Being the Ricardos to Premiere in the United States: Film About Desi Arnaz, the Cuban Who Revolutionized American TV

December 5, 2021

Next week Being the Ricardos premieres in the United States, a biographical drama starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Barden, which tells the story of the Cuban who revolutionized American television in the 1950s.

With screenplay and direction by Aaron Sorkin (The Newsroom), the film will also be available starting December 21 on Prime Video, according to reports on the Film Affinity website.

The film tells the story of the marriage of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who brought the series "I Love Lucy" to the small screen and became pioneers of television production at that time.

Arnaz, who was born in Santiago de Cuba in the 1930s, defied the prejudices of American society and created alongside his wife a television program that became a reference point for subsequent generations.

Some critics who viewed the film exclusively shortly before its premiere highlighted the performances and the storytelling, which focuses on the couple's conflicts, while noting the opportunity to admire how the renowned television series was built behind the scenes.

"It's much better than expected. I expected an elegant and sufficiently good film, but it's fluid, top-notch, brilliantly written and very well acted," wrote film critic Hollywood Elsewhere on his Twitter account.

Two weeks ago Kidman shared on her Twitter account a photo with the Spanish actor who accompanies her in the film and the following message: "I loved spending the weekend with these generous and talented people."

Amid expectations about the film that will premiere in American theaters, the only criticism made so far is that the casting director chose a Spanish actor to play a Cuban, especially when there are many actors from the island living in that country with the qualifications to take on the role.

"I Love Lucy" revolutionized 1950s television because it was filmed for the first time in 35 MM format (previously used only in cinema), it had a live audience, during filming it employed multiple cameras for this type of format, and it implemented the repetition of some old episodes.

Although initially the series did not have the support of producers, who objected to the idea because they believed that the Latin accent of the protagonists would be rejected by the American public, Arnaz and Ball defended it and proved the success of their project.