Lucy and Desi
Originally published on social media on March 13th, 2022
A few months ago, I related my numerous disappointments in Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos”. My review of that movie was what inspired me to begin this film review blog in the first place. Looking back at that review, I commented on how I felt the legacy of Lucy and Desi was not being properly honored and that the film had many inaccuracies. Well, I want to thank Amy Poehler for amending all wrongs Sorkin made to their legacy, and for creating a documentary that tells their story correctly.
Throughout watching this film, my family and I experienced many emotions paired with plenty of laughters. Thankfully, none of them were ever anger. The whole message of this documentary is unconditional love, and this documentary made you feel and understand the love Lucy and Desi had for each other and their craft.
Beyond the emotional aspects, this documentary explores the entire life story of both of these incredible icons. Unlike other documentaries, the larger portion of narration and imagery comes from their own home films, voice recordings, and photo and video archives. The narration in this film outside of Lucy and Desi comes from people who knew them or had a relevant connection to the couple. There are two historians in there, but their contributions felt relatively minimal. Basically, this is not your average documentary: it’s engaging in every minute and makes the learning this history fun, nostalgic, and very human. Lucy and Desi in this documentary teach you about the things you should never forget.
There are so many icons that make #womenshistorymonth and women’s progress what it is today, but I think Lucille Ball is one of the most important figures to celebrate. You can thank her for all the things that makes television so good today and for many other classics including The Andy Griffith Show, Star Trek, and the Dick Van Dyke Show. She was an amazing comedian, actress, and eventually president of a production company (Desilu). Desi was the most supportive partner, and gave her ALL the credit she deserved.
I Love Lucy, and I’m so grateful Amy Poehler does too.