MovieChat Forums > Being the Ricardos (2021) Discussion > Now watch the superior 1991 movie here!

Now watch the superior 1991 movie here!


I liked (though didn't love) "Being the Ricardos". I would have liked it a whole lot more, had it not had so much modern lingo that is inaccurate, had they cast better people for the parts, and had hair and overall stylization been more in line with the real Lucy. Nevertheless, I really like it for other reasons, like the heartwarming scenes between Lucy and everyone. There were some very nice moments I appreciate, and Nicole did do great at the show reenactment scenes! During those, she got it right. But, yes the casting could have been better, and yes the modern-day inaccuracies were super annoying!

So, if you want to see Lucy and Desi superbly cast- so well, you almost forget you're not watching the real them, then watch the 1991 made-for-TV film called "Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter".

Frances Fisher was better as Lucy than anyone could've been! Mind blowing that it was made for TV. Anyone who wants to watch it can do so here: https://archive.org/details/lucy-and-desi-before-the-laughter-1991-bio

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Doesn't have a high rating either. Not accurate either: https://moviechat.org/tt0102353/Lucy-and-Desi-Before-the-Laughter/58c756906b51e905f6798f22/Why-was-Lucie-Arnaz-outraged-by-this-film

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Well, I would say since Lucie Arnaz loves the embarrassment that is "Being the Ricardos", her disdain for the 1991 film is practically a compliment to it!

And this new film has the characters saying things that aren't accurate either to the time it was set in either, like "Being a Communist back when Lucy registered as one was no worse than than being a Republican." Typical republican trashing under the guise of a biopic! And listen to the lingo some of the characters used, such as when one of the writers said "I literally just said that!" That is modern lingo. No one used the word "literally" like that back then!

So yeah, the 1991 movie is not only much better in terms of casting, but it IS way more accurate as-well, in costuming, events, and everything. And the only reason Lucie Arnaz praises "Being the Ricardos" and not "Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter" is because she makes money on one, and not on the other!

Unauthorized stories are typically always going to be more accurate, because the "authorized" versions always involve people with ulterior motives- like money and saving face. So yeah, the 1991 film is better.

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and 'gaslighting'. Yeah, no one had ever heard that term before the 2010s

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WE MISSED OUT ON A GREAT LUCY MOVIE...AS NOBODY EVER CAST NICOLE SULLIVAN TO PLAY HER.

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It's like Sorkin's garbage Steve Jobs biopic (which he and his studio lackeys laughably thought was Oscar material). All it did is make people realize how the low budget 1999 TV film Pirates of Silicon Valley was VASTLY superior!

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The 91 TV movie is AWFUL.

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