Lucy and Desi (2022) Movie Review
Lucy and Desi is a documentary about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the legendary television couple. Ball and Arnaz’s many successes have been well documented both on screen and in print. The power couple met on the set of a movie. They quickly fell in love, got married, and were promptly separated because of work responsibilities. Ball was often on set and Arnaz was either touring with his band or fulfilling his duties in the Army.
They desperately wanted to be together so when Ball was signed onto a comedic television show, she insisted that Arnaz play her husband. In the 1950’s it was uncommon to see a Cuban man married to a white woman and it was even more uncommon to see this pairing on television shows. The network executives fought back but Ball stood her ground and Arnaz was eventually cast to star opposite her. It would become one of the most iconic pairings in television history as I Love Lucy launched Ball, Arnaz, and their co-stars Vivian Vance and William Frawley into television royalty.
Arnaz proved to be a shrewd producer and businessman. He contributed several massive innovations to the I Love Lucy show that revolutionized how television would operate in the future. Desi utilized a multi-camera format to shoot the show which at the time was unprecedented. He also filmed in front of a live audience, because that was how Ball worked best. Perhaps the best business deal Desi negotiated was to put the show on film rather than broadcasting it live. This allowed for the quality to be better and Desi negotiated to own and control all of the rights to the films and negatives. As a result, Arnaz and Ball would reap the benefits of reruns of the show. This is common practice in television now, but before Desi, this was unheard of.
The pair built off this success by starting their own production company, Desilu, which turned into one of the largest independent production companies in the United States. As Arnaz’s health declined, Ball took over the company and became the first woman to head a major studio. All of these accolades are mostly well known and well publicized. Even casual fans of I Love Lucy would most likely already know some of this. Director Amy Poehler includes these moments in the documentary because they are important and monumental in the lives of her subjects. But she takes a unique approach in that she focuses heavily on Desi and Lucy’s love story, rather than their professional successes.
Poehler covers the childhoods of both Desi and Lucy to give viewers an understanding of their backgrounds. She includes interviews with those who knew the couple best, including their daughter, Lucie Arnaz. Their devotion to each other is evident, despite their somewhat difficult marriage. Both Ball and Arnaz relied on each other for their career success but personally their differences began to pull them apart. Poehler’s documentary gives particular insight into their relationship off screen, which is often overshadowed by their larger-than-life television roles. While Lucy and Desi doesn’t uncover a lot we don’t already know, it provides a unique vantage point to look at two pioneers of television. Poehler delves behind the laughter to see the real people behind one of the most infamous marriages in Hollywood history.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You love I Love Lucy
2. You like love stories
3. You like Hollywood history
