“Being the Ricardos” final trailer

"Nicole pulls it off! I can genuinely picture her being a burn victim after having a cup of coffee thrown in her face."

*Fixed it for you, OP. Those prosthetics and waxy skin are horrendous.

DL icon Vivian Vance looks fabulous! Nina Arianda, you better not fuck it up!

Nicole looks good, but I bet Cate Blanchett would have been awesome in this had she stayed on in the role.

I’m shocked that NK got so close vocally. After 9 Perfect Blah Blah Bland, I’d given up hope.

I feel like Bardem might steal the show.

Why did Blanchett drop out?

The ghost of Gary talked her out of it, r6.

Her voice is fine but her face is terrifying.

I didn't realize it until after I grabbed this screen shot, but her boobs are crooked, too. That's weird.

^ Sometimes boobs have a mind of their own

Aaron Sorkin? I had no idea he was involved with this. Ugh.

I can certainly see her knocking down Ruth McDivitt.

[quote}Her voice is fine but her face is terrifying.

The forehead, in particular, looks like you could land a plane on it. It might have been more believable if the story was about a post-Ricky, late career Lucy

I'll turn in my DL card, but I'm looking forward to this.

I can just see the sequel..."Being Mame!"

^ Maybe this time Gary will really talk her out of it

Maybe there will be a prequel, "Lucy, the Loosey-Goosey Years"

Maiming Mame

Truly ironic that a woman who can't move her face is playing one of the great rubber-faced comedians.

Wow, she sure did do a great job on the voice - impressive.

I'm in.

She got that masculine swagger that Blanchett could have brought.

So big Nicole might get Oscar nomination #5?

I always thought Nicole was a great actress. I didn't think she could pull this off but she did.

Lovely well done

[quote] Wow, she sure did do a great job on the voice - impressive.

She sounds like Nicole Kidman to me.

Voice sounds great, looks are good (although as others have said - wow - botox), arm movements even seem similar

She’s a monster

Never knowing what an actresses face may look like? This isn’t fucking science fiction.

OMG. She looks like Nicole Kidman playing Glenn Close playing Lucille Ball. Dear gawd. Kill it.

I didn't know Lucille Ball was Australian.

Career killer. They should've just given it to Deb Messing.

Which would have killed everything else.

Kidman does a great job with the Lucille Ball voice, but I agree there's something very off (even more than usual) about the face--she looks like she's wearing facial prosthetics of some sort. It's not appealing.

I'm very curious how she'll be at doing the comedy bits as well as being the harsh Lucy offscreen (I'm not sure if by this point in time Lucy was as mean to people as she was by the late 60s, though--I think that came with her alcoholism and her misery at Desi's womanizing, as well as the stress of running her company).

Like everyone on Datalounge, I am curious about how they'll show Frawley and Vance interacting, and also Ball interacting with Vance.

I'm too lazy to dig up the quote, but in Vivian's bio, someone in the Lucy circle claimed that Vivian really didn't like Lucy much, and in fact resented her deeply. And that she never really got over it.

Her eyes are all wrong. They should have tried with makeup to change her distant, button eyes into something more like Lucy's big, expressive orbs.

She looks like E.T. with red hair.

Bring it on.

Sarah Paulson would have been far better.

I agree with r35, the eyes are all wrong.

But what's unfortunate is the eye MAKEUP is actually all wrong, an easy thing to have fixed. I always think of Lucy in the 1950s with thick black mascara on false eyelashes and black eye liner, all perfectly in period for that decade. But in the trailer her eyes look too delicate and soft and recessed with a pale brown or reddish makeup around the eyes.

Oh well. We'll see....

Some of you queens need to put your hearing aids in. Kidman doesn't not get the voice down. She's easily an octave too low.

Let's review:

[quote]I'm too lazy to dig up the quote, but in Vivian's bio, someone in the Lucy circle claimed that Vivian really didn't like Lucy much, and in fact resented her deeply. And that she never really got over it.

Completely untrue. Watch this reunion on an episode of Dinah.

R33 I've seen it. They do the comedy bits in a stylized way. They'll be happening, and suddenly everything freezes- and we see Lucy work out what works in her head. They don't at all try to copy what the originals did.

At some point, you see Lucy pitch the wine making scene. You see how she visualized it, and how she solves "problems."

Lucie loved it because they didn't go for the obvious, which was simply to cast actors who could do impressions. They did a TV movie years ago that she apparently hated and deeply regretted approving. So this is a big deal that she loves this movie.

It does look better than I previously thought it would have. But that being said, I think Drew Barrymore could have pulled off the I Love Lucy era Lucy quite well. Bobby Cannavale would have been a natural for Desi.

I do think Nicole and Javier would work better if it were a post ILL story about them.

And here Lucy tries to keep her composure when Viv is brought up in conversation promoting Life with Lucy.

This has the same feeling as Grace of Monaco. Nicole is too surgically altered to believably play a big star from another time.

Damn you, R44! That clip got me!

As to the movie? I love Nicole. But she just looks frightening in this. And I don't understand why you all think she nailed the voice. It sounds nothing like Lucy. I'll definitely still watch it, however.

When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s I Love Lucy was the one show my siblings and I could all agree to watch. Part of my childhood for sure.

[quote]Kidman doesn't not get the voice down.

"Doesn't not"??

[quote] "Doesn't not"??

Sorry, my fingers work faster than my brain. I know double negatives aren’t allowed. I will “Oh, dear” myself and hope one day for an edit function.

You type cute, r48. xoxo

Ooh look. You can buy Nicole's facial prosthetics here.

Is she even able to close her mouth anymore? I see no evidence of it. It's hanging open in every shot.

What a weird film to green-light. I can't imagine the audience for this.

Nicole is a freak show.

The only thing she pulls off is that fake face at the end of the night.

What bad casting.

Looks like someone in a Michael Myers mask dressing trans.

[quote] I can't imagine the audience for this.

I can. It’s called Academy Screenings.

I feel like we need to put Nicole Kidman on the list of people that need to take a break for a good 6 months because I'm kind of sick of seeing her every fucking where. And i completely came here to say the same thing as upthread...she looks like Nicole playing Glenn Close playing Lucy.

It's awful.

r41 / r44 I don't deny they'd been through a lot, personally and professionally. However, as I've speculated elsewhere, I don't think Viv ever felt as close to Lucy as Lucy felt to Viv. Vivian's closest friends were her sisters.

This will be great because it’s EXACTLY the kind of thing Sorkin EXCELS at! Remember Studio 60 Live On The Sunset Strip?! Oh wait….

Nothing like the real one, onscreen persona or offscreen real life. Emma Stone would have nailed it effortlessly.

Completely AGREE r60, good choice! More energy, more spirit, the VOICE!!

[quote]However, as I've speculated elsewhere, I don't think Viv ever felt as close to Lucy as Lucy felt to Viv.

Everyone's entitled to an opinion.

W&W for r59! Remember when that was going to be the big hit of the season? Bwahahahaha!

[quote]Remember when that was going to be the big hit of the season?

I won, motherfucker.

I've seen it. Kidman NAILS '50s Lucy. Not her wacky onscreen persona, but the professional, perfectionist, world weary, trying-to-hold-everything-together version.

Now, I will admit, it was a bit jarring seeing that trailer. Her face does look strange. I think the movie was actually aware of this, and sort of slowly reveals her. You definitely noticed it in the movie, at first, but eventually you become so engrossed in her characterization you don't notice it. She's really really great as Lucy.

Is this going to be released in theatres or streaming only?

R65 here. It's also the version of Lucy that stood behind Desi in business and publicity. She basically let Desi do all the talking in those matters. She was more reserved, until the 60s when she had to take over and became more boisterous.

[quote]Is this going to be released in theatres or streaming only?

Theaters for two weeks, then streaming.

R66 I got to see it in a theater with Sorkin and Lucie present. I believe it will be streaming with a limited theatrical release

Many of the great old stars affected different voices for their public personas than they used in private. When Bette Davis was before a microphone or on stage she always used the infamous "Bette Davis voice" with the exceptionally clipped diction, but she didn't use it in real life because it was an affectation. (Susan Sarandon showed this in "Feud.")

So showing Lucille Ball speaking differently than Kidman does at the 1952 Oscars before a microphone doesn't prove much.

Lots of industry screenings in LA and NY next week so I'm sure we'll be hearing lots more opinions soon.

Maybe Nicole was doing a tribute to Jim Carrey instead of Lucy.

Lucy and Vivian in a 1965 radio interview.

Eh passable but the voice is completely off.

How are people saying her voice is fine? It's nothing like hers.

R73 Lovely

I think Lucille and Vivien had the greatest chemistry between 2 women show business has ever known. To this day. Love those 2 broads.

Thank you R76. I don't understand how people can claim they didn't get along. You can't fake chemistry like that.

Lucy raised her voice an octave when playing Lucy Ricardo, thereby doing further damag to her voice. Even if Kidman isn't dead on, it highly suggestive of how she spoke, and closer than I've heard anyone else come.

R66? It’s steaming only.

Thanks r73. Vivian was a wise woman. "There is no love without respect ... unless one respects one, one cannot really love them."

Is that ugly thing supposed to be Ricky?

Also RE: r73, Vivian does not seem like the type of woman who would have tolerated a physically abusive husband for a minute ... let alone for many years.

Friendo.

