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Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos turns its focus on Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the actors who famously portrayed Lucy and Ricky Ricardo in the hit 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy . Set in the 1950s, Sorkin sorts through one of the most tumultuous periods in the couple’s life, tackling the issues in their marriage and the external factors that could have derailed both of their careers at the height of their sitcom’s popularity. Being the Ricardos is swiftly paced and bolstered by good enough performances, but it lacks the vitality to keep it going. While the film occasionally reaches its storytelling potential after an intriguing setup, it never fully soars above certain underwhelming beats.

Being the Ricardos opens by immediately introducing its two conflicts. Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and husband Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) are in the midst of an argument about a tabloid story regarding Desi being seen with another woman. They’re also getting hot and heavy offscreen, which immediately sets the stage for their passionate yet contentious marriage. After hearing a breaking story on the radio about Lucy being registered with the Communist Party back in the 1930s, the couple must contend with the aftermath of what the news going public could mean for the future of I Love Lucy, including how it affects their co-stars Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda) and William Frawley (J.K. Simmons), the show’s writers (Alia Shawkat and Jake Lacy), and the studio. The growing tension touches everyone in different ways as they continue to produce the show, all while Lucy spirals following the allegations of Desi’s infidelities.

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Sorkin’s snappy dialogue and quick pacing ensure the story never falls into a lull, but the last third of Being the Ricardos nearly derails much of the setup and goodwill that existed in the first half of the film. And while Sorkin’s writing is typically lively, his directing here is not. Being the Ricardos doesn’t have enough fuel to keep it going and the momentum it needed to build toward its intense final moment falls short long before getting there. This is primarily because the film aims to tie up all of its loose ends in a neat, nondescript way, which ultimately sucks the air out of the story and flattens much of the energy it started off with. The film hinges on the audience not knowing all that much about its main characters, but there’s a lack of suspense for those who already know the gist of what happens and how things play out. To that end, Sorkin banks on the tension of Lucy being a potential communist when that is the least interesting aspect of the film.

Despite everything, Sorkin manages a balancing act of interpersonal drama, a past history that threatens to undo Lucy’s career, and the process of making a show. With the latter, Sorkin sprinkles moments that highlight how much of a comedic genius Lucille Ball was. While everyone around her is trying to push through the tense week, Kidman’s Lucille stands, face contorted in concentration as she works to enhance the physical comedy of the scene despite the protestations that come from nearly every level of the production. Quietly, Sorkin showcases how the late actress’ comedic timing was all in the details as she envisions not what the scene is, but how it could be. Kidman is especially great in these moments, though she doesn’t always nail Ball’s incredible talent for physical comedy. Kidman is more restrained in her body language and it’s hard to be fully engaged with her performance because of it.

Javier Bardem is incredibly charming as Desi Arnaz, but both of the leads’ performances feel muted, something which is reflective of the intriguing yet underwhelming script. However, it’s J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda who stand out despite being given a lot less material to work with. Arianda’s soulful gaze and overall nuanced performance paint Vivian’s struggles clearly; she’s Lucy’s friend, but is often overlooked and sidelined. Heated exchanges with Simmons’ William manage to ignite the spark that is somehow missing between Bardem and Kidman. Vivian tries to hide her hurt, but it’s written squarely on her face for anyone that is paying attention. Sorkin seems loosely interested in the friendship Lucy and Vivian share, one that is layered and filled with respect and tension, though there isn’t enough of it.

Being the Ricardos teases the question: did Desi really love Lucy? But the film doesn’t necessarily yield a response, often treating Arnaz like a stereotype rather than as a fully realized person. Sorkin does showcase how capable and smart he is (Desi acts as a producer on I Love Lucy , but is not given the credit for it), but there are more scenes dedicated to people talking about him than there are of him speaking for himself. Lucy fights for her husband and he fights for her, but while it’s clear she’s invested in the romantic aspect of their relationship and maintaining her career, Sorkin doesn’t have quite the same grasp on who Desi is by comparison. What the film does really well, however, is reveal — layer by layer — the consistent turbulence that is present in Lucy and Desi’s marriage. It stands out in stark contrast to the picture-perfect relationship their characters have onscreen. It’s in these moments that Sorkin’s script finds its footing, digging a bit deeper before coming quickly back up for air.

