Being the Ricardos (2021)

IMDb plot summary: Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.

Directed by Aaron Sorkin. Starring Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, and J.K. Simmons.

Being the Ricardos tells the story of one particularly tense week in the life of Lucille Ball, when rumors were flying that she was a Communist, which could lead to her being blacklisted from her TV show. On top of that, she's just learned she's pregnant and having doubts about her husband's faithfulness, so it's a high-stress week all around. Given the fact that I often really love Sorkin's writing, I found this very disappointing. The dialogue doesn't sparkle the way his best work does, feeling instead like a dull by-the-book narrative that chose the least interesting pieces of the story to focus in on. The script is certainly the weakest part, though. Nicole Kidman does an impressively good job as Lucy, and Javier Bardem is pretty good as Desi, if never quite disappearing into the role the way Kidman does. The cinematography works for me as well, jumping between the stylized fantasy of 1950s television and the way things actually were in a way that highlights the contrast. There's enough good here to make it worth a watch if you're already a interested in the story or someone involved in the project, but if not, you can skip it.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Being the Ricardos < Gas Food Lodging

Being the Ricardos > Big Fat Liar

Being the Ricardos > Sullivan's Travels

Being the Ricardos < Venom

Being the Ricardos < Tank

Being the Ricardos > Kicking and Screaming (1995)

Being the Ricardos < Wordplay

Being the Ricardos < The Avengers (2012)

Being the Ricardos > Max Dugan Returns

Being the Ricardos > Jezebel

Being the Ricardos < Tulpan

Final spot: #2160 out of 3562, or 39%.