The first look at Nicole Kidman‘s highly anticipated turn as comedienne Lucille Ball in Being The Ricardo‘s is here, and… well, it’s kind of hard to tell if we love Lucy or not.
The official teaser trailer for the film, written and directed by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin, has arrived—and while there’s lots of talk about the Ricardos, there isn’t a whole lot of footage that goes along with it. The trailer is underscored by a dead serious Lucille Ball detailing her many accomplishments as a major Hollywood player. “I am the biggest asset in the portfolio of the Columbia Broadcasting System,” she says, as Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons and Tony-winner Nina Arianda who portray William Frawley and Vivian Vance—better known as the Ricardos’ married friends Bub and Ethel on I Love Lucy—waiting for the iconic funny lady to arrive at a table read.
“I get paid a fortune to do exactly what I love doing,” she continues. “I work side by side with my husband, who is genuinely impressed by me.” We get a glimpse of Javier Bardem‘s Desi Arnaz , husband of Ball on- and off-screen, at one moment smiling and welcoming the audience to a live taping of I Love Lucy, the next violently hurling a newspaper with the headline “Does Desi Really Love Lucy?” “And all I have to do to keep it is kill for 36 weeks in a row, and then do it again the next year,” she finishes.
Throughout this, we’re treated to clips of Kidman as Lucille Ball, face completely obscured by that shock of red hair. Only at the end of the trailer do we get a clear shot of Kidman’s Ball, yukking it up as her character steps into a big tub of grapes for a classic bit.
Clearly, Kidman’s take on the late, great Ball is being kept tightly under wraps… but why? Why won’t they let us see Nicole Kidman making broad faces, chewing up scenery and stuffing a ton of little tiny chocolates from a conveyor belt into her mouth as fast as humanly possible? Is it refreshing to get a trailer that doesn’t give away major plot points, or should we be worried? Either way, we’ll have to wait and see Kidman’s take on the hilarious broad when Being the Ricardos premieres on Prime Video December 21.
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