It’s unfortunate that Being the Ricardos never becomes as interesting as the people it’s centered on. The film offers enough interpersonal drama to keep audiences watching and intrigued, but while Sorkin’s script moves steadily towards the ending, the story wanes and never builds enough momentum to truly impress.

Next:  Being The Ricardos Trailer Shows Nicole Kidman As Lucille Ball

Being the Ricardos releases in limited theaters on Friday, December 10 and will be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on December 21. The film is 125 minutes long and is rated R for language.

Being the Ricardos

Being the Ricardos is an Amazon original movie starring Nicole Kidman as I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball. The film focuses on Ball's relationship with Desi Arnaz, played by Javier Bardem, and is told from three different perspectives. Directed by Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos was nominated for three Academy Awards and also won a Golden Globe for Kidman's performance.

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Being the ricardos (don't use).

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Being the Ricardos

Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers--and another that could end their marriage. Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers--and another that could end their marriage. Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers--and another that could end their marriage.

• Aaron Sorkin
• Nicole Kidman
• Javier Bardem
• J.K. Simmons
• 665 User reviews
• 186 Critic reviews
• 60 Metascore
• 13 wins & 60 nominations total

Top cast 99

• Lucille Ball

• William Frawley

• Vivian Vance

• Jess Oppenheimer

• Madelyn Pugh

• Bob Carroll

• Older Madelyn Pugh

• Older Bob Carroll

• Older Jess Oppenheimer

• Howard Wenke

• Joe Strickland

• Roger Otter

• Donald Glass

• Charles Koerner

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• Trivia Prior to filming, Lucie Arnaz (daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) had told writer/director Aaron Sorkin that it was okay to make Lucille stubborn and headstrong in the movie, as this was how she was in real life. After seeing the movie, Arnaz released a video on her YouTube Channel on 17 October 2021, in which she called the movie "freaking amazing." She complimented Sorkin for making a great movie that really captured the time period and had wonderful casting. She also said that Nicole Kidman "became my mother's soul." She also said that Javier Bardem didn't look like her dad but, "he has everything that dad had. He has his wit, his charms, his dimples, his musicality."
• Goofs The movie portrays Lucy's contract at RKO being dropped after her performance in The Big Street (1942) and has RKO's head of production state that at 39 years old she should try radio. In reality Lucy was only 31 when "The Big Street" was released in 1942. Her contract was not dropped by RKO, but rather bought out by MGM, who was impressed by her performance. While working for MGM, Lucy became a redhead. She remained under contract to them until 1946. Additionally, Lucy did not seek out radio until 1948 while concurrently working in movies as a freelance actress.

Lucille Ball : I am the biggest asset in the portfolio of the Columbia Broadcasting System. The biggest asset in the portfolio of Philip Morris Tobacco, Westinghouse. I get paid a fortune to do exactly what I love doing. I work side by side with my husband, who's genuinely impressed by me. And all I have to do to keep it is kill every week for 36 weeks in a row. And then do it again the next year.

• Connections Featured in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Javier Bardem/Gang of Youths (2021)
• Soundtracks She Could Shake the Maracas Written by Lorenz Hart , Richard Rodgers Produced by Michael Andrew Performed by Javier Bardem with The Michael Andrew Orchestra

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• Jan 1, 2022
• How long is Being the Ricardos? Powered by Alexa
• December 21, 2021 (United States)
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• RMS Queen Mary - 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, California, USA (Ricky's club interior)
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• Runtime 2 hours 11 minutes
• Black and White
• Dolby Digital

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Fact or Fiction: Inside the surprising true stories behind Aaron Sorkin's I Love Lucy movie

What's real and what's not in Being the Ricardos.

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine , The Hollywood Reporter , and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, It Happened One Fight , is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

Before cameras even rolled on Being the Ricardos , fans of I Love Lucy were atwitter over what the film would get right about Desi Arnaz , Lucille Ball , and one of television's most influential and enduring properties.

