Being the Ricardos

68%

Tomatometer

278 Reviews

75%

Popcornmeter

100+ Verified Ratings

Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) are threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear and cultural taboos in Academy Award (R)-winning writer and director Aaron Sorkin's behind-the-scenes drama Being the Ricardos. A revealing glimpse of the couple's complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers' room, onto the soundstage and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom "I Love Lucy."

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Critics Consensus

Being the Ricardos can't hope to truly capture its subjects' brilliant star power, but Nicole Kidman has a ball with Aaron Sorkin's spitfire dialogue.

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Audience Says

It'll probably mean most to viewers who grew up watching I Love Lucy, but Being the Ricardos is a well-made, entertaining biopic.

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Critics Reviews

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Being the Ricardos | Rotten Tomatoes (1)

Amber Wilkinson

Times (UK)

Not only does she get the tone of Ball right, Kidman also captures the comedy star's forthright energy, an essential fearlessness and truthfulness about herself that Sorkin also evidently admires.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 15, 2022

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Being the Ricardos | Rotten Tomatoes (2)

John Anderson

America Magazine

Kidman is a first-rate, Oscar-winning actress; her Lucille Ball is a fully realized character... The problem is, Sorkin's Ball ends up being so unlikable you don't want to spend this much time with her.

Dec 29, 2021

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Being the Ricardos | Rotten Tomatoes (3)

Gary M. Kramer

Salon.com

Most of "Being the Ricardos" lacks the magic it is trying to capture.

Dec 22, 2021

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Being the Ricardos | Rotten Tomatoes (4)

Paul Kanieski

KSQD Community Radio

As with all of Sorkin’s work, the main appeal of Being the Ricardos is how his script, like a glass bottom boat, allows us to see beneath the surface of a rarefied world.

Jul 25, 2023

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Being the Ricardos | Rotten Tomatoes (5)

Rebecca Johnson

Film Focus Online

The performances make it worth the watch, with Sorkin's snappy dialogue providing much to admire, alongside its deep character study. However, Sorkin tends to get in his own way, his directing not quite on par with his writing.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2023

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Being the Ricardos | Rotten Tomatoes (6)

M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

Being the Ricardos is an all-encompassing entertainment of classic Hollywood lore while folding in provocative themes of equality, freedoms, and government mistrust. It bears repeating— Sorkin’s film is addictive movie magic.

Rated: 4.5/5

Oct 21, 2022

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Audience Reviews

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David LOVE the story, and the set it looked like the original series set. The cast took sometime to get use to, they all did good pretraying the originals too. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/25/22 Full Review Cheryl R Nicole Kidman did an excellent job of portraying Lucille Ball. Javier Baldam was great as Desi. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/16/22 Full Review Vicki Loved Nicole Kidman! Was compelling and enlightening. Have even more admiration for Lucy than before. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/27/21 Full Review Marcos Story was very respectful of each Lucy and Desi. Showing their talent Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/26/21 Full Review michelle s So well written and delivered. Loved it! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/25/21 Full Review Gloria Incredible movie!! Grew up watching all the Lucy shows!! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/25/21 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Aaron Sorkin Director Nicole Kidman Lucille Ball Javier Bardem Desi Arnaz J.K. Simmons William Frawley Nina Arianda Vivian Vance Tony Hale Jess Oppenheimer

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Being the Ricardos

Being the Ricardos: Movie Clip - Guess Who It Is

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Being the Ricardos: Movie Clip - You Checked the Wrong Box

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Being the Ricardos

Being the Ricardos: Trailer 1

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Synopsis Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) are threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear and cultural taboos in Academy Award (R)-winning writer and director Aaron Sorkin's behind-the-scenes drama Being the Ricardos. A revealing glimpse of the couple's complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers' room, onto the soundstage and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom "I Love Lucy."

Director: Aaron Sorkin
Producer: Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Desi Arnaz Jr.
Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Production Co: Amazon Studios, Big Indie Pictures, Escape Artists
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 10, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 21, 2021
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)