[quote] I think Lucille and Vivien had the greatest chemistry between 2 women show business has ever known. To this day. Love those 2 broads.

I think Vivian Vance never really got the true recognition she deserved. You watch her in I Love Lucy and she is brilliant.

[quote] I'm too lazy to dig up the quote, but in Vivian's bio, someone in the Lucy circle claimed that Vivian really didn't like Lucy much, and in fact resented her deeply. And that she never really got over it.

if that were true she would never have consented to do "The Lucy Show." After "I Love Lucy" she could easily have landed another sitcom.

As always, I will not stop complaining if the star of the biopic or biographical miniseries is not exactly in every way both vocally and physically like the person playing them as I saw that person on TV or in the movies!

They must be EXACTLY the same!!

I don't think she was interested in doing a weekly television show at all after she married John Dodds, r85. They lived in Connecticut so she had to commute cross-country weekly. Plus, she had to "keep an eye on him" lest he return to his homosexualist ways.

I don’t think an actor has to look exactly like the person they are portraying in a biopic. But, Nicole has gone so far with the plastic surgery that she looks like a burn victim or someone wearing a Michael Myers mask. It’s hard to believe her as someone realistically in the 1950s, much less the iconic Lucy. Unfortunately, her looks are really distracting here.

Sorry to say, I think Lucille Ball and Lucy Ricardo , the personas of both, are just simply way too famous and still familiar, dare I say ICONIC, for a middling resemblance.

[quote][R66]? It’s steaming only.

Perhaps you should watch the trailer to the end. In theaters two weeks before streaming to make it eligible for Academy nominations.

Another Nicole Kidman face horror show.

Aaron Sorkin Defends ‘Being the Ricardos’ Casting Decisions:

If anyone knows comedy, it’s Aaron Sorkin.

Take the gloves off, Aaron!

I saw this and my only criticism is that the actress playing Ethel didn’t lean on the shoulder of the actor playing Ricky as much as Vivian Vance leaned on Desi Arnaz

And what was up with that? Vivian leaning on Desi all the time.

She was servicing him between scenes, r95.

Will this movie touch on Carlotta Romero BEING fat-shamed by Lucy?

I think they would have done well to focus on how the Lucy-Viv friendship evolved over the course of the series, especially after listening to r73.

r95 Desi and Viv got along well off-screen. She adored him and often defended him in his fights with Lucy. After Viv died, Desi said, ""It’s bad enough to lose one of the great artists we had the honor and the pleasure to work with, but it’s even harder to reconcile the loss of one of your best friends."

When Viv was offered the Guestward Ho! pilot, her husband Phil Ober demanded she convince Desi to cast him in the male lead, but no matter how much Viv pleaded, Desi refused. I have no proof, but I'd like to think he refused because he knew she was being pressured and wanted to protect her.

This looks stupid

Nicole can barely move her 80 year old mask.

She was a rotten choice to play Lucy.

The calm speaking voice is excellent here. The botox-filled face - yikes.

I was reading quickly but in the Sorkin interview it sounds like he wrote the script to portray tensions between Vance and Ball, which doesn't seem to be the truth at all.

Don't forget Kidman and the horrible prosthetics of "The Hours". Given that Virginia Woolf had been dead for ages and was not a film star, they could have let her have her own nose.

Ball was not a comedienne, as she herself admitted. She was an actress who found a niche doing not very subtle or literate comedy. Her talk show appearances made clear that without rehearsal, she had no flair for comedy, at all, and it was a very schtick -laden comedy. Kidman makes more sense than casting someone genuinely funny.

Cate Blanchett was smart to pass on this!

Kidman doesn't act like Lucy -- not animated enough. And Sorkin's writing makes it look like the West Wing. We just want to know what they said & did off the set.

Yeah most of what I get from the trailer has me more excited about Javier than anything else. Love the actor.

I doubt the movie achieves this level of nuance, r103, but I'm sure there were tensions between Vance and Ball during the ILL years. For the duration of the show, Vance was married to a man who was beating her and actively sabotaging her work friendships. (He told her she was too close to Ball and that there were rumors of a lesbian affair. Mentally fragile Vance was tormented by these accusations.) He would also become enraged when she socialized with the ILL hairdresser (forgetting her name). He more or less monitored every moment of her day, and she had to tell him everywhere she planned to go and every person she planned to see.

These situations tend to be messy, and friendships are invariably affected.

WTF is wrong with Nicole’s face???

Lucy told Vivian that either she divorce her abusive husband or she would. She adored Vivian.

Lucy did schtick and was heavily rehearsed. She was never truly rubber faced like Sid Caesar or Imogene Coca.---it was one schticky thing after another. Madelyn Pugh acted out everything when they wrote so that they would know she could do it. Given that they recycled radio scripts in the beginning, much of the humor was verbal, anyway. The show would not have survived without Desi's skill as a straight man and Viv's as a co-conspirator. The advantage of having been a B-level actress for Lucy was that she could work in an ensemble (as long as someone else was the boss) and she had always been expected to know her arks and her lines and not require retakes. Other B-performers who became stars in television were often known for the same things.

[quote] to know her arks

Like Noah?

[quote] and she had always been expected to know her arks and her lines and not require retakes.

There was no such thing as retakes. It was live TV.

It was live on film but they did do retakes when necessary and made cuts when it ran over.

Did Cate Blanchett walk away from the film? Or was it simply offered to Nicole in spite of Cate's previous attachment to the project?

I'm not sure the truth is known but I suspect the later.

Of course, it's hard to really tell from the trailers but it looks to me like Javier Bardem was able to overcome not particularly resembling Arnaz and yet deliver the man's essence, precisely what Nicole has not achieved as Ball.

Does anyone remember the earlier TV film with a great performance by Frances Fisher as Ball? Far better than Debra Messing IMHO. Can't recall the soap actor's name who played Desi, but he was also excellent. But I guess Lucie Arnaz was not happy with that film (perhaps for reasons beyond the actors' portrayals).

She's got the voice down, but not the look. And J.K. Simmons as William Frawley is too tall and thin.

I wanna know who Linda Lavin plays in this.

In that video at r44, you have to notice how many taped strings are pulling her face so tight in that interview. That's another reason whys she looks so off and pained.

Lucy scarred easily, so plastic surgery was out of the question, and she had to resort to tapes and pulls, hidden under wigs, to tighten the sagging in her jowls and around her eyes. I bet by this point the underlying support could have held resembled the Golden Gate Bridge.

R115 it was Maurice Benard.

WHET Maurice Benard??

r115 Did write this in an earlier thread

[quote] Part of a trifecta of gay or gay-friendly TV-movies of the time around 1990 and mid 90s, 'Rock Hudson' and 'Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story' being the others.

I had never heard of the Francis Fisher take, but she was remarkable.

Makes Nicole Kidman look dead.

I've seen the movie. Lucie Arnaz is right. Kidman and Bardem achieve the essence of the characters. This isn't the Rich Little school of acting. After a few minutes of watching, they're completely believable as Desi and Lucy.

Lucie Arnaz, Lucille and Desi’s daughter, has already gone on record giving her blessing to Kidman and Bardem’s casting. In a statement, Arnaz said Kidman “became my mother’s soul. She crawled into her head. She cared very deeply about this part, it shows. And I believed everything she said.” She added of Bardem, “He really doesn’t look that much like my dad. But he has everything that Dad had. He has his wit, his charm, his dimples, his musicality, his strength and tenacity, and you can tell from the performance that he just loved him.”

This looks incredibly bad.

They should have gotten Lohan.

I love Lucie Arnaz but what she said about plastic face does not make Kidman the right person to cast.

R126 I've seen it. Kidman is excellent.

I was surprised to hear Lucie didn't like the movie with Frances Fisher, it wasn't a great made-for-TV movie but Fisher was very good in it.

[quote] This looks incredibly bad.

It’s a TV movie masking as a theatrical movie. It should play on the Lifetime channel.

[quote] Don't forget Kidman and the horrible prosthetics of "The Hours". Given that Virginia Woolf had been dead for ages and was not a film star, they could have let her have her own nose.

If so, she would have looked ridiculously unlike VW.

VW has one of the most famous faces of historical figures in the UK. For years and years this image of her was the most purchased postcard in the National Portrait Gallery.

I think there's something about NK's eyes that doesn't work... the eyebrows aren't as.. bold?... as Lucy's? And Kidman's head is too small, her features too delicate. It's close but it's obviously Kidman... doesn't need to be a dead ringer to play a part but you've got to be able to submerge to a degree too... It's just so obvioulsy Nicole Kidman under there... again, I think it's the bone structure... her head is too small, she looks too delicate.

At least Kidman is playing a nice lead again. The last few things I saw her in, she seemed utterly lost -- "Bombshell", "The Prom", etc. Like she doesn't try as hard with a supporting role.

That TV movie is the most energy I ever saw depressive Maurice Bernard show. They were both quite good.

Wonder if Emma was just too young?

Get a load of R110 “She wasn’t funny, she wasn’t shit but she could perform because she was a low rent actress…”

Invested much?

Lucille was adept at making Lucy seem real.

You could see the wheels turning. Everything Lucy said, thought, felt or did, Lucille grounded in reality - even the most outlandish stuff.

The writers made it funny, Lucille made it believable.

Her face! Horror

For me, Javier is always Anton Chigurh.

r137 meet r83.

