Lucy and Desi (Sundance) Review

PLOT: A documentary exploring the careers of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, from their early years as the “Queen of the B’s” and a bandleader, respectively, to their eventual rise to fame on I Love Lucy.

REVIEW: Now, this is more like it! If you read my review of Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos, you’d know I wasn’t a fan as, in my opinion, it didn’t do justice to either Lucille Ball or Desi Arnaz (although I thought Nicole Kidman did a great job in the lead, while Javier Bardem was miscast). However, Amy Poehler’s Lucy and Desi, which comes from the same studio that did Sorkin’s film, Amazon, is a corrective. A deep dive into their relationship and legacy, anyone wanting to learn more about these two showbiz titans would be well-advised to check this fast-paced, energetic documentary out when it hits streaming.

What makes it unique is that it’s directed by someone primed to have a lot of empathy for Ball. After all, Amy Poehler is one of the great modern-day comediennes, so if anyone should understand and appreciate Ball’s legacy, it’s her. Most of the established narrative around Lucy and Desi is that he was a womanizer who took advantage of her (Sorkin’s film definitely focuses on this), but this documentary is far more even-handed than usual. While his faults are acknowledged, they also note that Desi and Lucy stayed close after splitting up, and everyone, even Lucy, thought he was a great guy. Their business partnership continued for years, and they were close friends for the rest of their lives. There was no animosity between them, as the movie explains repeatedly.

On that note, it’s much more of a celebration of what the two created than a probing behind-the-scenes look, which perhaps isn’t needed anyway. Their well-known contributions to the show are depicted, with Arnaz and Ball both major creative forces behind the scenes, who pioneered things like the rerun, were the first to show pregnancy on TV, and, of course, depicted a loving mixed marriage. What I didn’t know before watching this was how much Arnaz grew to dislike the business. I always assumed that once he and Ball split up, he went off and did his own thing. In reality, he plugged away at Desilu, the company they created (which also gave us The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible, and Star Trek) for years, and was deeply unhappy. On the other hand, Lucy loved the business and became a force to be reckoned with, building up a lot of careers (including Carol Burnett and Bette Midler – who are interviewed here) and headlining more shows. 

To Poehler’s credit, you get a sense of how much the two of them cared about each other, along with the fact that neither’s lives ended in tragedy. Both remarried after they divorced and spent the rest of their lives with their new partners. This ends up being a wonderful tribute to the two that will hopefully be seen by anyone who was intrigued by Being the Ricardos. This gives that movie its proper context and celebrates two showbiz giants, who deserve to be remembered. Poehler does a great job telling their story and shows a flair for the showbiz documentary format. Amazon would be well-advised to give this a major push as the union between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz really is one of the great showbiz stories. 

Amy Poehler

GREAT

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