In the end, Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos is far more accurate than many feared it might be (setting aside the one major thing that still rankles — casting a Spaniard as arguably the most famous Cuban in Hollywood).

There's a care and attention to detail, whether it's re-creating sets, costumes, or the particulars of Lucy and Desi's lives.

Being the Ricardos follows Lucille Ball ( Nicole Kidman ) and Desi Arnaz ( Javier Bardem ) across one very tumultuous week of production on I Love Lucy. The show's future — and their personal and professional relationships — are tested as a series of obstacles mount with dismaying urgency.

Here, we 'splain what Being the Ricardos gets right — and where the filmmakers took some dramatic license.

The biggest change is the time frame. I Love Lucy's entire team faced their share of challenges over the course of six seasons, but not necessarily all at once.

All of the central issues that take place during this single week — the Red Scare, Desi's infidelity, Vivian Vance's frustrations, and Lucy's pregnancy — presented problems to the producers. But not all at the same time.

The episode

Lucy's brush with the Red Scare is the impetus for much of the storytelling here, and it bears noting that the episode in production in the film, "Fred and Ethel Fight," is not the episode they were filming the week of the actual scare.

That was "The Girls Go Into Business," in which Lucy and Ethel scheme to buy their favorite dress shop. "Fred and Ethel Fight" was a season 1 episode, while "The Girls Go Into Business" was from season 3.

Too Many Girls and the not-so-meet-cute

Ball and Arnaz did meet on the set of Too Many Girls at RKO. And it's true that he didn't recognize her when he first saw her outside of her costume for Dance, Girl, Dance, which had her trussed up as a burlesque performer.

Ball was already a star and contract player at RKO when they met, while Arnaz came with the Dance, Girl, Dance musical from Broadway. His number in the show largely introduced and popularized the conga in America.

Though they had a tumultuous relationship, it was love (or, at least, lust) at first sight between them — and they immediately ditched their respective fiancés for each other.

Desi's infidelity and Confidential magazine

Desi Arnaz was infamously unfaithful to Lucille Ball throughout the majority of their marriage (and it was the cause of their divorce in the end). Arnaz saw it as purely physical, while she, understandably, did not feel the same.

There was indeed a January 1955 Confidential magazine story with the headline, "Does Desi Really Love Lucy?" making much of Arnaz's flings with call girls. Confidential was a notorious tabloid throughout the '50s, frequently printing untruths (the rag was eventually brought down by legal suits from Dorothy Dandridge and Maureen O'Hara). But in this case, their salacious reporting was all too true.

Desi's business acumen

Throughout the film, Desi Arnaz is portrayed as a sharp businessman and innovative force in television history. That's 100 percent true. It was Arnaz, alongside cameraman Karl Freund, who conceived of the multi-cam set-up in front of a live audience that became the dominant form of producing television (especially sitcoms) until recent years.

When I Love Lucy was greenlit, it was common to broadcast live in New York City and then basically point a camera at a television, record the feed, and broadcast that dupe to the rest of the country. But the couple didn't want to leave Hollywood, and Arnaz knew his wife was best in front of a live audience, so he devised their system and shot on film, allowing for higher quality footage to reach the entire United States (and world). He not only ensured the success and future of I Love Lucy but also changed television forever.

As the president of Desilu and a producer until the early 1960s, he also helped shepherd some of early television's biggest hits and most influential properties to the small screen, including The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables. Ball brought the original Star Trek to television following his exit and their divorce.

William Frawley's alcoholism

Character actor Bill Frawley is depicted as a dissolute drunk in Being the Ricardos, a man who quips, "It's 10:15 somewhere" when Ball tells him it's 10 a.m. after he asks her to grab a drink. It's played for humor throughout much of the film, but the truth is fairly sobering.

Frawley's drinking was so well-known in Hollywood circles that CBS was reluctant to cast him on I Love Lucy. But Arnaz went to bat for him, making a deal that if he was late to work, showed up drunk, or was unable to perform more than once, that would be the end of it.

