Being The Ricardos Trailer: Nicole Kidman Puts On A Show As Lucille Ball

This winter, Amazon Prime Video will be vying for some Oscars with the release of "Being the Ricardos," a new film from writer/director Aaron Sorkin that focuses on one tumultuous week in the lives and careers of one of the most famous Hollywood couples of all time. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz put their marriage squarely in the public eye with the creation of the sitcom "I Love Lucy," and it wasn't always glitz, glamor, and laughs. "Being the Ricardos" finds the couple dealing with a controversy that threatens to upend everything in their lives while they try to put on a happy face and keep the show going strong. See for yourself in the new trailer that just arrived.

Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem play Lucy and Desi, though neither of them shares much resemblance with the two real-life stars. Kidman has certainly honed the voice and facial expressions of the famous comedienne, but the prosthetic work to make her resemble Ball's facial structure is distracting and off-putting. Maybe it just takes some getting used to. As for Bardem, he appears to be using his own accent rather than trying to mimic that of Arnaz. It's not a remarkable difference, but it's certainly noticeable when Arnaz had such a memorable voice and cadence.

As someone who grew up with reruns of "I Love Lucy," thanks to a mother who grew up watching the first-run of the series, my curiosity will outweigh any reservations I might have about how the film looks so far. Plus, I have every faith in Aaron Sorkin as a filmmaker to pull this off. But it's also possible for this to be a complete misfire. Hopefully that won't be the case when the movie arrives in December.

Here's the official synopsis for "Being the Ricardos" from Amazon Studios: 

Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) are threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear, and cultural taboos in Academy Award®-winning writer and director Aaron Sorkin's behind-the-scenes drama Being the Ricardos. A revealing glimpse of the couple's complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers' room, onto the soundstage, and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom I Love Lucy.

"Being the Ricardos" arrives in theaters on December 10, 2021, and it will then be released on Amazon Prime Video starting on December 21.