Nicole's makeup is so wrong! She needed black false eyelashes. Her lipstick needed to be brighter red and her lips shaped in Lucy's style with the top lip having 2 mounds instead of points.

The hair color needed to be darker red too.

Javier Bardem was miscast. Desi was a dreamboat.

Lucy's glamour shot.

R123 Nicole looks more like Pat Nixon than Lucy Ricardo.

Don't tell me they have a "Her hair would look better if she dyed it red" scene.

I worked at Paramount Studios years ago, which partially was comprised of the old RKO, which was the main office of Desilu from 1958-1967. Lucy worked in what later became Tom Cruises offices in the Ball Building at 780 N. Gower. The old timer's who had survived the merger said Lucy was a bit of a no nonsense ball-buster, in that she knew the business and demanded that everyone be up to her speed. She wasn't unpleasant, she just demanded that people be on their game and I think felt she needed to prove that she wasn't Lucy Ricardo, so her already thin sense of humor was tamped down even more. They also said that she only kept the studio going as long as she could because of the employees, many of whom had been with them for many years at that point. She didn't want anyone to lose their job but she hated being the president of the studio and still it was a tough decision to sell out even though part of the agreement was that her employees wouldn't just be kicked out and she wanted what she and Desi had built to be preserved. Gulf & Western quickly folded Desilu into Paramount and someone once told me that they saw Lucy cry when she described calling the main number for Desilu and they answered "Paramount Television Division."

This photo showed Lucy in the entrance lobby leading to Gower.

Javier Bardem is Spanish not Cuban. That's cultural appropriation.

This looks like it calls for a great deal of suspension of disbelief.

I used to dearly love Kidman, but I don’t like her biographical portrayals and her face has turned me off forever. If I thought she could portray emotion with that kabuki mask they pretend is a face, I’d try, for old times sake. After watching her in her last three cable series, I’m done.

Bardem is a sexy beast, but completely different sex energy than Ricky had.

R143 what you described is EXACTLY what Kidman plays, and how the script is. Hard working, somewhat cerebral perfectionist.

I required no suspension of disbelief. It is a story being told where the essence of the people involved is up on that screen, but obviously not exact replicas. (Saw it last month)

R143, that was some fascinating shit.

Thanks for sharing that.

What have you done to her eyes??

R143 I'm not sure where the DesiLu offices were located, but "I Love Lucy" was shot at DesiLu Studios on 846N. Cahuenga Bl, Hollywood (4 blocks west of Paramount). It later became Ren-Mar Studios. It is now called RED Studios.

Here is the link.

Whenever she’s in a movie, it flops

I can’t stop looking at her cut up face

Clearly there's tons of solid color research to look at for Lucy's makeup and hair but, for whatever reason, they (or NIcole?) decided a softer look would be more effective. I suspect they were worried that a more exacting resemblance would have been too eerie and somehow off-putting, falling into a caricature, no matter if it was more accurate.

R143 Thanks for telling us what the old-timers at Gowers Studio said about Lucy. Very admirable of her. I worked a block away from Ren-Mar and always thought about Lucy and Desi when I drove past Ren-Mar Studios.

I had a freelance gig once at Paramount Studios. I parked my car in what was the empty pool that had been used for Esther Williams movies and pirate films.

One night, I looked up at the big, tall water tower with the Paramount logo all lit up. I felt in awe. Then, I looked over at a billboard advertising Paramount's latest release, "The Coneheads." I thought to myself, "What the hell has happened to Hollywood?!"

Egads r142!!

Was Bonnie Aarons unavailable?

I was thinking, " Why not have Desi Arnaz Jr. play his dad?" Then I saw this photo. Uh, no.

I just watched "Ricky and Fred are TV Fans."

Were the scissors a reference to Lucy and Ethel's preferred non-husband activity?

He's too old for it anyway, but his looks could be greatly improved just with better styling.

[quote]I parked my car in what was the empty pool that had been used for Esther Williams movies.

Amazing, considering Esther was an MGM star.

She's already destroyed Samantha Stevens and Grace Kelly, and now she's come for Lucy.

R159 Well, whatever.

R159 I parked in the "Blue Sky Tank." You're right, Esther Williams never swam in it.

R143 THAT photo right there is EXACTLY how Kidman plays Lucy. (I saw it last month.) Wow. I think Kidman must've really done some research.

too small of eyes in that moon pie face

The offices were on what is now the Paramount lot. Herbert Solow talks about that in his tv academy interview (and how quickly any trace of Desilu was gone). The main soundstages were at Ren-Mar and next door to MGM (now Sony) at what was called "40 Acres", where they did outdoor shooting for exteriors. I think"40 Acres" was redeveloped at some point.

TCM has a podcast called The Plot Thickens. Season 3 is about Lucy & Desi.

The Lucy/Desi story has been done ad nauseam. I think the Lucy/Viv friendship would have made a much fresher film, would have drawn on lesser-known material, and could have touched interesting socially relevant issues (without being too heavy handed, either).

She sounds nothing like Lucille Ball to me. She's speaking with a lower, husky voice but she's still whisper-speaking as Nicole instead of hatchet-speaking as Lucille did. I also don't get the accent. I know Ball was from Jamestown, New York and had a New York accent, but it didn't sound anything like the strange New York accent Kidman is doing.

Nicole Kidman is one of my favorite actors and so I hate to be critical of her. I'm sure she will be OK in this and will deliver emotionally, but she is not a chameleon-type actor and I don't see or hear Lucille Ball in this clip.

[quote]You're right, Esther Williams never swam in it.

I know.

R160 I watched the Bewitched movie for the first time during the pandemic. The movie itself is terrible, but I was *really* impressed with Kidman's impersonation. There were fleeting moments throughout the movie when I felt like I was watching Elizabeth Montgomery.

R167 I think a movie about Vivian Vance and William Frawley could be great. They'd be the stars for once and Lucille and Desi would be side characters, which might be more palatable.

I think Kaley Cuoco could be a good Vivian Vance, or at least could be made to resemble her. Her nose and mouth remind me of Viv. If not her, then I think Kristen Dunst could do a great job.

Vivian Vance was a pioneer in mainstreaming psychotherapy. She talked all her career about seeing a therapist to maintain her mental wellness. And Frawley was a mean, bitter old drunk. Together, they could make for an interesting movie.

I've long thought Kaley Cuoco resembled a young VV. Grad someone else noticed it too r170

R168 She completely nails Lucy's accent. You'll see when the movie comes out.

Ok, clobber me, but the one who could look like Lucy with the right makeup is Rose McGowan. She even has the voice for it.

R172 I'm a fan of Nicole but I'm still having trouble getting past that face. Does it get less distracting in the feature? It makes my skin crawl with just the trailer.

I promise I’m not a Vivian Vance troll, but her appearance on “Love American Style” was very sweet. And bonus points that another story features Ms. Sue Lyon!

This will be on Prime?? Oh Yay.!

Well done, Medium Rea!

I like almost everything I see in this trailer (particularly Javier Bardem), but the one thing I don't like about it is Nicole Kidman. She is too old and her face is too dead to play this role. Debra Messing could have played it maybe 15 years ago, but that's just a fantasy now. I can't think of one actress alive right now who could pull it off.

Lucie and Desi Jr. might think they have a hit movie about their parents, but I think this looks like a loser ... one of those Hollywood self-indulgent crap-fests where the stars of today dress up like the stars of yesterday, like Ryan Murphy's "Hollywood" or Anthony Hopkins in "Hitchcock."

I'd never seen that, r175. It was sweet. Thanks!

She was a great actress. I didn't see a trace of Ethel Mertz in her performance.

R178

Drew Barrymore

Kate Hudson

Elizabeth Moss

Kate Winslet

Kate Hudson? Good god no. She’s not a good actress.

Drew, Liz, and Kate are all big girls at this juncture

Can we just stop with the Debra Messing should have played Lucille Ball? The film needed a movie star. Messing is nothing like Lucille Ball (regardless of how her fans delude themselves) even though she can mimic Lucy Ricardo. From the LA screening reactions, it seems Kidman's performance will be well received.

It doesn’t speak well to their confidence in the film that they barely show Nicole in the trailer.

I might have agreed with you a few weeks ago, r184, but I'm now seeing it as very savvy marketing, making everyone wait to see Nicole. I, for one, am chomping at the bit in anticipation.

Of course, if she's awful, it will lead to even more disappointment and a bigger let down. But the word seems to be she's quite terrific. So we shall see......

Nicole doesn't sound rough enough in the voice department. Not enough 'male enery'. Lucille was a very physical actress...Nicole is not.

What building excitement for a Nicole Kidman television film? Oh my sides.

Adding to r170, here's a piece Vance wrote in 1955 about her nervous breakdown and recovery.

In the 1960s, she began visiting patients in mental hospitals and talking with them. One of her friends said, "The most important thing she felt she ever did in her life was bust open depression. Vivian would walk into those mental wards, take people in her arms and say, 'You know what darling, you're just fine. I just went through this and you're going to be just fine.' She healed more people in this country than anybody has any idea of."

I wonder where they got the idea R175.

Viv deserved another Emmy based on this scene alone.

Nope. No no no no no - no Nicole Kidman playing Lucy. What an awful idea.

We've had bios of Lucy, bios of Viv, and bios of Lucy and Desi.

