writer, Jess Oppenheimer, and staff writers, Bob Carroll and Madelyn Pugh. Honestly, for all the skepticism regarding some of the casting choices, everyone does an admirable job. Except in the moments where Being the Ricardos tries to recreate famous I Love Lucy moments. But thankfully, the film uses these recreations extremely sparingly.

From a visual standpoint, Being the Ricardos is quite an achievement. Visually, this feels like Sorkin’s most creative directorial effort so far. He perfectly captures the atmosphere of 1950s Hollywood – and even earlier, as he depicts Ball’s time on the radio show, My Favorite Husband. But most impressive is the way he visualizes Ball’s creative process. Every time she tries to figure out how to improve a scene, Sorkin takes us into her imagination. An imagination that looks remarkably like a recreation of various famous I Love Lucy moments. And while none of the actors do a great job at imitating the I Love Lucy characters, this visual flare still works quite well – especially as it’s used sparingly. But honestly, the entire film is just absolutely gorgeous to look at. And it’s easy to get lost in Sorkin’s vision of Old Hollywood.

ALIA SHAWKAT, NICOLE KIDMAN and NINA ARIANDA star in BEING THE RICARDOS Photo: GLEN WILSON © AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, how much you enjoy Being the Ricardos is gonna depend on how much you like Sorkin’s past work. This movie might as well be an episode of Studio 60 which is both a compliment and a complaint. As someone who enjoyed Studio 60, I definitely enjoyed the parts of the film that reminded me of that show. And the parts of the film that felt like a behind-the-scenes drama about the making of one of the most popular TV shows ever worked quite well. But as someone who also would’ve liked something that felt more authentic to Ball and Arnaz, Being the Ricardos comes up short. Despite some surprisingly solid performances, the film never fully evokes its subjects. So, ultimately, Being the Ricardos is a mixed bag – but one that’s worth a watch if you’re curious.