Nicole Kidman's Lucille Ball is finally ready for her close-up in the new 'Being the Ricardos' trailer
Nicole Kidman's silent treatment is officially over. After Twitter roasted the first Being the Ricardos trailer for barely including any footage of the Oscar-winning actress walking and talking as TV legend, Lucille Ball, Amazon Prime Video has dropped a second look at Aaron Sorkin's highly-anticipated biopic. And this time, Kidman speaks — a lot. (Watch the trailer above.)
But Sorkin also can't resist having a bit of fun with social media trolls. In what's almost certainly a knowing wink to audiences, the new trailer makes us wait for Kidman's first line of onscreen dialogue. First glimpsed on the set of I Love Lucy, Ball freezes up when it's her turn to deliver a line. Nearly a full minute elapses before Kidman gets the words out with classic Lucy timing: "Sorry, I got lost for a second."
Besides providing us with our best view yet of Kidman's sure-to-be-Oscar nominated performance, the second Being the Ricardos trailer also provides more context for how Sorkin's film will approach Ball's life story. The West Wing creator's script is reportedly set over the course of a week as Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz (played by Javier Bardem), film a classic episode of I Love Lucy. Behind the scenes, though, their marriage is on the verge of falling apart as outside forces threaten their personal and professional lives.
Those outside forces include the well-documented efforts by the FBI to tar Ball as a Communist as part of the Red Scare sweeping through Hollywood. "Does the FBI have any case against Lucy?" we hear Arnaz say, hoping to protect his spouse. Meanwhile, Ball is wrestling with how to handle the fact that Arnaz's well-documented love affairs are increasingly attracting public attention. "Have you been cheating on me?" she challenges her wayward husband, refusing to put up with his continued non-explanations.
General audiences have yet to see Being the Ricardos, but Ball and Arnaz's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, has watched Sorkin's final cut and gives both leads a hearty endorsement. "Nicole Kidman became my mother's soul," Arnaz said in a widely-viewing Instagram post. "She crawled into her head — I don't know how you do that."
Even with Arnaz's rave review and a new Kidman-heavy trailer, Being the Ricardos still hasn't sold everyone on whether Sorkin picked the right actress to portray Ball. Looks like we'll have to settle the debate when the movie hits theaters and Amazon Prime Video next month.
Okay, I kinda see it now...? https://t.co/XMpua18n0b
— "I hold at your neck the gom jabbar." (@DamoneWilliams_) November 10, 2021
Nicole Kidman looks great and I hope she gets nominated. People seem to have forgotten that acting is about capturing the essence of the person they're playing, not looking and sounding EXACTLY like them. But the haters are gonna hate. #BeingTheRicardos https://t.co/G9fYXg3AwQ
— Luca Giliberti (@LucaLeonardo99) November 10, 2021
In the first teaser trailer they kept Nicole Kidman's face hidden. Now e know why. ooof.
BEING THE RICARDOS Trailer (2021) https://t.co/x2cARKFxGw— Garth Harkness McMurray (@GarthMcMurray) November 10, 2021
Nicole Kidman is an amazing actor. So is Javier Bardem. But the casting looks really off here. Especially for Lucy. Sorry. But the movie itself looks well done.
— Vicki (@NyVicki) November 10, 2021
I smell it! ?? I might be a little biased, but I think there’s a real chance. For the particular story that this film is telling, I think Nicole Kidman’s performance will surprise the haters.
— Scott (@scott_jamesc) November 10, 2021
Being the Ricardos = Nicole Kidman really said... I'm going to play an iconic Hollywood actress, known for being funny and expressive... without being able to move my face in a natural way. https://t.co/EGK8ZQnA6r
— A.J Raven (@tempest071990) November 10, 2021
Look, I like Nicole Kidman very much. But what a waste to not cast Lucille Ball's living doppelganger, @DebraMessing for #BeingTheRicardos
— Matrix Man (@JasonPerrone12) November 10, 2021
Being the Ricardos premieres Dec. 10 in theaters and Dec. 21 on Amazon Prime Video