Someone should write a book about Lucy and Viv.

Nicole's BIG LITTLE LIES was given a sequel season so there's every hope there could be a second Lucy film with Viv as the focus.

And here Nicole thought she could never top "Bewitched"!

I want a whole feature fililm about whatever became of Ethel's hostess pants. Did she regift them to Mrs. Trumbull?

R193, it would be great if the film ended with a big revelation that Lucy and Viv both had superhuman powers, so "Being the Ricardos" could become an ongoing franchise with a bunch of sequels and spinoffs, you know, part of the "The Ricardos Universe." Now, if we could just come up with some ideas for those superpowers...

r196 feels depressingly contemporary

I have a friend who is a reviewer and he got a preview DVD that he shared with me.

I lasted 45 minutes. Nicole Kidman is fucking awful in every sense of the world. It is painful to look at the face, hear the fake voice or watch her try to act with the animation of a corpse. It is so much worse than the preview would lead you to believe.

She also didn't like Heath Ledger in his role as "Joker" R128.

Back in the day, when I became an I Love Lucy fan (elementary school - 1990s), I remember my grandmother telling me, "Lucille Ball, as a person, was utterly unfunny when she wasn't scripted (eg, when she did talk shows)."

So many the "stiffness" Kidman brings to the role works.

^^^ maybe, not many

Lucille Ball wasn't exactly "utterly unfunny," but she was an actress and not a comedian, so she didn't make jokes. She seemed to have had an OK sense of humor, although she was determiner and serious about her work.

Remember that she was a contract player, mainly in dramatic or dancing roles in feature films and a few comedies, prior to doing the radio and TV sitcoms. And then she was an executive. She was serious about the work but I don't see her as stiff and humorless in interviews.

As a contract player, she had to play "everything from giants to children" esp. when she was at RKO, which had fewer resources and more B-movies than the bigger majors like M-G-M. She did plenty of comedy--her slapstick probably owes more than she's like tom admit to her work with the Three Stooges. Her first big film was "Stage Door" where everyone did pathos and comedy. She wasn't someone whose comedy was meant to be a reaction to others like Mary Tyler Moore or most of the tv moms like Donna Reed and the Danny Thomas wives. She was really bitter and annoying in many of her talk show appearances----she clearly wanted more respect as an actress, which ignored her lack of real range---her Lucy character is visible in much of her work starting at least with "Stage Door". She could do scripted comedy , which is a skill, but it didn't give her much range beyond that. She had a work ethic but was hardly unique. Early tv was filled with B-players who had learned that needed to be prepared, hit their marks, and know their lines because they wouldn't have had even their B careers in the movies, and television provided even less rehearsal, etc. than a lot of B-pictures.

VERY positive article on Nicole's performance. Correct or a puff piece?

[quote] Is she even able to close her mouth anymore? I see no evidence of it. It's hanging open in every shot.

Her mouth was open the whole time in The Undoing. Every scene was parted lips.

R204 I've seen it. She does great job. She's certainly not "awful in every sense of the word." You can argue the look, but I think she embodies her.

I hope there's a sequel!

Who can play Gary Morton?

There won’t be a sequel.

Gary talked her out of it.

[quote] Who can play Gary Morton?

I hear Phil Ober is looking for work.

[quote] Who can play Gary Morton?

It’s Ben Stiller’s role for the asking.

Gary kept Lucy happy for nearly thirty years. Why do people constantly rag on him?

Because it's just SO clear what was going on with Gary. Lucy didn't romantically love him. He was utilitarian. A warm body next to her, ready to fetch her clutch bag or her Chesterfields at a moment's notice. I get the idea Lucy had been too burned by Desi to ever really love another man, so she basically married a paid companion.

Ben Affleck and one of his wigs for Gary Morton!

Thanks for checking out “Love American Style”, R179 — and for the kind words!

Here's something I never knew: as soon as Vivian died in 1979, her husband (John Dodds) hooked up with Barry Clinton, a young artist from San Francisco. Clinton died of AIDS in 1981.

Here's one of his paintings:

Did Vance and Dodds have a companionate marriage?

Those prosthetics are...distracting and the voice. I mean...I know D. Messing wouldn't be considered by the great Crackhead Sorkin or the critics of DL BUT she would've knocked this role out of the park.

Kidman as Ball is the new drained pasta. It will divide DLers for generations to come!

If ever we needed a DL watch party

[quote] If ever we needed a DL watch party

And lots of shots to go with it.

Shots for everyone!

But it seems that most of the divided criticism right now is between those who have seen the film and love Nicole in it....and those who have not seen the film and hate Nicole in it.

Hmmmm........

R143 here. Desilu was comprised of 3 different studios:

Desilu Gower - (now part of Paramount) the biggest, most centrally located. The old RKO lot which adjoined Paramount. When she sold out, they just tore down the rickety fence that separated the two lots. This is what she acquired from General Tire along with.....

Desilu Culver - (now Culver/Amazon) the old Ince Studios, which included the famous 40 Acres backlot.

Desilu Cahuenga - (formerly Ren-Mar, now Red) where the last seasons of ILL were filed. The first 2 were at General Services Studio. Apparently the Lucy Desi Comedy hours were filmed here too (I'm guessing because at the time, none of the Gower stages were set up for live audiences).

R221 You again? Are you going to bitch and moan every time somebody posts something negative about a movie that you like? That's very childish of you. You should probably kill yourself so that it won't bother you so much. You couldn't possibly be missed by anyone.

And r223 is channeling Phil Ober ...

r223, my posts on this film had been mostly negative until r221, where I was just summarizing what others had said (I haven't seen it yet and expect to hate it).

But go fuck yourself.

The 40 Acres is also where Mayberry was for The Andy Griffith Show - and where the first season of George Reeves' Superman was filmed.

In one back projection shot of Superman, he flies over what's left of Tara......

Whoever is posting all this information about the studios, their whereabouts, what was filmed there, etc., please keep it up. I find it endlessly fascinating and nostalgic, though I’ve never been to Los Angeles.

Behind the scenes stuff is really great to me.

RKO also had a ranch in Encino used for locations--it was sold for residential development development in 1954.

40 Acres was bulldozed in 1976 and became an extension of an existing industrial park.

Sometimes I think about Lucy sitting in her office at Desilu and greenlighting Star Trek and Mission Impossible - and think about all of the MILLIONS of dollars just those two properties have put in the bank for Paramount.

And there is the story that the first day she drove on the lot after she a Desi purchased it the guard at the gate was so flustered that he didn't know if he should call her Miss Ball or Mrs. Arnaz that ended of greeting her with: "Good morning, Mrs. Arballs!"

*ended up*

Sixty seconds of Lucy, Ginger, Eve Arden and Ann Miller.

Threads like these keep me hooked on DL!

I tried to find more male nudes by Barry Clinton (r215) but could not

[quote]I find it endlessly fascinating.

Well, you're the only one.

[quote]Because it's just SO clear what was going on with Gary. Lucy didn't romantically love him. He was utilitarian. A warm body next to her, ready to fetch her clutch bag or her Chesterfields at a moment's notice. I get the idea Lucy had been too burned by Desi to ever really love another man, so she basically married a paid companion.

That is such crap.

Gary provided her with the two things Desi couldn't. Stability and Fidelity. Lucy had someone who she could depend on for once in her life. Someone who would truly be there for her after a day at the studio, and not off screwing some twenty something year old starlet, or shitfaced in a casino gambling away their money. Lucy loved and took care of him because of that. She doted on him because she knew he cared. As she said in that Barbara Walters interview, Gary was the one who took care of her, not vice versa.

The DL scenario of Gary Morton being some shiftless bum who bled Lucy dry of money just isn't true. A close friend of Lucy's set the two up together, because he knew that's what she needed after going through a tumultuous marriage and bitter divorce.

The fact that both Lucie and Desi Jr., (who have been unflinchingly honest about their parents faults) have always spoken very highly of Gary speaks volumes.

All of those young stars, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden, Ann Miller and Lucy, had to be given a day off because they were so traumatized by Jean Harlow's untimely death during the making of STAGE DOOR, which was coincidentally about the untimely death of a young actress. IIRC this was recounted by Ann Miller in one of her last TV interviews.

☺☺☺☺

I never realize Lucille Ball was such a divisive figure around here.

R235 I never said or thought Gary was a shiftless bum. I agree he brought stability to Lucy's life. I agree he took care of her, by supporting her, and being a decent guy. I suspect he was deferential to her, and knew his place.

But, I do get the feeling that Desi was the love of her life, and Gary was a companion who she greatly appreciated. I never thought he bled her dry or anything like that. I agree that Gary was what she needed at that stage in her life.

💟💟💟💟

[quote]I never realize Lucille Ball was such a divisive figure around here.

Obviously, you haven't seen Mame.

Or you assume all her slapstick wasn't borrowed from lots of other sources.

I always thought the ending of STAGE DOOR was interesting with Ginger and Katharine.......

They say that Lucy's character will probably end up married with a couple of kids and all they'll have are their memories and their dusty scrapbooks....

[quote]I find it endlessly fascinating.

[quote]Well, you're the only one.

[quote]—Gays that have lived in Los Angeles

Well lah-di-dah!

Great poster

Really nice poster. But I'm not sure I like the new reworked I Love Lucy theme.

