Being the Ricardos
Amazon Studios | Release Date: December 10, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 51 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
19
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Observer (UK)Simran HansJan 11, 2022
The film is obsessed with deconstructing good screenwriting, the way a line lands, and ensuring clear character motivation. Read full review
60
Rolling StoneDavid FearDec 14, 2021
As with his Trial of the Chicago 7 film, Sorkin seems to view history as the fodder for working with A-list stars and scoring ideological zingers. Mission accomplished, we guess. At a certain point, however, you really wish the film would stop ‘splaining its creator’s viewpoints and start actually being about its subjects. Read full review
60
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyDec 7, 2021
It is, at the very least, far more interested in words than ideas – perhaps the defining feature of Sorkin’s work. Read full review
58
UproxxVince ManciniDec 10, 2021
We seem to be doing the same old Aaron Sorkin thing, and in the absence of any meaningful expansion of his skill set, that thing has become defined by increasingly diminishing returns. Read full review
58
The PlaylistRobert DanielsDec 7, 2021
Being the Ricardos isn’t a total disaster, but it’s not a grand triumph either. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Jason BaileyDec 21, 2021
There are moments when the movie pops and the filmmaker seems in sync with his cast, his cast seems in sync with one another, and the intended sparks fly. But they’re fleeting. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDec 9, 2021
Why so gloomy? Well, this is a serious movie, for better and, more often, worse. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneNina MetzDec 9, 2021
Sorkin’s approach is to focus on the things that are happening rather than to inquire as to the contours of Lucy or Desi’s internal monologues, and so they remain unknowable, moving through a biopic that offers little more than an exercise in re-enactment. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisDec 9, 2021
The Lucy in Being the Ricardos is scarcely interested in messy politics. Mainly she plays the role of the jealous, suspicious wife and harridan star who everyone really does love even if she’s a bitch. That shortchanges and flattens Ball, despite Kidman’s efforts. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerDec 7, 2021
The Lucy-Desi material that should be at the heart of the story never really pays off, as if it’s wandered off and found another, secret movie to inhabit. Read full review
50
Screen DailyStephen Whitty Dec 7, 2021
As much a biopic of the show as of its stars, Being The Ricardos has a few good performances, and a cleverly structured (if factually challenged) script. But star Nicole Kidman’s performance is shaky, and Sorkin relies too heavily on an overbearing score to deliver the emotions. Read full review
50
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiDec 7, 2021
It’s unfortunate that Being the Ricardos never becomes as interesting as the people it’s centered on. The film offers enough interpersonal drama to keep audiences watching and intrigued, but while Sorkin’s script moves steadily towards the ending, the story wanes and never builds enough momentum to truly impress. Read full review
50
IndieWireKate ErblandDec 7, 2021
While the filmmaker’s affection for full circle moments can be charming, within the context of “Being the Ricardos,” it all feels like a cheat. The film might not opt to get as obvious as Lucy muttering to herself, “Yes, I do love Lucy!,” but it gets damn well close, and that’s sillier than anything Ball ever dreamed up. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineJake ColeDec 7, 2021
Like all Aaron Sorkin-penned characters, this film’s version of Lucille Ball is a mouthpiece for his brand of smarmy, know-it-all sarcasm. Read full review
50
ConsequenceLiz Shannon MillerDec 7, 2021
It’s just one symptom of the disease afflicting Being the Ricardos, which tries too hard to pack too much in, and ends up incapable of saying much at all as a result, which is baffling, because it’s such a talky movie. There’s a great film to be made about these two iconic television talents and their respective egos. Unfortunately, Sorkin’s own ego casts too large a shadow here for us to be able to see it. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesTara BradyDec 21, 2021
Sorkin has said that he’s not a particular fan of I Love Lucy’s brand of slapstick and Being the Ricardos goes out of its snooty way to avoid anything as vulgar as Lucille Ball’s comedy, save for a very brief glimpse of the famous grape-stomping scene. The film’s obsession with process means we’re never getting to drink the wine. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinDec 9, 2021
You suspect Sorkin relishes the clash between Ball’s fundamentally fatuous show and the razor-smartness of his take on it. And it is smart. It just isn’t much else. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 7, 2021
An oddity, in which all the characters seem to be avatars for the loquacious Sorkin himself. Read full review
40
IGNSiddhant AdlakhaDec 7, 2021
A film about so many different things that it ends up about none of them, Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos is visually inert, and features an emotionally stifled performance from Nicole Kidman as the lively Lucille Ball. Javier Bardem brings energy to Desi Arnaz, but it isn’t enough to pick the disjointed pieces up off the floor. Read full review
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