Being the Ricardos: How much of the biopic is true? 

Virgin Radio

23 Dec 2021, 09:59

In Amazon Prime’s latest release, we are given a glimpse into the personal and professional lives of Hollywood power couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz- but how much of it is actually true?

You would struggle to find a more popular couple in 1950s America than Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Their show, I Love Lucy, was watched by nearly 60% of American households weekly, and Ball became something of a national sweetheart as a result. 

However, they went through their fair share of controversy- such as Lucille Ball facing accusations of being a communist in the middle of America’s Red Scare.

Being the Ricardos is a biographical drama written and directed by Aaron Sorkin that takes viewers behind closed doors and deeper into those obstacles that threatened to destroy Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Arnaz’s (Javier Barden) careers, relationship and hit television show. 

During the film, which was released on Tuesday (21 December), some pretty major things happen, but how much of it is actually true? 

Well, according to Sorkin, he tried to stay close to the truth apart from some minor tweaks to improve the narrative. 

Events such as Ball’s second pregnancy, Ball testifying to the House Un-American Activities Committee that she was not a communist and the article in Confidential magazine about Arnaz’s infidelity did actually happen.

But, they happened years apart and not in the same week as we see in the movie.

Desi Arnaz getting FBI agent J. Edgar Hoover to clear Ball’s name of being a communist in front of the live studio audience on I Love Lucy did not happen, however. 

In fact, the FBI never officially investigated Ball after she ticked ‘communist’ on a 1936 voter registration form. People kind of just moved on, and her legacy as the nation’s sweetheart was eventually restored. 

Viewers have also questioned whether the interviews in the film are real. 

In short, no. What we see onscreen is performed by actors with a dialogue written for them.

All in all, most of the plot of Being the Ricardos is based on true events. A Hollywood film is always going to tweak things slightly for dramatic effect, but this biopic offers a good insight into the off-screen lives of these American stars.