Odd that the Lucy makeup and hair look so perfect in the poster at r245 but not in the (very few) screenshots of Nicole as Lucy.

I mean, I suspect that the poster is HEAVILY photoshopped but still.....odd.

Is there some master list of theaters it'll be in?

R245, that poster is nice, but this is the only Being the Ricardos poster that matters on DL.

I've had sufficient r249

During the I Love Lucy years, Desi NEVER had a turkey neck!

Who plays elderly Elizabeth Patterson?

Madonna?

It’s going to be on Amazon Prime, you don’t need to see it in a theater.

There's a short theatrical window before Prime.

Can it be considered for both an Oscar and an Emmy?

No, it can't. The Academy made a rule that films can't be considered for both awards. This is relatively recent, though, because the documentary O.J.: Made in America won an Oscar and two Emmys only four years ago.

I miss seeing movies in theaters, r253

So which one of you bitches wants to write the Lucy-Viv tell-all book?

[quote] So which one of you bitches wants to write the Lucy-Viv tell-all book?

What’s there to tell? They bonded over their bad husbands.

[quote] I miss seeing movies in theaters,

I do, too. On the other hand, there really hasn’t been any movie I’m dying to see. They’re all shit nowadays.

r259, once upon a time there lived in Berlin, Germany, a man called Albinus. He was rich, respectable, happy; one day he abandoned his wife for the sake of a youthful mistress; he loved; was not loved; and his life ended in disaster. This is the whole of the story and we might have left it at that had there not been profit and pleasure in the telling; and although there is plenty of space on a gravestone to contain, bound in moss, the abridged version of a man's life, detail is always welcome.

r261, I know i'm a Philistine but please tell where that passage is from; i'd like to read it.

Google is your friend, r262.

And you are my friend, too, r263. Thanks...!

r262 it looks like r263 beat me to it!

Laughter in the Dark is one of my favorite novels by Nabokov. Totally worth a read.

Less than two weeks, bitches!

Is Nicole autistic or is it just the Botox?

A younger Debra Jo Rupp would have made a great Viv too.

Does Nicole have scleroderma?

Watching Viv's demonstrative interactions with Desi -- she's always touching him, leaning on him, throwing her arm over his shoulder -- makes me wonder if she wasn't overcompensating for her fear that she acted too "dykey" with Lucille. And it's not like she was going to be demonstrative with Frawley.

Hmmm ... not good:

I'm looking forward to this crapfest.

I knew this was a turkey

[quote]…I t’s steaming only.

Yes, dear. A steaming pile of shit.

R148…

NK's face looks carved and covered with Morticians Wax.

Did Sorkin smear Vasoline on the camera?

LOL r274

Someone needs to make a Vivian Vance biopic, seriously. When she was 19, she married Joseph Shearer Danneck Jr., who abandoned her a couple of years later. According to an article in the Detroit Free Press on August 4, 1935, this is how Danneck met his end:

On a balcony—narrow as a shooting gallery—two Detroit business men fought with pistols Thursday, each killing the other.

The bodies of Harry Levey, owner of The Wolverine Sporting Goods Co., and Joseph Danneck, manager of the Vandervoort Sport Equipment Co., were found at 9 a. m. in Levey's store at 231 Michigan Ave., less than two blocks from the City Hall.

Levey, who also was treasurer of the Detroit Basketball Association, lay crumpled beside his desk on the balcony. His pistol lay on his desk. Danneck lay on his back near the stairs where he had fallen back after a bullet had struck him in the right chest. His pistol had fallen between his legs.

From a paper beside Levey's body, police found the motive for the double slaying, the latest development in the feud between the two men. It was Levey's refusal to give Danneck recommendation for a bond.

Levey's brother Albert, of 2745 Cortland Ave. discovered the bodies when he came to work at 9 a. m. He found all doors of the store locked—usually the rear door is left open to employees. On the first floor, he found evidence of a struggle, merchandise strewn on the floor and displays overturned. On the balcony, less than four feet wide, he found the bodies of the two who had "shot it out."

Both Levey and Danneck had been at odds since the latter left Levey's employ a year ago, it was said. Recently, Danneck, seeking another job, applied for a bond, guaranteeing his honesty, from the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co.

It was Levey's answers which brought the bad feelings between the two to a climax, police said. Levey had answered that he didn't believe Danneck should be given the bond since, "he was too much indebted, had not paid money he owed, kept money and did not make an immediate account of money handled in his capacity as a salesman."

Police, attempting to reconstruct the scene at the time of the shooting, believe that Danneck, employed by Levey for four years and knowing his habits, came to the store shortly after 8 o'clock. Whether he arrived before Levey and lay in wait or walked in on him as he was alone in the store has not been determined.

That their argument started on the first floor was apparent. Several ash trays were overturned and merchandise was scattered about, giving evidence of a struggle, police said.

Continued:

Levey, police believe, fled up the balcony stairs during the height of the battle and ran to his desk for a gun. When Danneck came up the stairs the two men confronted each other with drawn guns and shot it out, police believe.

The bodies lay about 15 feet apart, but there were no powder burns on either, which precluded any theory that one might have shot the other and then committed suicide. Danneck's gun was one from which the numbers had been filed. The keys to his automobile were clutched in his left hand. Levey had fired two shots and Danneck, three, examination of their pistols showed.

Levey told his wife Wednesday night that because of important business he would have to leave home earlier than usual Thursday morning. For the first time in years, she said, he set an alarm clock. Lucy Singleton, Negro maid in the Levey home, said that before he left, Levey was in unusually good spirits. He left about an hour before his usual time, she said.

Stanley, nineteen-year-old son, who customarily drove his father to work, did not accompany him Thursday. A pre-medical student at Wayne University, Stanley had to take final examinations in summer school sessions. Two other sons, Marvin, 14, and Milton, 12, are at the Y. M. C. A. camp near Holly, Mich. Levey was to bring them home this week-end. Levey was 50 years old.

Danneck was 27 years old and unmarried. The son of an oil driller, he came to Detroit several years ago after a migratory boyhood and youth with his traveling father. An amateur athlete, he became the good friend of Hal Shields, athletic instructor at Hamtramck High School, who married Danneck's sister.

For the last two years, Danneck had lived at the Amsterdam Apartments, 2665 Boston Blvd. According to the caretaker at the apartment house, Danneck came home Wednesday evening and indicated that he intended to remain at home for the evening.

"I had been decorating his apartment," the manager said, "and he came in, put his coat on the back of a chair and we chatted. Later in the evening, a woman inquired about him and waited for him in the lobby. I don't know whether he went out with her or not. However, I believe he was in his room during the night because the in-a-door bed was down when I went into his quarters this morning. On the other hand, he may not have been in, because his coat was still hanging on the back of the chair."

Until a little more than a year ago, Danneck was employed at The Wolverine Sporting Goods Co. Just a year ago, he became the manager of The Vandervoort Sport Equipment Co. store at 6503 Grand River Ave., a branch of Vandervoort Hardware Co., Lansing.

His clerk, Walter Jaros, an amateur baseball player whom Danneck hired because of his interest in amateur sports, said Thursday that his employer had had no recent quarrel that he knew about.

"I had heard that he and Mr. Levey disliked each other," he said, "but I would not have called them enemies, because Mr. Danneck didn't have any enemies as long as I knew him. When he left here Wednesday evening he seemed to be in good humor."

Jaros pointed out that Danneck's gun, usually kept in the store for protection against possible robbery, was in its accustomed place Thursday morning.

r279/r280 sounds like a film noir plot.

Fucking Nicole Kidman thinks that just putting in colored contact lenses makes her Meryl fucking Streep. Uh uh, sweetie.

[quote] putting in colored contact lenses

Hey! It’s contact lenses of color.

Now I definitely have my eye on you.

Per the NYTimes today:

[quote]‘Being the Ricardos’

[quote]The trailer for this Aaron Sorkin-directed dramedy played a very unwise game of “Hide the Lucy,” treating Nicole Kidman’s performance as TV comedian Lucille Ball as an impending disaster that had to be judiciously cut around. But after the film began to screen for cheering guild audiences, Kidman’s smoky-throated transformation proved a surprise, vaulting her closer to a second Oscar. Add to all that a strong supporting cast — including Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz, along with J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda — and “Being the Ricardos” (opening later this month) ought to be a significant awards player.

Three days till this crap fest hits theaters!

Has this screened yet?

Owen Gleiberman in Variety raves:

I see an Oscar in Nicole Kidman's future!

Interesting review - and at least the misrepresentation from the synopsis printed elsewhere that I LOVE LUCY was broadcast live is put to rest.

Of course she states that LUCY was "taped" when it was in fact filmed- but I guess nobody cares about that. And putting it out there that ALL of this didn't happen in the space of one week is not going to convince anyone who sees this that it didn't!

[quote] I see an Oscar in Nicole Kidman's future!

Unfortunately, it will not be for playing Lucille Ball.

I read a review saying this is only for Sorkin fans who like that level of incessant dialogue. I just can’t bring myself to watch Nicole’s inflated face.

I just bought my ticket for a Saturday showing!

Here's a clip:

Why does Nina Arianda sound so growly and gutter-mouthed? Her voice is nothing like Viv's.

Is NINA ARIANDE an anagram for ARIANA GRANDE?

No 'g' in Nina Ariande

looks awful! Easy pass

That bit where she speaks as Lucy Ricardo sounds amazingly like Lucy. She really got the vocal tone down.

