Film Review: BEING THE RICARDOS (2021): Aaron Sorkin’s Film Is Just as Complex as His Fans Have Come to Expect

Being the Ricardos Review

Being the Ricardos (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Aaron Sorkin and starring Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, John Rubinstein, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Tony Hale, Linda Lavin, Ronny Cox, Dana Lyn Baron, Dan Sachoff, Nelson Franklin, Clark Gregg, Jeff Holman, Baize Buzan, Christopher Denham and Max Silvestri.

Writer/director Aaron Sorkin brings the complexity of Lucille Ball to life in the new film, Being the Ricardos. In this movie and several of his other films, Sorkin’s main characters are flawed to a fault so it’s no surprise that in this new picture, Ball comes off as a bit full of herself. In fact, she’s rather snobby. Being that she was one of the most popular, if not the, biggest television star of her generation, it’s somewhat easy to understand why she behaves as she does in the film. As played by Nicole Kidman, Ball knew she was the real deal and didn’t hide it. As Ball’s husband, Desi Arnaz, Javier Bardem occasionally steals the spotlight from Kidman during the course of the film making Kidman not as obvious an Oscar nominee for Best Actress as I would have initially expected.

Being the Ricardos mostly covers a week in the professional (and personal) lives of Ball and Arnaz. The movie’s plot sort of gets off to a rocky start when Ball is accused of having membership in the Communist Party which Ball compares to the Republican Party at one point in the movie. The storyline gets even more complicated when Ball reveals herself to be pregnant and Arnaz suggests to producers that she still do the “I Love Lucy” show even while pregnant. That kind of scenario was frowned upon back in that time period.

Set in 1953, Sorkin’s film is more of an ensemble piece than a movie focused on simply just the relationship between Ball and Arnaz. There are scenes with William Frawley (Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, always reliable) and Ball interacting, and the best sequence between them is when they go to a bar where nobody recognizes Ball during the early morning to shoot the breeze and talk business. Kidman and Simmons play off each other like the true masters of their craft that they are.

A scene that shows Ball’s unlikability comes when she comments on the weight of Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda) and compares Vivian’s looks to her own somewhat unfavorably. Ball had her charms but also had a lot of bad qualities based on her portrayal in this film. How much you like Ball here will depend on your own personal viewpoints.

With that said, Arnaz and Ball, as played by Bardem and Kidman, have some terrific on-screen chemistry. Kidman has some funny one-liners throughout and trades some zingy barbs with members of the cast with hysterical results.

Sorkin has written complicated characters here which are drawn from real-life people. They are multi-faceted, if not always relatable. With Ball and Arnaz being huge television stars, I never would have thought they would be easy to sympathize with but both main characters are flawed to a fault despite their definite admiration for one another.

The movie is, ultimately, more of a behind the scenes look at the CBS television show “I Love Lucy.” Huge fans of the sitcom and people who work in television will appreciate it more. There are popular scenes from old “Lucy” shows re-enacted on screen as well.

Sorkin’s film is good but it’s not for everyone. Kidman gives the role everything she has and Bardem revels in his performance which highlights both the business side of Arnas as well as his personal side. Sorkin adds so many characters to the mix that some of them get lost in the shuffle. Sorkin whose films are known for their large ensemble casts, overwhelms the audience at times with Being the Ricardos. You may want to jot down the characters’ names to keep track of who’s who!

I wouldn’t have missed Being the Ricardos for the world. When the credits roll at the end, you’ll definitely feel like you got your time’s worth as the movie is truly fascinating to watch. Kidman, despite her character’s flaws, does an overall solid job. Bardem is the most valuable player, though. You’ll want to see the movie in order to see how you feel about the characters especially if you’re a fan of the old T.V. show. There will be many different responses to this film and Sorkin probably wouldn’t have it any other way.

Rating: 7/10

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