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Lucy

  • TV Movie
  • 2003
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 8m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
996
YOUR RATING
Rachel York and Danny Pino in Lucy (2003)
BiographyComedyDrama

The life of Lucille Ball, focusing on her loving yet tumultuous relationship with Desi Arnaz.The life of Lucille Ball, focusing on her loving yet tumultuous relationship with Desi Arnaz.The life of Lucille Ball, focusing on her loving yet tumultuous relationship with Desi Arnaz.

  • Director
    • Glenn Jordan
  • Writers
    • Katie Ford
    • T.S. Cook
  • Stars
    • Rachel York
    • Danny Pino
    • Ann Dowd
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    996
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Glenn Jordan
    • Writers
      • Katie Ford
      • T.S. Cook
    • Stars
      • Rachel York
      • Danny Pino
      • Ann Dowd
    • 22User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos2

    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top Cast36

    Edit
    Rachel York
    Rachel York
    • Lucille Ball
    Danny Pino
    Danny Pino
    • Desi Arnaz
    Ann Dowd
    Ann Dowd
    • Dede
    LaChanze
    LaChanze
    • Harriett
    Madeline Zima
    Madeline Zima
    • Teen Lucy
    Rebecca Hobbs
    • Vivian Vance
    Merv Smith
    Merv Smith
    • Grandpa Fred
    Russell Newman
    Russell Newman
    • Bill Frawley
    Zoe Carides
    Zoe Carides
    • Lolita De Acha
    Christopher Brougham
    • Adult Freddy
    • (as Chris Brougham)
    Ray Woolf
    Ray Woolf
    • Ed Sedgwick
    Peter Mochrie
    Peter Mochrie
    • Don Sharpe
    Andrew Robertt
    Andrew Robertt
    • Bob Carroll Jr.
    • (as Andrew Mitchell)
    Lauchlin MacDonald
    Lauchlin MacDonald
    • Jess Oppenheimer
    • (as Lachlan Macdonald)
    Theresa Healey
    • Madelyn Pugh
    Mark Clare
    • Red Skelton
    Vanessa Gray
    Vanessa Gray
    • Carole Lombard
    Ian Mune
    Ian Mune
    • Buster Keaton
    • Director
      • Glenn Jordan
    • Writers
      • Katie Ford
      • T.S. Cook
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews22

    6.5996
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    10

    Featured reviews

    ApolloBoy109

    A Stunning Re-creation of TV's Famous Couple

    This was well put together. 3 hours wasn't enough. Ms. York made me believe and Danny Pino had Desi's turn of phrase perfectly. It covered Lucy's life in surprising detail considering it was too short.

    Like a trip down memory lane, Lucy and Ricky are a part of our culture then and now. If you allowed the story to take you there, you were in for a rare treat.

    York and Pino did their jobs perfectly.

    I was very impressed with the re-creation of many famous scenes, Buster

    Keaton's involvement with Lucy's life and Lucy's close personal relationships with her family.

    Four Star entertainment!!
    Two1980

    Didn't work for me

    This film failed before we evan saw who directed it. Even the casting chosen for this movie didn't do well. It's a shame that this movie is nothing more then Lucy's marriage problems with just a touch of her show. If you want to see the true Lucy go to A&E and see it there. You will get a better idea of this great lady.
    JimTom-2

    Moving

    I have no idea how historically accurate the story is. But to my own surprise, I found myself crying through most of this movie. Gradually--very gradually--the (I must say amazing) actress Rachel York uncannily takes on the appearance and personae of the Lucille Ball we all knew from the wildly popular sitcom people my age grew up with many years ago. Though we read stories of the tensions between Ball and her husband/TV co-star, Desi Arnez, none of it seemed very real. This drama drives it home. It is a true tragi-comedy. Neither of these two enormously talented personalities come across as villains.It is, in the end, simply a tragic clash of cultures.

    All performers in this production are top notch.
    froufrou

    That grape-stomping scene still rules!

    This is clearly a made-for-television movie. The plot line follows the rhythm that allows for commercial advertising breaks. Nonetheless, the form suits the content: how the real-life coupling of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz led to the birth of a new comedic genre - the sitcom.

    Ball's goofy and good-natured ability to recount funny stories foreshadowed the eventual development of her unique physical humour. Rachel York uses her considerable talents effectively in her inspired performance as this very contemporary clown. Did Lucille Ball really receive coaching from Buster Keaton and Red Skelton or is this merely a fictional embellishment, creating a bridge between her mostly unknown film roles and her emergence as a television star?

    "Lucy" wisely does not recreate many scenes from the original "I Love Lucy" shows, with the stunning exception of the grape-stomping scene. Though the intervening years have provided TV and movie audiences with new comedians, the verve and the brilliance of Lucille Ball, as played in that particular scene, is well worth revisiting.
    KKaliforniApril22

    Pretty cool..very worth watching

    It was on tv last night..kinda surprised no one has commented on it yet. I actually missed the first 20 minutes or so of this because the alarm didn't wake me like it should have, but the rest of the film was very gripping. I never realized how much drama there was in Lucille's life..it's quite sad to think about. She was very happy on-stage, clearly.

    The looks of the actors, Rachel and Daniel, were very off from the real Lucy and Desi (sometimes they actually find people who look like the people) which kinda threw me and made it hard for me to like see everything happening to the real Lucy. However their voices and accents were really good, so that helped. I noticed they kinda changed around a few things whenever they were recalling an episode...like the chocolate factory one...it was the bossy lady who called the machines to go faster..not Lucy..oh well. It's also sad that it ended so early in the story of their lives, but I suppose it was just to portray the story of "Lucy". It was still excellent and stuck in my mind.

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    Related interests

    Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, and Geraldine James in Gandhi (1982)
    Biography
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Herman Caheej McGloun, Edson Jean, Alex R. Hibbert, and Tanisha Cidel in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Goofs
      The final episode of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour", in which Lucy meets Ernie Kovacs, marked the final go-around for the Ricardos and the Mertzes. By this point, these shows were not filmed before live audiences. The crew had abandoned live audiences long before the final installment.
    • Quotes

      Desi Arnaz: I work hard, I play hard, I drink hard, and I love hard.

    • Connections
      References Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 4, 2003 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • CBS Primetime Movies
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Люси
    • Filming locations
      • Henderson Valley Studios, Hickory Avenue, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand
    • Production companies
      • CBS
      • Film Factory Lucy Productions Ltd.
      • Holiday Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 8m(128 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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