Being the Ricardos

Aaron Sorkin compressed events that really happened at different times into a single production week. The film follows one episode of I Love Lucy from the Monday table read to the Friday shoot in front of a studio audience, with flashbacks filling in Lucy and Desi's relationship. Three crises are packed into that week: Lucille Ball being accused of being a communist, tabloid stories about Desi Arnaz, and the question of how to write Ball's pregnancy into the show. The communism accusation could have ended both careers. Nicole Kidman's casting drew objections, largely on the grounds that she did not look the part, with many arguing Debra Messing should have played Lucy. Sorkin answered that he was not after a physical or vocal impersonation and had told his actors every day to play the characters in the script. Kidman was nominated for an Oscar; Javier Bardem plays Desi and J. K. Simmons plays William Frawley. Who it is for: viewers who like Sorkin's rapid dialogue and stories about what happens behind an industry's closed doors. Who it is not for: anyone coming for Lucille Ball's comedy. The film is interested not in laughing but in how laughter is manufactured, and its tone stays serious throughout.