Frawley was a hard drinker, but he did uphold his part of the bargain, memorizing his lines and delivering stellar performances week in and week out. He and Arnaz became such good friends that when Frawley died in 1966, Arnaz took out a full-page ad in Hollywood trades that read, "Buenas noches, amigo."

Vivian Vance's frustration

Another point of contention in Being the Ricardos is Vivian Vance's desire to look younger and more appealing as Ethel Mertz. She tries to convince Ball to let her wear a flattering dress onscreen to no avail.

The film depicts the two women's close friendship but also the friction between them over this issue. Indeed, Ball was taken aback by Vance's vivacious beauty when Arnaz first hired her for the role, and she even reportedly ripped Vance's false eyelashes off once to prevent anyone from upstaging her.

Vance was actively frustrated by the fact that she was stuck playing a blowsy housewife opposite a man 22 years her senior. Her vocal complaints fed tension with Frawley more than anything. But she and Ball were close friends who continued to work together long after I Love Lucy ended.

The Red Scare

Much of Being the Ricardos focuses on the House Un-American Activities Committee's investigation into Ball's politics in the early '50s. While she was ultimately cleared of the charges, accusations that she was a member of the Communist Party made for a stressful week of production on I Love Lucy , as the show's future hung in the balance of HUAC's probe.

The events occurred much as they're presented in the film — Ball really did first hear the news over the radio in Walter Winchell's Sunday evening report. But she wasn't in the middle of making love to Arnaz. He was playing cards in Del Mar and raced back to their ranch.

Ball had registered to vote as a communist in 1936 at the behest of, and in honor of, her socialist grandfather, Fred Hunt. She had previously met with HUAC and gave sealed testimony to that effect, explaining that she never actually intended to vote as a communist, nor did she. The matter seemed resolved until Winchell brought it to the table again.

The entire team spent the week rushing to clear Ball's name, fearing that the audience might boo her during the show's Friday night live taping. Arnaz came out to do his usual pre-show warm-up, as is depicted in the film, and made a speech affirming Ball's innocence, noting that given his history as a Cuban, he would never have chosen to mary a communist.

One great line that he delivered was left out of Sorkin's script. "And now, I want you to meet my favorite wife, my favorite redhead. In fact, that's the only thing red about her, and even that's not legitimate," he quipped as he introduced her, referencing Ball's famous dye job.

J. Edgar Hoover

In a strange twist for a movie at least somewhat about free speech, the deus ex machina is famously corrupt head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover himself. Arnaz calls Hoover during his pre-show warm-up, and it is Hoover who proclaims Ball's innocence to the entire studio audience.

Hoover was instrumental in clearing Ball's name as a fan of I Love Lucy and a friend of Arnaz, but he never made any public phone call announcements to a live audience, and his involvement remained strictly behind the scenes.

"Don't f--- with the Cuban"

Anyone watching Being the Ricardos might assume that a particularly colorful response from the head of Philip Morris was Sorkin having a bit of fun. But this moment is actually true!

During the second season of I Love Lucy, both Arnaz and Ball wanted to incorporate her pregnancy into the show, and they met heavy pushback from both network CBS and sponsor Philip Morris. So, Arnaz took his complaints straight to Philip Morris Chairman of the Board Alfred Lyons, reminding him of the show's value as the number one series on television.

Lyons did intervene, sending a note that read, "To whom it may concern: Don't f--- around with the Cuban! A. L." And he spelled the whole thing out.

Related content:

• Being the Ricardos review: Aaron Sorkin goes full inside-baseball in talky Lucille Ball biopic
• Nicole Kidman wanted to back out of playing Lucille Ball after Being the Ricardos backlash
• Aaron Sorkin shows a new side of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos teaser

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Season 1 – I Love Lucy

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How accurate is ‘Being the Ricardos’? We break down what’s fact and what’s fiction

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SPOILER ALERT: This explainer freely discusses the plot of “Being the Ricardos” and is meant to be read after you’ve seen the movie.

At the height of “I Love Lucy,” TV’s insanely popular ‘50s sitcom starring real-life spouses Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the Red Scare nearly brought down Hollywood’s most famous redhead. Or did it?

