No. 106 (2021) BEING THE RICARDOS. Dec. 27th.

 

Film No. 106 (2021)  December. 27th.  7:30 PM   AMAZON PRIME,  Mt. Hawthorn, West Australia.

 

"I'm Lucille Ball, when I'm being funny you'll know it." (Ball makes a quip to indicate how serious she is about a stage move she is blocking to improve a scene).

To not like BEING THE RICHARDOS, a costume drama about a T.V. era few can remember, I can comprehend. But to not appreciate the sheer brilliance of the production I definitely can't. The casting, the script, (Sorkin, who else?) the sets, the costuming, the ... well, the whole vibe; I was transfixed. And for all of this I had to settle for a 50inch screen to digest it.

While the promos for BTR revolve around the story of a week in the life of Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Barden) in '52 as they batted away accusations of their (Lucille's in particular) affiliation with communism, there really are many more layers. The list of side-stories depicted here are many and varied. The love story that sparked it all, Ball's brilliance in creating physical comedy, the special (tense at times) relationship they had with co-stars Vivien Vance (Nina Arianda) and William Frawley (J.K. Simmons), to name just a few of those layers.

There is a real docu-drama feel to BTR, but don't be fooled. Sorkin has taken licence, big time. There are talking heads folded into the plot that you would swear give clear insights into the real world of Lucille and Desi. Wrong! It's clever, but pure fiction. There are many legendary stories about the stars of this live taped sit-com that attracted 60 million viewers at its peak. Sorkin delves into these "based on true events" as opposed to "this is a true story" tropes.

I was a small boy when I LOVE LUCY was running on small screens here in Australia (T.V. was only taking a foothold here in the sixties). LUCY was a phenomenon, easily the most popular comedy show. My grandparents put life on hold to watch. Each episode played as if they were current.  These episodes, in fact, were first taped to live audiences in the U.S. ten years earlier. Oh, how television has changed. 

I got everything about BEING THE RICARDOS. It brought back memories of a less complicated world last century. Sorkin is cranking here. Kidman, Baren, J.K. Simmons and Arianda must have pinched their talented selves at the opportunity to bring this wonderful entertainment to life. BEING THE RICARDOS is easily the best small screen movie I have seen in 2021. 10GUMS.