R293 It's anachronistic when Vivian Vance says "I'm done" in her argument with William Frawley. That phrase wasn't used that way in the 1950s.

I picked up on that too, r299.

Since this clip is only, what, a minute, I assume the whole script is filled with linguistic anachronisms.

It feels too heavy handed

The review at r287 mentions the linguistic anachronisms. "Got it" is another one.

Got it, r302.

In all seriousness, how difficult would it have been to run the script by a historian or two to comb it for anachronisms? Hell, make some poor grad student do it: they'll work for peanuts.

That VARIETY review at r287 makes my mouth water!

You would think a writer would know how to do this. Whenever I hear anachronistic dialogue, it takes me out of my suspension of disbelief, and makes me think "lazy writing and nobody pushed back on it."

Yes exactly, r305. It messes with my suspension of belief. It makes me think, "This is a movie," and I feel the best films are ones in which I rarely have that thought.

Also, I'm disappointed to see they retained the myth that Vivian was contractually obligated to be 20lbs overweight.

Also ... something about the anachronisms make it feel a little too much like a TV movie.

R307 Well, it is an Aaron Sorkin movie, and he's mostly known for his TV work.

I don't know why that has to preclude having the script checked for obvious anachronisms, r308

R309 I didn't say it was. I was just responding to R307's comment that the anachronisms make the movie feel like it was made for TV, and I pointed out that Sorkin is a TV guy. That's all.

Got it, r310.

How can a film that's all about the world of TV not come off like a TV movie?

I wish Lynch would have directed it.

THAT would be a film I could get truly excited about.

What's a show runner?

This probably plays better on a tv rather than a big screen.

True r315

Nicole is a great actress but c'mon, she was just getting punched around by Skaarsgard on my Amazon Prime Video app...now she's going to be beaten by Ricky?

Sorkin, you have some splainin' to do!

I agree R313. Jane Lynch would have been an awesome director, and I also would have cast her in the role of Lucy. She would have towered over Javier Bardem on screen!

Lucy did tower over Desi when he wasn't wearing his Cuban heels.

Cha cha heels make a great Christmas present.

I wanted a toaster.

I am tempted to go to a showing this evening ...

Are Netflix and Amazon Prime doing any promotion of the theatrical releases of Don't Look Up and Being the Ricardos? r323 prompted me to look at Fandango and discover that Ricardos is indeed playing in my city, as is Don't Look Up. Admittedly, I don't watch television anymore, so I don't see ads there, but I've not seen any promotion for either film on social media like FB, Twitter, or YouTube, all three of which I visit often. I missed The Power of the Dog at the cinema because I was completely unaware that it was playing. Very frustrating.

Did anyone see it yesterday?

I saw it last night and it's far worse than some of the kinder reviews would ever lead you to believe. A total misfire and incomprehensible disappointment. Can't imagine what attracted Sorkin to the story as he seems to hold all the characters in disdain.

Someone should do a biopic of The Mamas and the Papas. It must have been difficult for Cass to stand next to Michelle onstage knowing she was sleeping with Denny, the love of Cass’s life.

[quote]Someone should do a biopic of The Mamas and the Papas.

Anyone but Sorkin.

Aaron Sorkin thinks he can write and direct. Hey Aaron, why not just hire some SFX wizards and you can act out all the parts yourself as well?

I heard Nicole Kidman knocks it out of the park.

Was it well-attended r326?

I saw it last night and thought it was fantastic. Nicole does a great job in the role, as does everybody else.

There were about 15 of us in a 75 seat theater, r331, everyone well over 50, at least. Utter silence throughout the film.

[quote]everyone well over 50,

So like, DL in real life?

I'll say this about Nicole: with better material and a smarter, more sensitive director, she could have been brilliant. But as it is, the Ball portrayal as written is so unsympathetic, such a ball-buster, with no arc from her early already bitter RKO B-star days in the flashbacks, Nicole's natural fragility actually helps round out the character a little. I think Cate Blanchett, who'd apparently been first considered would have been too tough a presence to make Sorkin's conception work.

For me, Javier Bardem was too physically imposing and coarse (that huge head and broken nose!) for Desi. And his accent is heavier than Desi's ever was so I missed many of his line readings.

Hated the way Jess Oppenheimer and Bob Carroll are portrayed, basically as Yes Men dolts with no vision or real talent and then Madelyn Pugh is too much of a Mean Girl. Their portrayals as elder commentators by John Rubinstein, Linda Lavin and Ronny Cox, however, are rather sweet and wistful and I enjoyed that framework....just wished the younger selves were more generously written.

There is a stupid ILL dinner party scene in the episode they focus on to which they keep returning throughout the film to show how intuitively clever Lucy was about challenging the writer and director but it's such a big unfunny nothing scene, I don't get why Sorkin used it as an example.

And the black and white scenes of the Grape Stomping episode do Nicole no favors.

And the constant sepia lens and gloomy lighting over everything!

I'll be surprised if this garners any Oscar noms.

Thanks, r335. Great analysis

I'm looking forward to seeing it more to critique it than anything else. I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy it

r110 nails it

Did they mention Papa Karl Freund or Bobby the Bell Boy?

Karl Freund is played by some old character actor and is seen sitting around the table at the first readings of the weekly episode. He doesn't have any lines but is identified by a placard at his place as are all the other characters.

The production design and costumes seem generally pretty accurate and fabulous but are RUINED by the constant heavy sepia lens and yellow lighting. I can't imagine what Sorkin was thinking there or how he wasn't convinced away from the muddiness. And this was on the big screen - I can't imagine how much worse it'll be streaming.

Only 3 people in theater 🤡

... the ghosts of Lucy, Viv, and Gary.

Thanks; R339.

He really was an important contributor to the look of the show.

I only really appreciated Freund's genius after I watched other sitcoms of the early 1950s.

Did anybody notice that Manhola Dhargis at the NYTs agreed with my early assessment of the trailer stated that Kidman looks like she's playing Glenn Close playing Lucille Ball? Manhola said "an uncanny valley Glenn Close".

You're welcome.

Well, R29, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Thank you, R345. I appreciate your effusive praise.

She looks convincing in r347

Thanks for chiming in, Helen Keller (r348).

Why did they use Javier Bardem, a Spaniard? They should have used Andy Garcia, Cuban and much hotter.

r350 Just stop it.

Pass. I used to love Nicole Kidman, LOVE. After watching her in these cable series (The Undoing, Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers) over the past few years, I can’t watch her anymore. Her face is frozen and misshapen, her wigs are awful. She’s always dressed in Chico’s or long prairie dresses. It’s like she’s playing the same character in all of them; frigid traumatized rich lady.

She lost me.

I hate Nicole Kiddmen

Why r353?

I wonder what will happen when this shit performance is released, will the critics be honest that she fails? Or will they be a cheerleader like OP who pretends she pulls it off?

It was released days ago, r355

I can't believe there were any positive reviews but there were a couple. I hated it.

I've seen overwhelmingly positive reviews, r357

Yeah, it got solid reviews. Turns out people who aren't aging, bitter, joyless queens quite enjoyed it!

Has anyone else seen it yet?

Only 0 people in theater. 🤡

I saw it in a theater yesterday. It wasn't awful but it sure was boring.

Kidman does better than Bardem, who is unable to capture Desi's rakish Cuban charms. Kidman is OK when she plays Lucy off-screen but is painfully inadequate trying to replicate her comedic talents. Luckily for her, she's not called on to be funny often.

The supporting characters are all fantasies of Sorkin, even though they're based on well-known people. The three writers get it the worst, being portrayed as a hopeless naif (Bob), a feminist ball-buster (Madelyn) and an incompetent fool (Jess), which is nothing like their real personalities.

Fred and Ethel are also miscast, and the script makes them appear even more unlike Vance and Frawley than they already are.

Good period costumes and set designs, however.

Agree with your every word, r363, except that I found it truly awful. You're being too kind :)

My exact feelings about the portrayals of all the characters, especially the poor writing trio,

[quote]The three writers get it the worst, being portrayed as a hopeless naif (Bob), a feminist ball-buster (Madelyn) and an incompetent fool (Jess), which is nothing like their real personalities.

I wonder his reasoning for this.

The film has been available for free online streaming for at least a week. Tells you all you need to know about the film's quality.

Link r366?

Amazon will begin to stream it on Dec. 21.

......and then just wait to hear all the bad viewer reviews.

We live in a world where The Bachelor has run for years. I'm not too concerned about what American viewers think. They don't exactly display intelligence in what they do like.

R363 R364 From everything I've seen of it, it doesn't look the least bit interesting.

Ugh. Please no Oscar nomination for Nicole as Lucy. Life is bad enough.

Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie (1993) directed by Lucie Arnez is available with Prime membership and includes home movies and interviews and seems more compelling than Being the Retardos! Ironically Desi in an interview talks about seeing Lucy for the first time and mentions her big blue eyes something Nicole's Lucy notably lacks.

r373 Being the Retardos, lmao. Hilarious

R373 I love that movie.

Old Lucy and Desi in the swimming pool with their grandkids.....and a knowing Carole Cook saying to Luci: "Your mama loved your daddy until the day she died......"

"Your mama loved your daddy until the day she died...That's one thing ugly Gary Morton nor his elephant cock could talk your mother out of."