Two years into the sitcom’s run, at the height of Ball‘s reign as America’s sweetheart, the actress was questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee in its attempt to hunt out Americans suspected to have ties to the Communist Party during the Cold War era.

How miscast is Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball? Digging into the highs and lows of ‘Being the Ricardos’

Times writers Mary McNamara and Meredith Blake take a deep dive into Aaron Sorkin’s dramatization of Lucy and Desi’s iconic showbiz relationship.

Dec. 22, 2021

The revelation of Ball’s link to the party threatened to bring down the beloved funnywoman, as it had the careers of other luminaries — and it now fuels much of the narrative of Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos.” Now available to stream on Amazon Prime, the film takes place during a dramatized week of production on “I Love Lucy” in 1952 as Ball’s suspected ties to communism were under investigation by HUAC. It sets off Sorkin’s narrative, which condenses the timeline with other critical moments the couple faced — Ball’s pregnancy with son Desi Arnaz Jr. and mounting speculation about Arnaz’s infidelity — to capture a complex portrait of a beloved marriage under duress.

If you’ve watched the film, and you’ve read this far, you’re likely wondering how accurately it captures these events beyond the liberties taken to condense the timeline. So make like Fred Mertz, pull the glasses off the top of your head and dive in.

Review: Nicole Kidman has a ball with Lucy in the fitfully effective ‘Being the Ricardos’

Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem play Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Aaron Sorkin’s latest hyper-articulate behind-the-scenes drama.

Dec. 7, 2021

The accusation

The incident that drives the film’s plot is the investigation into Ball’s ties to communism — an accusation that could kill someone’s career. She was called in to testify in front of HUAC on Sept. 4, 1953, in a closed-door session, at the height of Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s campaign against Communists in the U.S. Ball admitted to registering as a Communist in 1936, explaining the decision as one meant to appease her aging grandfather, who had been the father figure in her life. It had been his wish that she align herself with the party’s position, but Ball testified that she had not been an active member of the party.

“I am not a Communist now. I never have been. I never wanted to be,” Ball said in her testimony, according to the book “Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.” “Nothing in the world could ever change my mind. At no time in my life have I ever been in sympathy with anything that even faintly resembled it. ... It sounds a little weak and corny now, but at the time, it was very important because we knew we weren’t going to have Daddy [her grandfather] with us very long. ... In those days, it was not a terrible thing to do. It was almost as terrible to be a Republican in those days.” (Sorkin makes use of the final sentiment in Ball’s conversation with CBS executives.)

The committee cleared the actress of any wrongdoing, with the assurance that none of the secret testimony would be made public. But two days later, news of her supposed political affiliations began to spread, as the film relays in its opening moments. Walter Winchell, a prominent radio commentator and syndicated newspaper gossip columnist, suggested in a blind item mentioned during his program that “the most popular of all television stars” was questioned about her membership in the Communist Party.

How Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem became Lucy and Desi for ‘Being the Ricardos’

Aaron Sorkin explores the personal and professional lives of the iconic “I Love Lucy” stars in Amazon’s “Being the Ricardos.”

Nov. 11, 2021

Ball later described her mental state in that difficult period in her autobiography, “Love, Lucy.” “The smash success of our TV show and the physical strain of combining my last pregnancy with a full work schedule took its toll,” she wrote. “I developed a feeling I couldn’t shake. All our good fortune was suddenly going to vanish. ... I received a call that seemed to realize my anxious apprehension. The call was from A. Wheeler, an investigator for the House Un-American Activities Committee.”

The film illustrates the lengths Arnaz was willing to go to in order to protect his wife: As depicted in the film, he gathered Desilu officials, along with executives from MGM, CBS and Philip Morris, the show’s sponsor. When they learned Ball had been cleared, Ball recounted, they figured nothing more needed to be done. But in Hollywood, nothing stays secret for long. The news broke.

In a climactic moment in the film, as the show reaches tape night, Arnaz invites members of the press to sit in the audience and gets then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover on the phone, putting a mic to the phone receiver, so the audience can hear directly from his mouth that Ball has been cleared. “She’s 100% cleared,” Hoover says to a stunned audience.

