Being the Ricardos

Not only does she get the tone of Ball right, Kidman also captures the comedy star's forthright energy, an essential fearlessness and truthfulness about herself that Sorkin also evidently admires.

Kidman is a first-rate, Oscar-winning actress; her Lucille Ball is a fully realized character... The problem is, Sorkin's Ball ends up being so unlikable you don't want to spend this much time with her.

Most of "Being the Ricardos" lacks the magic it is trying to capture.

Beneath the snappy dialogue, there's little spark or insight. Kidman simultaneously evokes Rosalind Russell and Marie Curie as Ball.

With Sorkin the writer also serving as director, Being the Ricardos was doomed from the start.

While it's meant to be about these iconic figures in television history, the real icon who comes through most of all is Aaron Sorkin.

As with all of Sorkin’s work, the main appeal of Being the Ricardos is how his script, like a glass bottom boat, allows us to see beneath the surface of a rarefied world.

The performances make it worth the watch, with Sorkin's snappy dialogue providing much to admire, alongside its deep character study. However, Sorkin tends to get in his own way, his directing not quite on par with his writing.

Being the Ricardos is an all-encompassing entertainment of classic Hollywood lore while folding in provocative themes of equality, freedoms, and government mistrust. It bears repeating— Sorkin’s film is addictive movie magic.

One suspects that BEING THE RICARDOS will have more appeal for those who remember the original "I Love Lucy" show, but there is also reasonable coverage of the technical aspects of rehearsing and filming an episode at that time.