As with WSS who is the audience for this film?

Ethel Mae Potter we never forgot 'er.

The Albuquerque Chapter of the Fan Club can hardly wait!

[quote] As with WSS who is the audience for this film?

People wanting to indulge in nostalgia while the Covid epidemic rages on.

R379 Nostalgia didn't get the asses in the seats for WSS!

[quote]As with WSS who is the audience for this film?

The hissing eldergays of DL, of course.

And then we saw the films, r381, and hissed even louder.

"As with WSS who is the audience for this film?"

People who aren't retards incapable of enjoying a movie without a witch, elves, or a superhero at its center.

Lol r382

R383 or people who like original films instead of remakes and endless sequels

What the hell did Nicole do to her face?!? 🤡🤡🤡

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Judy Davis about 20 years ago would have been perfect as Lucille.

I love Judy Davis and I agree, she could have done this and done it well. She played Judy Garland and pulled it off. She also played that murderess who was having sex with her son and looked like Samantha's cousin on Bewitched.

and Judy Davis had a genius for comedy herself. It would have been a really perfect synergy.

Every generation gets the Lucy they deserve.

Opened here two days ago, went today and they had already cancelled all future screenings since no shows. Parking lot packed for Spiderman bullshit. Fuck em. People don't deserve Aaron Sorkin. Cinema is doomed.

The Real Ricardo's.

R383 or people with memory loss who forgot how it ends

It’s too bad Cate Blanchett dumped this project. Now we are left with Killer Clown Kidman. Does anyone know why Cate quit?

Gary was seanced in to talk her out of it, r395.

I recently learned Vivian had an affair with Yip Harburg. Who knew?

[quote]I recently learned Vivian had an affair with Yip Harburg. Who knew?

Shameless hussy!

Great bit of dialogue from "Ricky Needs an Agent":

Lucy: For fourteen years, Ricky's been trusting, devoted, understanding. And what have I been? Thoughtless, selfish, meddlesome, bungling, scheming, conniving. Eh ....

Fred: Irritating, headstrong, obnoxious, self-centered.

Ethel: Fred!

Lucy: It's all right Ethel. Let him alone, he's right.

Ethel: Well, as long as it's open season, how about petty, childish, stubborn, vain ...

Lucy: All right, let's not get carried away.

You don't know the half of it, r398

I have zero interest in seeing this. Not even on Netflix.

Bob Osborne, that was a big nothing burger!

This could have been much better in the hands of another director.

[quote] I have zero interest in seeing this. Not even on Netflix.

That's good, considering it's on Amazon Prime.

Champagne for everyone!

That depends, r405. Do they discuss Frawley's death?

Just bought my ticket, bitches! Seeing this crap fest at 5:00 today!!

R392, what do you mean "since no shows"? Did the cancel the Ricardos b/c nobody showed up to see it or were all screenings cancelled b/c of COVID concerns...?

Did Nicole cry in the movie?

Nobody showed up, R408. So they just dropped it. Hate that they do that actually, impossible to plan. To be fair, why would most show up when it's announced to be on amazon a few days later.

r407 here.

Eating dinner so I'll post more later, but for now:

1. I was the youngest person in the theater by AT LEAST 30 years (I'm 38) Not surprising ...

2. They NEVER should have filmed Nicole playing Lucy Ricardo. Those scenes were brief but beyond cringey and totally unnecessary, notwithstanding their novelty

3. Javier stole the show, acting-wise. Everyone else, including Nicole: meh

4. It started to really drag the second hour

5. The scenes of Desi's orchestra were my favorite (which is ironic, given they're far from my favorite part of ILL)

6. The linguistic anachronisms. Yikes! No, Lucy, Desi is not "gaslighting" you

7. I found their attempts to humanize DL fave Vivian Vance were quite patronizing

Although the British film Gaslight was released in 1940 and the American version in 1944, the term "gaslighting" really didn't become used until the 80s and 90s (when it was a common soap opera device), and then exploded into usage in the 2010s.

You'd think Sorkin would know this.

In another scene, Madelyn tells Lucy something like, "Yes, you said that literally 30 seconds ago."

THE WRAP Robert Abele-

'A Wikipedia entry fed into what can only be called the Sorkinator . . . a babbling stream of airless, horribly shot scenes that never come close to the glorious timing of a single comic exchange on "I Love Lucy"

I'm looking forward to watching it again when it's streaming .... only to make a list of all the dreadful anachronisms.

There's was another very obvious one that's escaping me.

[quote]'A Wikipedia entry fed into what can only be called the Sorkinator . . . a babbling stream of airless, horribly shot scenes that never come close to the glorious timing of a single comic exchange on "I Love Lucy"

... accurate.

At one point, Lucy says something like "Viv, you're my best friend!"

As I wrote in r107, I don't think so, especially because "Being The Ricardos" takes place during ILL's second season.

It was a mess.

That does it, bitches. This crap fest has inspired me to write a one-act play about Lucy/Viv.

So do we think Lucie Arnaz was lying when she said how wonderful this was?

I can see how someone might think it's "wonderful," r419.

But I would question heavily their taste in film, art, and narrative.

Lucie is being paid to say she likes it. Plus, it revived interest in I Love Lucy which allows her to go on more talk shows and talk about her parents.

If the ghost of Vivian Vance watched this, I can't help but think she'd be annoyed that her entire narrative arc (if you can call it that) is whining that "no one sees my character as sexually appealing and I'm married to an old man." Nothing about her comic genius, acting ability, or other contributions to the actual show. (She was a great script doctor.)

In Sorkin's attempt to make her three-dimensional, to make her "Viv" and not "Ethel," he basically turned her into a caricature of Vivian Vance.

R419 I wonder what Lucie Arnaz thought of The Jazz Singer (1980)?

The worst part was when Ricky told Fred and Ethel in the recreation of their vaudeville number to "just get jiggy with it!" Totally took me out of the scene.

Lucie Arnaz turns everything to maudlin shit. Her greedy mommy issues are gross.

I'll write an earnest review later today.

There were a ton of linguistic anachronisms. Just in once scene alone, Viv says to Bill Frawley "This isn't hard." and "I don't know why this is tripping you up."

But that stuff really didn't bother me. It was clearly a conscious decision by Sorkin to go for emotional truth, and not get hung up on historical details. I COMPLETELY believe Lucie when she says that Nicole "captured the spirit of her mother." Did they capture her exact words? No. But it strikes me that this IS a accurate portrayal of who Lucy was in that year, 1952. She was professional, serious about getting it right, and stubborn with a black and white sense of integrity. I LOVE that she wanted to be honest about why she checked the Communist Party box. She knew it wasn't wrong, so why should she lie about it? I think that's the kind of thing Lucie was talking about. Things that happened, or things that Lucy said and Lucie thought "Yup! That's what mom would say (or how she would react, or what she would think)"

I think people here, or at least the vocal ones, are too caught up surface minutiae. I can completely see that this was, overall, a very accurate portrayal of the dynamic between Desi and Lucy in 1952. Just because she calls Viv her best friend earlier than she might have in real life does not make this movie a mess.

Though, two things bothered me. I thought it was strange that Desi has J. Edgar Hoover on the phone for the audience. That didn't quite work.

AND they left out Desi's famous, funny words to the studio audience! "The only thing red about my wife is her hair. And even THAT'S questionable." I was waiting for him to say it, but he never did.

I found the movie quite entertaining myself.

[quote]AND they left out Desi's famous, funny words to the studio audience! "The only thing red about my wife is her hair. And even THAT'S questionable." I was waiting for him to say it, but he never did.

I really thought that was how it would end.

R428 RIGHT? I'm so curious to know why Sorkin left that line out. It seems like a slam dunk. I want to ask him.

[quote]But that stuff really didn't bother me. It was clearly a conscious decision by Sorkin to go for emotional truth, and not get hung up on historical details.

It took me out of the movie a bit. He went to such great lengths to be accurate in other aspects of the film and I'm not sure why the dialogue wasn't on his list. It would have been very easy for him to have had a couple of historians read it over.

I should have added at r430: I don't think having period-accurate dialogue would have taken away from the film's "emotional truth."

[quote]The supporting characters are all fantasies of Sorkin, even though they're based on well-known people. The three writers get it the worst, being portrayed as a hopeless naif (Bob), a feminist ball-buster (Madelyn) and an incompetent fool (Jess), which is nothing like their real personalities.

This is disappointing read and I wonder why Sorkin would do this.

I found the Frawley character really different from how I imagine Frawley actually was.

I feel like this is a film about Sorkin, and not Lucille Ball, ILL, or the Arnaz marriage.

Also, Desi was the only fully-developed and interesting character to me. I think a lot of the credit goes to Bardem, not Sorkin, though.

I couldn't get passed Nicole's immobile, mask-like face. It was very much a distraction.

Never realized how catchy this is

The J Edgar Hoover phone call was the final biggest head scratcher for me, too, especially when the truth of Desi's quip was so much more interesting and funny, as well. But Sorkin didn't seem interested in anything that might have brought some humor to the project. And the musical scoring was so overwrought and mawkish, like from a bad Douglas Sirk movie.

I thought it was going to end with J Edgar Hoover shown in his office on the phone with Desi.

In drag.

They should have kept the line Vivian Vance allegedly told director Marc Daniels during the first season of ILL: "If this show is a success, it'll be the biggest thing that's ever happened in my career. I'm gonna learn to love the bitch!"