In reality, there was no call from Hoover. But Ball’s name was cleared hours before an episode filming — Rep. Donald L. Jackson, chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, held a press conference in a Hollywood hotel room and publicly absolved Ball of any wrongdoing. As the film shows, Arnaz did address the studio audience before the filming that night, reading from a speech he typed.

“Lucy has never been a Communist — not now, and never will be,” Arnaz said, as recounted in Ball’s book, to applause.

“I was kicked out of Cuba,” he continued, “because of Communism. We despise everything about it. Lucy is as American as Bernie Baruch and Ike Eisenhower.”

He later introduced his wife for the cast’s bow before showtime: “Now, I want you to meet my favorite wife, my favorite redhead — in fact, that’s the only thing red about her, and even that’s not legitimate — Lucille Ball,” a line Arnaz also detailed in his memoir. Ball walked out with tears in her eyes.

Nevertheless, Hoover continued to have evidence collected on Ball, according to a 1989 Washington Post report .

The pregnancy (and birth) that captivated audiences

Another dilemma the couple faces in the film is Ball’s pregnancy with their second child, Desi Jr.. At a time when on-screen married couples were shown to sleep in separate beds, the P-word might have been too controversial to incorporate. But in a revolutionary feat of the time, “I Love Lucy” wrote Ball’s pregnancy into the show.

Sorkin’s telling of how that was set in motion gives credit to Arnaz, a detail that illustrates how savvy and persuasive he was as a Hollywood businessman. As co-owner of Desilu, the production company he founded with his wife, Arnaz has been heralded for the way he helped change the industry model of making TV — seeing the value of ownership rights and introducing the concept of a rerun.

In the film, Sorkin shows Arnaz and Ball breaking the pregnancy news to the show’s writing staff, who react with dismay rather than excitement. Even so, Arnaz matter-of-factly declares that Lucy Ricardo will have a baby on television — an idea met with intense reluctance by executive producer Jess Oppenheimer, who argues that neither the network nor the show’s sponsors will allow it.

In her autobiography, Ball’s version of events strays from Sorkin’s.

“In May 1952, Desi and I both walked into Jess Oppenheimer’s office, elated,” she wrote. “‘Well, amigo,’ Desi told Jess, ‘we’ve just heard from the doctor. Lucy’s having another baby in January. So we’ll have to cancel everything. That’s the end of the show ...’ Jess sat looking at us silently. Then he remarked casually: ‘I wouldn’t suggest this to any other actress in the world — but why don’t we continue the show and have a baby on TV?’”

CBS and the Biow Agency (which represented sponsor Philip Morris) weren’t excited by the idea, but they went along with it under some conditions. The advertisers originally stipulated they would only agree to one or two episodes about the pregnancy. Arnaz wrote a letter to Philip Morris chairman Alfred E. Lyons, reminding the executive of the success the show had delivered to date under their creative decision-making and suggested that any changes to that now would warrant a shift in culpability for any subsequent failures because of it.

The creative team of “I Love Lucy” also had to contend with CBS not wanting the show to use the word “pregnant.” If Ball’s condition was going to be addressed, network censors preferred the use of euphemisms instead, including in the episode’s title, “Lucy Is Enceinte,” or “expectant.”

In the end, viewers ate up the storyline. Some 44 million tuned in to watch Lucy give birth to Little Ricky, which accounted for 72% of all TV homes at the time. (Ball gave birth to her son the same day Little Ricky was born.) President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s inauguration the previous day drew only 29 million viewers.

Years later, Arnaz learned that Lyons, the Philip Morris chairman, sent out a confidential memo saying, “To whom it may concern: Don’t f— around with the Cuban!”

The tabloid coverage of Desi’s wandering eye

The film’s first glimpse of Ball and Arnaz comes as the couple are midspat over gossip items in a Hollywood tabloid, Confidential, about Arnaz’s wandering eye — headlined “Desi’s Wild Night Out” and “Does Desi Really Love Lucy?” He initially denies the claims, but by the film’s end, he confirms Ball’s suspicions, admitting to sleeping with call girls: “They’re hookers,” he says. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

In truth, Confidential ran”Desi’s Wild Night Out” in the early years of their marriage, before the launch of “I Love Lucy.”

