“I Love Lucy.” There isn’t a human being on Planet Earth who doesn’t love that show, but who would dare play characters that beloved in a new drama about Lucy and Desi? Crazy people, that’s who … and by crazy, we mean crazy-talented.
The marriage between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz wasn’t picture-perfect, but in “Being the Ricardos,” the mega stars try to survive a week from Hollywood PR hell … which still can’t be as bad as trying to pronounce “Vitameatavegamin.”
If it wasn’t the chocolate factory scene, it was most definitely the hundreds of other episodes that made us all fall head over heels for Lucy. In “Being the Ricardos,” a new drama about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz during a week of shocking personal accusations and a political smear, the Hollywood power couple is put to the test.
Character from “Being the Ricardos”: “Does the FBI have a case against Lucy?”
Nicole Kidman (as Lucille Ball): “I need you to help me save my marriage.”
Alex Miranda: “I can’t picture a more nerve-racking role to take on. What is it you learned about Lucy that you didn’t know before?”
Nicole Kidman: “All of it. I mean, I was not somebody that knew much about her. Just how smart she was, how talented she was, what she was up against.”
For Nicole Kidman, playing Lucille is admittedly a monumental task.
Nicole Kidman (as Lucille Ball): “It’s all right. I got lost for a second.”
Nicole Kidman: “If you give us just two hours of your time, we promise to do everything we can not to disappoint you.”
But she says, before you think this is some carbon copy of the show…
Nicole Kidman: “We all love Lucy, but that’s been done, brilliantly!”
Javier Bardem is Desi Arnaz, one of the most famous Cuban-Americans ever.
Alex Miranda: “What is it that you learned about we Cubans after taking on this iconic Cuban role?”
Javier Bardem: “He’s a source of life. It’s amazing. The energy that he had, the love for the music, how accountable he was in his own skin and his own body, and how relentless he was in his strength.”
But there’s no “I Love Lucy” without Fred and Ethel.
J.K. Simmons: “Their relationship was a little tempestuous.”
Alex Miranda: “I’m the Lucy, you’re the Ethel. There’s kind of been that narrative forever. How do you think she handled that with 60 million people watching?”
Nina Arianda: “Vivian was a great theater actress. She was a leading lady. To go from that to then playing Ethel, and then being boxed in as Ethel, I could see how that could be painful.”
The “I Love Lucy” story is a complicated one, but, Nicole says, beautiful, too.
Nicole Kidman: “It has sadness, but it has extraordinary love as well.”
“Being the Ricardos” is being in theaters now, and it’s gonna be on Amazon Prime Video Dec. 21.
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