Being The Ricardos: Not Easy (Amazon Prime for Free!)

Aaron Sorkin is a prolific TV and Screenplay writer who has also directed a few movies.  In "Being The Ricardos," he's the Writer/Director and, for the most part, does a fine job. In the 1950's, Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) is America's sweetheart and the star of by far the most popular TV Sitcom, "I Love Lucy."  She is married to Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), who plays her husband on the show.  He is also a talented musician with his own band.  He often goes on long tours when the TV show isn't being shot.  Rounding out the cast are their neighbors, William Frawley (J.K. Simmons) and Vivian Vance (Nina Arianda). The film is about a super-stressful week in 1953 when Lucy is accused of being a Communist!  If she can't fend off this accusation, her career could be over!  There is also a TV show to shoot, and Lucy's professionalism, comedic talent, and her controlling the content of the show are well on display. The TV Show issues, the political crises, as well as their pre-existing marital conflicts (such as Desi's need to tour with his band, leaving Lucy lonely) are the movie's main themes.  Basically, they go through a week of hell, but survive it on guts, perseverance, and intelligence. I thought the first half of the movie was slow and not that interesting, but the second half was much better.  The cast is excellent and Kidman's performance is AAW, although she may not get nominated.  The film gives us some insight on what made Ball so exceptional and how Arnaz was a much more important factor in the show's success than I (and probably most others) had previously realized. I didn't "love" "Being The Ricardos," but I liked it and it's worth seeing.