Lucy and Desi

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz met in the 1940s and married. Both were on the edge of the industry: Ball an actress working in second-rank comedies, Arnaz a Cuban musician. When her radio show was to be adapted for television, the studio objected to Arnaz playing her husband; nobody thought American television would accept such a couple. The two set up their own production company, and I Love Lucy came out of it. This is Amy Poehler's first film as director. At the centre of the narrative is not the show's success but its consequences on the production side: the Desilu company, the three-camera method, and the fight over the rights to the programme. How the marriage came apart is told as well. Audio recordings by Ball and Arnaz, the family archive, and the account of their daughter Lucie Arnaz are used. Bette Midler and Carol Burnett also speak. Who it's for: Viewers who like television history, the craft of comedy, and biographies of performers. Who it's not for: The narrative is admiring and moves quickly past the hard subjects. Some passages also lose their meaning for a viewer who does not know the show.