[quote]They should have kept the line Vivian Vance allegedly

They should moved forward in time to the performance where a very pregnant Lucy snapped at Viv:

Lucy: You're late, you almost missed your cue.

Viv: I'd tell you to go fuck yourself if Desi hadn't already taken care of that.

Vivian should have said, "I have sufficient."

Desi had an underrated voice.

I liked that (in real life, doubt it is in movie), in "Lucy Tells the Truth", the punchline was supposed to be that Ricky is asked if he ever cheats on his taxes and Lucy wins the "no lying" bet. Desi had a fit and said he was so grateful to this country for getting him out of Cuba that he would never EVER cheat on his taxes. So the script was changed.

He also gets points for giving us the hottie known as Desi Jr. (let's face it, he got his daddy's looks and a very hairy chest even as a teen).

That's in the film, r442

One of the weird aspects of the J Edgar Hoover call is the fact that it sort of makes him look like a hero. The man was a terrible human being.

They way I once heard Lucy tell the story, she saw in the paper (or heard on the radio, can't remember which) "America's favorite redhead a Communist." Lucy thought to herself "Oh my goodness, I never would've suspected that about Gracie Allen!" That would've been a good line to use.

Someone above talked about a real life insult Viv once threw at Lucy. In the book Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, there's a terrible story. Viv comes out with two dresses, and this is in front of the studio audience. She says "Which one of these do you think looks better?" Lucy, annoyed by Viv wasting time says "What's the difference? You look like a COW in anything you wear!" And Viv ran off crying. This is not a joke, this is an actual incident in the book. I wonder if it was Lucy making a joke, like the way that contract is often quoted as real, but it was a joke that Viv had to be ten pounds heavier. It seem awfully cruel, especially since it was the final show they ever did together, Lucy Calls the President, and Viv was pretty sick at the time.

Here's the script:

r444 during COVID, I rewatched the whole series.

Vivian was just about as thin as Lucy during the first two seasons. By Season 3, she had gained some weight. In the months after she won her Emmy, she gained more rather fast (it's noticeable in episodes early in Season 4, like "Lucy Cries Wolf" and "The Matchmaker.") What's interesting is that in tandem with this weight gain came jokes about Ethel's weight, for example, Fred saying, "Stop leaning on me, you weigh a ton!" and Lucy's barbs about the hostess pants being far too big for her.

So the writers did make these jokes at Viv's expense.

Makeup artist Hal King also claimed that Viv's husband roughed her up regularly, and she often came to work with bruises.

I still need to write a real review, but ... the images of Nicole Kidman playing Lucy Ricardo will haunt me forever.

Nina Arianda definitely looks like she was roughed up by somebody on her way to the set.

Tell me about it r448!

Awful.

And when she tries to do the Lucy Ricardo "voice" it's even worse.

The eyebrows are too thin.

For those interested in r452:

Odd that Sorkin says he didn't even know about the Red scare stuff until he started the project. ANYONE remotely a fan of Lucy knows it. So wonder why he was drawn to the project period? I can see Chicago 7, sure, but not this.

Like me writing a backstage saga of "Barney Miller" which I have never seen oner minute of.

[quote]Odd that Sorkin says he didn't even know about the Red scare stuff until he started the project.

That explains a lot.

Sorkin thinks that because HE doesn't know anything about it that NOBODY knows anything about it. So he wants to put his uninformed truth on it.

I knew we were in trouble when the first synopsis on one of the trailers said it was a whirlwind week from Monday's table read to Friday's LIVE performance!

If you are going to make a movie about a true life event and real people, why not just tell the truth? There's such a thing as artistic license of course - but why claim to be saying this is how it was - when you know damned well it isn't?

Never mind the show was always filmed on THURSDAY

I forgot to mention r457 in my comments at 411

So many things about the actual production of the show were off or inaccurate. Of course, not everyone who watches Being the Ricardos is a dedicated ILL fan (I read every book about the show and Lucille Ball when I was in sixth grade - MARY!!!). Thus many of the inaccuracies I picked up on would have gone over the heads of most audience members. But still ......

[quote]Odd that Sorkin says he didn't even know about the Red scare stuff until he started the project. ANYONE remotely a fan of Lucy knows it.

Exactly. There are ILL documentaries on Youtube that talk about it.

The landing strip is all wrong. Lucy preferred a full bush.

Unfortunately, r460.

I'd had sufficient.

Despite being open about her mental illness, I get the feeling Vivian Vance kept much about her personal life private. She never released her memoirs, and gave up the project, if I remember correctly, because she wasn't willing to be honest about certain things. I also think, prior to her death, she told her sisters to keep many of her secrets. (That was a sense I got from reading her biography. The sisters interviewed were evasive about a lot.) For example, she told them never to discuss her first two marriages or the fact she was treated in a mental hospital in the 1940s.

For some reason, Nicole as Lucy Ricardo (not not Lucille Ball) reminds me of Vicki Gunvalson.

I can't really put my finger on why.

🤡 + 🐷

It starts streaming on Amazon tomorrow

I only lasted 34 minutes and gave up. It’s really plodding and unbelievable. Nicole has a freakish appearance.

I watched it on the AMPAS streaming app this weekend and I made it through an hour and gave up. Horrible in every single way. There isn't one redeeming thing about it. Definitely on my list of Worst Films of 2021.

Watched some of it on Prime and wonder why this movie exists. It seems pointless and will Kidman actually get an Oscar nod. Besides not resembling Lucy she does have Ball's vocal rhythms down at all and Barden has a horse's face and none of the appeal of Desi Arnez.

R468 doesn't have

Worst movie of the decade, all I could think of was Wilma not Lucy. Z-.

Which one of you bitches is this?

[quote]I might get stoned and livetweet "Being The Ricardos" so beware...

[quote]First off, this "Vivian Vance" is annoying as fuck and it's like, wow y'all I'm only 7 minutes in.

[quote]Could someone have told Bardem that Desi Arnaz exaggerated his accent for "I Love Lucy" and actually, you know, watched one of his press interviews or the brace of movies he made in the 40's? Is this supposed to be Ricky Ricardo or Speedy Gonzales?

[quote]Does Nicole Kidman blink?

[quote]Did Nicole Kidman look at this script, about Lucille Ball, and decide that her mannerisms and vocal influence for this role would be Joan Rivers at 70 after a heap of plastic surgery?

[quote]and then there's this incredulous flashback to filming "Too Many Girls" where Bardem 52 year old Bardem is playing 23 year old 1940 Arnaz. Which, this flashback is not necessary for the movie, to recount that Ball & Arnaz had been married for 13 years at this point

[quote]It sincerely took 51 minutes and 20 seconds for this movie to have a funny fucking line. I get that in reality Lucille Ball was a somber woman (Capricorn Moon/Ascendant) but she did like jokes. I also this is supposed to be a stressful week but jeez this movie's tone...

[quote]About the only thing "Being The Ricardos" is getting right is showing that Lucy's politics, even if she openly denied them, were definitely more to the left than Desi's, which brings up an interesting class thing:

[quote]Desi Arnaz was pretty much rich until the Revolution kicked his family out of Cuba (cause he was a white Cuban of colonialist class station!) Lucy was always working class/poor/working girl. Thinking that this project got Lucie Arnaz's approval it's interesting to see this.

[quote]Not to give a dead rich white woman too much credit, but Lucille Ball did DEI before it was cool, not only with her own husband who was just, a spicy white man. If you look at her later series & projects, they were weird combos of a white woman aging in a diversifying society.

[quote]Desi Arnaz, for all of his talent, also was a spoiled white dude that spent his whole life chasing the hedonistic party life provided by exploitation of Cuba's non European descendants. He felt entitled to a life of wealth in a way Lucille Ball probably didn't.

[quote]It took me 3 hours and taking a break to fold laundry to watch a movie that was 2 hours and 10 minutes long it was so boring and dry and miscast. CAN WE STOP GIVING BORING WHITE MEN MONEY TO DO SHIT?

[quote] Not to give a dead rich white woman too much credit

[quote] Desi Arnaz, for all of his talent, also was a spoiled white dude that spent his whole life chasing the hedonistic party life provided by exploitation of Cuba's non European descendants.

It's a good thing he's not a professional critic. Racism is frowned upon.

Being the Ricardos.......or I Don't Love Lucy

Worst offense was having a 1930s vehicle parked in a 1952 alley.

Nicole Kidman looks like a creepy mannequin in this.

Saw it last night on Prime. I on't Love Lucy is right. Depressing. Bad history. Anacronisms galore!

But it was a delightful Arrested Development reunion. And gay Bob Carroll Jr. played by the shit-kicker from White Lotus.

Watched it last night, and I cannot understand the positive reviews. Kidman is awful, nothing at all like Lucy, and her face is so fake that she has no discernable reactions. Bardem is better, but not nearly as handsome as Desi. There's zero chemistry between them, and the Oscar talk is a joke. I would love to have seen more of Simmons and Arianda, for sure, and even as frumpy Fred, he is way too sexy, something Frawley never was. The dialogue Sorkin writes is certainly not '50's, nor is it particularly clever.

Even Kidman's hair styles were nothing like Lucy or Lucille Ball's

R472 Well, ‘y’all,’ he clearly has his perspective/agenda.

This should've been a musical.