“While I was knocking myself out with moviemaking and bond tours, my marriage was crashing fast,” Ball wrote in her autobiography. “Desi’s nightlife had even blasé Hollywood talking. Confidential magazine published a story about a Palm Springs weekend of his, and this too hurt and humiliated me deeply. ... During the summer of 1944, Desi stopped coming home. One night I tossed sleeplessly until dawn wondering where our marriage had gone awry and what I had done wrong.”

Ball came to the conclusion that she would divorce him, which she chose to do in California because “a divorce there takes a year to become final, and therefore there were 365 days left for a reconciliation.”

Reconcile they did. But Arnaz’s behavior didn’t cease. Years later, Confidential ran “Does Desi Really Love Lucy?,” which detailed Arnaz’s alleged extramarital affairs, as its January 1955 cover story — when ”I Love Lucy” was in the middle of its fifth season.

“Behind the scenes, Arnaz is a Latin Lothario who loves Lucy most of the time but by no means all of the time,” wrote Brad Shortell in the piece, painting a striking portrait of Arnaz far removed from his charming husband alter ego. The article described a “business meeting” at the Beverly Hills Hotel where, as the reporter writes, a friend of Desi’s “got on the phone, calling one of Hollywood’s best door-to-door dame services.” According to the report, a friend “ordered two cuties, medium rare” — ‘50s innuendo at its sleaziest.

Charles Pomerantz, Ball’s longtime publicist, recounted his client’s reaction to the piece, which involved summoning humor, to People magazine decades later : “I gave an advance copy to Desi, and Lucy said, ‘I want to read this story.’ It was during a rehearsal day, and she went into her dressing room. Everybody was frozen on the set. She finally came out, tossed the magazine to Desi and said, ‘Oh, hell, I could tell them worse than that.’”

They stay married for five more years, officially divorcing in 1960 after 20 years of marriage. In November 1962, Ball bought Arnaz’s shares of Desilu at $3 million and took over the studio, becoming the first woman CEO of a major Hollywood production company.

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Yvonne Villarreal is a senior television writer for the Calendar section and co-host of “The Envelope” podcast.

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Movie Interviews

Nicole kidman knew she would be judged on playing lucille ball. so she got to work.

Ailsa Chang

In the new film Being the Ricardos, Nicole Kidman portrays comedian and actress Lucille Ball and Ball's character Lucy from the hit sitcom I Love Lucy. Screenshot by NPR/Amazon Prime Video hide caption

In the new film Being the Ricardos, Nicole Kidman portrays comedian and actress Lucille Ball and Ball's character Lucy from the hit sitcom I Love Lucy.

In the new film, Being the Ricardos, actor Nicole Kidman faced two challenges.

The first: depicting the legendary comedian Lucille Ball. And the second: depicting Lucille Ball depicting Lucy Ricardo from the iconic sitcom I Love Lucy.

Aaron Sorkin, who wrote and directed the movie, told Kidman that he wasn't looking for some strict impersonation of Ball. Instead, he needed Kidman to find the balance between channeling someone on film rather than impersonating them.

"So there was the I Love Lucy show, and I just thought, well, if I can create literally a carbon copy of her in the show where I look like her, I move like her, I sound like her, all of those things — and I really studied that for months, like watching it, rewinding, starting again, getting the timing, working on it, working on it, working on the sounds with my dialect coach," Kidman says.

"If that can be accurate, that then gives me the license to do Lucille Ball, as Aaron said, with the sexuality, with messy hair, with all the things that do not make you go, oh, right, that looks exactly like her. There's a feeling of her, but there's a human being here."

Kidman received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the film. She spoke with NPR's All Things Considered about how she really channeled Ball, the relationship between Ball and Desi Arnaz, and Ball's work ethic.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity, and includes some web-only answers.

