Being the Ricardos

Movie: Being the Ricardos

Nominated for: Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor

How I watched: Prime Video

When I fell asleep: I got a little sleepy

When it had me: Structure!

When it lost me: Nicole a little bit? Maybe?

What I have to say:

I double and triple checked it and I'm shocked that this did not get nominated for writing! That is, after all, where Sorkin shines and it's no different in Being the Ricardos. I don't know if this is adapted or not but I'd replace either Power of the Dog or Licorice Pizza with this script.

Biopics always suffer from weak structure. You have to depict real events and life doesn't always follow a strong three act program. Aaron Sorkin places all of this drama inside a one week production schedule allowing tension around finances, marriage, career, betrayal, friendship and yes, communism to play out during a series of readings, rehearsals and production meetings. The structure is brilliant and effectively winds you up to a kind of fever pitch of wondering how the show is going to make it to air! I already knew what was going to happen and I still felt all the suspense of the moment. THAT is amazing writing from my viewpoint.

Did he cram all of that drama into one week even though it is not technically accurate? Yes, he did. And though you may consider it cheating to do so, I am giving it a pass because it served the movie well.

I'm going to be honest, I did not want to watch this movie. Something about Nicole Kidman (who has become quite robotic for me in recent years) playing the dynamic Lucille Ball just didn't feel right. On the one hand, she did a damn solid job of embodying the character. On the other hand, Sorkin's intense plot line and terse dialog did not require her to eclipse a robotic performance by much. I didn't enjoy seeing Lucy be a fairly joyless character, but I can't be sure it's not accurate either.

I enjoyed this movie much more than I anticipated and that's always a nice surprise.