Disclaimer: Being the Ricardos is rated R and may not be suitable for children under 17. This article also contains some spoilers.

Most people have at least heard of, if not seen the famous American sitcom I Love Lucy. Whether it be watching the scene with Ricky trying to pronounce complicated English words, or the scene with the Mertzes and Ricky panicking after Lucy announces that she’s going into labor, the show that aired from 1951 to 1957 is still as famous as ever. Even six and one-half decades later, people still enjoy the family-friendly show. However, despite the show being all fun and comedic, the actual lives of the actors in the show were far from fun.

First airing in the early 1950s, the show followed the life of Lucy Ricardo played by Lucille Ball, her Cuban husband Ricky Ricardo played by Desi Arnaz, along with their best friends/landlords the Mertzes; Fred Mertz, played by William Frawley and Ethel Mertz, played by Vivian Vance. Lucy is a kind-hearted but overly curious lady who tends to get in trouble way too often, along with her best friend Ethel, who pushes Ricky over the edge. The show at its peak had 44 million people watching it and was the most-watched show in the U.S. for four out of its six seasons. Even though Lucy and Ricky seemed like the perfect couple on TV, Ball and Arnaz’s marriage was the opposite of perfect. Being the Ricardos follows the real life of Ball and Arnaz from three different perspectives, as they navigate their personal and professional life. 

The movie begins with 28-year-old Ball, an actress working in low-budget films (played by Nicole Kidman) meeting 22-year-old Arnaz (played by Javier Bardem), a Cuban singer on the set of a comedy film, Too Many Girls. Ball and Arnaz instantly fall for each other.

Ball and Arnaz get married soon, and as Arnaz serves in World War II, Ball unsuccessfully tries to pursue her film career. After Arnaz returns from serving in the war, he resumes his orchestral career, but Ball has to go everywhere with him because of his infidelity. 

After a successful radio show, Ball is offered to work on a show, later known as I Love Lucy, as the lead. Ball agrees but only on the condition that Arnaz be her on-screen husband. Due to interracial marriages being uncommon, her request is initially denied, but soon the showmakers agree to star Arnaz as her on-screen husband.

The movie basically follows Ball’s personal and professional life as she tries to get her husband to stop cheating on her, all the while trying to deal with her constant disagreements with the show’s directors and being accused of being a Communist. The movie ends with Ball filing for a divorce from Arnaz. 

Arcadia High School freshman Jasmyn Garza also enjoyed the movie, “This movie had such an amazing cast of characters! Nicole Kidman did a phenomenal Lucille Ball, Javier Bardem did a great Desi Arnaz. I was always fascinated with this story and admired the way they both portrayed their characters. J.K. Simmons and the supporting cast did an awesome job in making this movie feel complete. This movie did not disappoint me one bit!”

Even though Garza enjoyed the movie, many people had mixed feelings about it. 

Chelsea Moore wrote a google review which said “Poorly cast. Of course, no one will ever be Lucy as much as Lucy was…but really the energy of most of the actors did not match that of the characters they played. As regular humans when not filming, who knows how close anyone was I suppose but especially Nicole Kidman couldn’t even manage not to sound Australian. Weird prosthetics on her face we’re incredibly distracting…definitely more so than they helped to make her appear more like Lucille Ball.”

Despite people not being satisfied with Kidman’s looks and acting, Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Ball and Arnaz, said “thank god they didn’t do exact look-alikes, I couldn’t have taken it.” She also praised Kidman for embodying her mother perfectly.

Even with mixed reviews, if you ever were or still are a fan of I Love Lucy, then this movie is definitely something you should check out!

Being the Ricardos is available to stream on Amazon Prime.