Interview Highlights

Ball was a genius physical comedian, Kidman said, and came up with iconic scenes for the show, including the iconic grape stomping moment, that Kidman reenacted for the movie. Screenshot by NPR/Amazon Prime Video hide caption

Ball was a genius physical comedian, Kidman said, and came up with iconic scenes for the show, including the iconic grape stomping moment, that Kidman reenacted for the movie.

On how she channeled Lucille Ball as a person

I mean, vocally, she had a much deeper voice than me, so I was able to create this voice that was a much raspier voice. It was a smoker's voice. She was a big smoker.

I've said before, she had the most beautiful hands. Her hands were a huge extension of her personality. And I don't have those hands ... but I really focused on those hands. They really helped me. And then I think, the love that she had for Desi and the desire for a home — that is such a strong force in me that I grasp. I want a home. So that was an immediate understanding and connection.

Planet Money

How desi invented television.

On the pressure to portray Ball

I didn't want to let the team down. You know, the sense of when you're coming in and these actors are so good and this director-writer is the best in the world and there's an enormous amount of expectation. I was just like, "God, I hope I don't disappoint." And I think through the whole film ... it was nerve-racking because I was like, "I don't know if I'm getting there and it's very hard to believe it."

So it was never like resting on our laurels. And I know Javier was the same way. We would look at each other with wide eyes, saucer eyes and be like, yikes, are we doing this?

But this team of actors, this ensemble, and I really emphasize that it was an ensemble, just like the I Love Lucy show as much as she was the star — it was an ensemble.

Movie Reviews

'being the ricardos' dramatizes lucy and desi's very complicated relationship.

On why the stakes felt higher in the role

Because of who she is in the eyes of the world right now, and everyone weighing in. And sometimes there is a thing where you go, OK, can we just do it? And then if you guys want to destroy it, fine, we'll accept that. But can we just just try it first? I'll always advocate for that artistically, because there is a point where you go, we just need a chance. And luckily, people like Aaron Sorkin just forge ahead, and we hitch our wagon to theirs and go, OK, let's just keep going. And those voices in the world need to exist. Obviously, we have to keep that so that we keep an artistic path and people don't get terrified to try things and do things and possibly fail. I mean, part of Lucille Ball's story is she encountered an enormous amount of failure, but sometimes what she thought were going to be her biggest failures turned out to be her biggest successes.

On what she learned about how Ball approached her craft

She was just a genius. I mean, to come up with something like the grape stomping scene — that whole scene is not a word. I mean, that is a great physical comedian. My access in was through the Vitameatavegamin. And that would be my warmup every day when I was going to play Lucy — is I'd do Vitameatavegamin. Because that — for some reason, that was so Lucy. And I could get her voice, and it would just come.

Then there's another sound that she makes ... which is one of my favorite sounds ever, and I love doing it now when I'm stressed.

There is an enormous amount of stress relief when you do this sort of physical comedy, when you make these sounds. And that's probably what we subconsciously respond to when we watch her in the show because it's enormous stress relief watching her. She just is willing to go for it to make you laugh. But what the film is — it's fascinating in the film because Aaron shows you how hard that is.

Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman play Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in the new film Being the Ricardos. Screenshot by NPR/Amazon Prime Video hide caption

Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman play Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in the new film Being the Ricardos.

On the relationship between Ball and Arnaz, both their partnership and their problems

I like to focus on their successes as a partnership because, as I've said, all relationships end. They could end because somebody dies. They could end because you break up. They could end because you get separated and can't get back — whatever it is, they all end. We know that. This, to me, was what you would call a successful relationship. There were two beautiful children. There was an amazing creative partnership that created gold. I mean literally. I don't just mean financially. I mean for the world that exists as a timeless piece of entertainment that can still make us laugh. That is a successful relationship. It was fraught. There was an enormous amount of passion and love and pain and tears and fighting. But ultimately, he was deeply protective of her, and he was brilliant at protecting her. She was protective of him. She believed in him, and he believed in her. Could they give each other what they completely desired and needed? No. But they got a lot.

This interview was produced by Gus Contreras and edited by Sarah Handel. It was adapted for web by Wynne Davis.