I’ve been looking forward to seeing BEING THE Ricardos for quite some time. It became available on Amazon Prime this week and I’m not disappointed. I’m fascinated by it!

I have long been a fan of Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, I LOVE Lucy, and the rest of their collective body of work. I became ultra-interested in their story when I first saw Lucy star in MAME and was enchanted by that wonderful story of a lady who embraces life and accepts people’s differences. That movie came out in 1974, and since I always love to find out more about people and subjects who interest me, I promptly bought a non-fiction book about Lucy.

It was in that very book that I first learned of the problems that existed in Lucy and Desi’s marriage – not the one we all applauded on the screen but the real story. It didn’t shock me to see some of that dramatized in BEING THE RICARDOS, though it seems to have thrown quite a few other people for a loop, based on comments and reviews I’ve been seeing online. I’m shocked that they’re shocked. Everyone knows they divorced when the show ended, so even if people hadn’t previously known the rest of the details it’s obvious there had to be issues or else the talented duo would have stayed together.

Yet what I found most riveting about this well-done movie was not their marriage problems but Lucy’s creative process. Lucy calls herself someone who does “physical comedy.” There are several scenes where she perfects the action on the stage or envisions how best to make a scene happen. This isn’t “Lucy Ricardo,” the lovable clown. This is Lucille Ball, the comic genius at work! And this is well worth watching.

Nicole Kidman surprised me by turning in a fabulous performance as Lucy. Javier Bardem plays Desi. Nina Arianda and J.K. Simmons play the Mertzes. Did you know that “Fred” and “Ethel” couldn’t stand each other in real life? Well, truth is stranger than fiction!