Recently I watched the movie “Being the Ricardo’s." I do not want to give any spoilers away, but I will say that throughout the course of the movie the characters endured a lot of hardship, but a lot of memorable moments nonetheless.
Synopsis
The new movie “Being the Ricardo’s” detailed a short period of Lucille "Lucy" Ball and Desi Arnaz's life together, particularly where Lucy was accused of being a member of the communist party. The communist accusation occurred while the cast was filming the episode "Ethel and Fred fight" (Season 1, Episode 22). The movie features the cast working on that episode, which was amazing to see from a fellow 'I Love Lucy" fanatic.
Great Moments
Throughout the course of the movie, the audience was able to see the behind the scenes part of Lucy and Desi's life and the production of "I Love Lucy.” One thing the audience got to see was the making of the opening scene of the episode that was being filmed.
In the movie, Lucy is worrying about minute details regarding the table setup, a big one being the arrangement of flowers. Lucy is also shown bickering with the writers about how Ricky greets her when he walks into the house. This was a very symbolic situation because it showed how important Lucy feels that everything needs to be perfect; if not she will have a higher chance of being fired from the show due to the communist accusations.
The writers of the movie beautifully added historical information into the movie. For example, the audience learned about how the famous couple met and fell in love. This was experienced through the usage of flashbacks. Another example of real life that the directors of the movie incorporated was the turmoil and turning point of Lucy and Desi’s relationship. I do not want to give spoilers about this specific part, so I encourage you to go watch the movie.
Not So Great Moments
The movie did not give enough focus to the characters Ethel and Fred found in the series “I Love Lucy." While Lucy and Desi were the focus, I feel that the writers of the movie could have shown more between the relationships of all of the characters on the television show.
Towards the end of the movie, the audience witnessed a beautiful scene where all four main characters are hoping and praying that Desi’s plan works. This plan would determine the future of “I Love Lucy” all together. I would have enjoyed more scenes similar to this; it would have helped to build the relationship of the characters and give a wider scope for the audience.
The Result
If you haven't watched the movie I would highly suggest it! Watch the movie then watch the episode! It may be a fun challenge to see what is different from the movie and from the episode!
This film featured a lot of high points, but could have improved on certain topics too. For this reason, I give this movie a 3 out of 5.
