Being The Ricardos is a very difficult movie to analyze. On paper there seems to be a lot going on, whether it’s Lucille Ball having to deal with her communist allegations, her marriage with Desi Arnaz fraying due to his infidelity, or her pregnancy. If you factor in the chaos of a production week of ‘I Love Lucy,’ it's easy to assume that there is a strong possibility that the film winds up overstuffed with plotlines. But it ends up having the opposite problem.

While a lot of these conflicts are introduced in the beginning in the movie, they’re relegated to simply being dealt with at the end and hardly have much of a presence otherwise. The communism storyline being treated this way makes sense given the timing of when the revelations come out, but the infidelity plot line is essentially treated as an afterthought until the very end. And while the pregnancy storyline is more prominent in the second and third acts, this is only due to it being part of a wider conflict involving the production. This resulted in a bare plot, and to compensate, they add a lot of flashback scenes about Desi and Lucy, the development of their relationship, and their journey to making the show. These scenes do work on their own and provide context to their relationship for those who don’t know much about them. However, it doesn’t end up contributing much to the overall narrative and is another factor contributing to the movie feeling very bloated. The one element that they really nail in this movie is the drama surrounding the ‘I Love Lucy’ set. It is Sorkin at his strongest as it is dialogue-heavy, with most of it being sharp and fast paced. One can sense the tension caused by the issues surrounding Lucy seeping through the set, and it is maintained throughout. This is also where you get to see Lucy be the creative force she was known for, which is one of the best aspects of this movie.

The acting across the board is excellent. Kidman does an excellent job as Lucille Ball and justifies her casting in the face of all the backlash. She especially shines when she gets to explore her creative side during production, and brings out the passion, creativity, vision, and persistence Ball had towards various aspects of her show. Javier Bardem does a good job of retaining the charm of Desi Arnaz. Nina Arianda and J.K. Simmons were excellent and do a great job of recreating the frosty dynamic that Vivian Vance and William Frawley reportedly had. Tony Hale and Alia Shakwat put in good performances as well. Overall, it’s an excellent ensemble with no real weak link.

However, the direction is a bit bland. The only times the direction was ever interesting were during the hypothetical broadcasts of the various scenes they were reading through or editing. Other than that, it doesn’t stand out whatsoever. This is a very Sorkin film with its fast-paced dialogues and constant exchanges. The interactions between various characters made for the more interesting parts of the movie. All in all, Being the Ricardos is a decent movie that has its heavy lifting done by the performance of the cast. It is uninterested in fully exploring all the conflicts it introduces, which leaves the film feeling both bloated and empty.

3/5