‘Being The Ricardos,’ directed by famed screenwriter-director Aaron Sorkin.
This movie is a period drama biopic that sheds light on the domestic and professional lives of two television stars, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, as they negotiate fame and scandals.
Nicole Kidman is a natural in the character of Lucille Ball, and Javier Bardem delivers a powerful performance as the male lead.
The film received positive reviews at its initial release, particularly for the stellar cast’s outstanding performance.
You could ask, though, how much of the story is based on actuality. Let us analyse the matter if the question has truly arisen in your thoughts.
Is There A True Story Behind ‘Being The Ricardos’ (2021) Movie?
Yes, ‘Being The Ricardos’ is, in fact, based on true events. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball-shaped an era in sitcom history with their lives and professions.
From his own script, Aaron Sorkin of ‘Molly’s Game‘ and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7‘ directed the film.
Producer Todd Black and his then-executive Jenna Block phoned Sorkin to explore an idea, despite the fact that he had only joined the project as a screenwriter.
Jenna’s college thesis was on Lucille Ball, and the legendary actress had the two of them pondering for quite some time.
Lucille Ball in a 1984 interview with @etnow talking about watching #ILoveLucy—“I don’t laugh. I cry a little.” #BeingTheRicardos pic.twitter.com/jsxgdG9Fz8
— Lucille Ball Tribute (@LucyTributePage) December 11, 2021
The duo attempted to persuade Sorkin that the idea had the potential to be made into a film and that he was the right guy to execute it.
Sorkin, on the other hand, was unsure, and it took him one and a half years to say yes. He was, however, intrigued enough to meet Black every few months.
These sessions were crucial in bringing the plot to life. The problems in Ball’s life drew Sorkin’s attention sufficiently for him to create a plot around them.
Sorkin claimed in an interview with THR that one of the difficulties was “the charge of communism” leveled against the actress, which he was unaware of before to joining the project.
There were other intriguing aspects as well, such as Lucille and Desi’s difficult but lively marriage.
The fact that Lucy was expecting her and Desi’s child at the time makes things even more complicated.
In ‘Being the Ricardos,’ the director expertly conveys the intricacy of the power couple’s existence with little elements.
The director, who won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for ‘The Social Network,’ has a knack for penning moving biographical vignettes.
Sorkin decided on the structure from the beginning. The film is set in September 1952 and takes place over the course of a week.
From the Monday meeting in the writers’ room through the Friday studio shot, it recounts a weekly production task of Lucille and Desi’s CBS original rating-magnet sitcom ‘I Love Lucy.’
From the charges that Lucille was a Communist to the tumultuous marriage, most of the picture stays true to the truth. Desi was also Lucy’s on-screen spouse, as shown in the film.
Vladimir Zworykin’s invention of the cathode ray tube earned him a patent in the late 1920s.
WRGB ushered in a new era of television stations and transmitted transmissions about the same time.
In the twentieth century as a whole, television came to define middle-class culture. During the postwar boom of the 1950s, the little screen rose to popularity.
Even though chat shows and soap operas were already popular on the radio, television would give them a new look.
‘I Love Lucy,’ starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and Jack Webb’s police procedural ‘Dragnet,’ dominated the 1950s television landscape.
Both are game-changers in their own right, and they’ve laid the groundwork for the next years.
By blending truth and fantasy, ‘I Love Lucy’ established the basic rules of the sitcom (short for situational comedy).
The show offered the idea of filming in front of a live audience, and television began to reproduce itself.
The show also polished and standardised the simultaneous three-camera format, and the popularity of the show gave birth to the concept of reruns.
Lucille Ball was, without a doubt, the first television star. The brilliance of ‘I Love Lucy’ lies in the fact that it created a format that has been popular for almost 40 years and is still relevant today.
As a result, with ‘Being the Ricardos,’ the director tried to stay as close to the plot as possible.
Having said that, Sorkin did exercise some artistic licence in several instances.
The plot presents a behind-the-scenes fictionalisation of the episode featuring Ethel and Fred’s famous confrontation.
The film claims that 30 episodes have been shot at the time of the brawl, although the brawl occurs in the 22nd episode.
Although the fight occurs before the in-show advertisements, an ad sequence is combined with the incident in the film.
Desi addresses the audience about Ball’s Communist charges in a noteworthy sequence in the film.
It wouldn’t happen until the third season, ‘The Girls Go into Business.’ The pregnancy on-screen is also a little far-fetched.
It was frightening to say the word “pregnant” on television in the 1950s. Even when it mixed fact and fantasy, the duo had to be careful not to say the term in the show.
The major events depicted in the film did not occur over the course of a single week. However, the story remains a pertinent look back at Lucille Ball’s success.