‘Being the Ricardos’ reveals Lucy’s inside story
Above: Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star in "Being the Ricardos," which opens Friday. (Photo/Netflix)
It feels funny to see a movie based on people who starred on a television show that you watched as a child.
That’s how I react whenever I saw a trailer for “Being the Ricardos,” the movie about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz that opens on Friday.
Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the film stars Nicole Kidman – yes, that Nicole Kidman – as Ball and Javier Bardem as Arnaz.
“I Love Lucy,” the sitcom that both starred in – and which Arnaz co-executive produced – ran from 1951 to 1957 and was one of the most popular shows of its era. Sorkin’s film apparently will focus on one prominent week of production when their careers are threatened.
The main threat? It was the ’50s, you know, and anti-Communist Joseph McCarthy was looking for anyone whom he could victimize in the name of "patriotism." There were scoundrels then just as there are now.
No advance reviews are available. That usually is bad news. But some sneak-preview reactions have been positive, especially that of New York Times writer Kyle Buchanan who Tweeted, “Lucy, you’ve got some campaigning to do” – hinting at Kidman’s chances at earning a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
Other Friday openings:
“West Side Story”: Steven Spielberg takes on the 1957 Broadway musical, which was originally filmed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins in 1961. As of this writing, it has earned a 94 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Moira MacDonald of the Seattle Times wrote, “If you know the original ‘West Side Story’ pretty well, watching this one is fascinating, like getting reacquainted with an old friend who now looks quite different.”
“Don’t Look Up”: Two astronomers (Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence) have trouble getting anyone to understand, or even care, that a comet is coming that will destroy the Earth. Note: Playing exclusively at the Magic Lantern Theatre.
Just like “Being the Ricardos,” no advance reviews are available. But, hey, the trailer looks cool.
I’ll update as the week progresses.