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Lucy

  • TV Movie
  • 2003
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 8m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
992
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
    6.4/10
    992
    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

    6.4992
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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!!
    earlytalkie

    Entertaining

    I've read a lot of negative reviews of this film and I can only say that yes, there are some errors in the chronology and anachronisms regarding the cars used. If you can get beyond all that, the film will entertain you. The acting and the portrayals are quite good of Lucy and Desi, and acceptable for Viv and Bill Frawley. There are some not-bad impersonations of some legends like Eddie Cantor and young Bette Davis. A standout is the young woman portraying Carole Lombard, and the 20s period stuff looks good. I wish they would have gone more into Desi's background as his early life was filled with at least as much drama as Lucy's. The woman who plays DeDe Ball really looks exactly like the real thing. The re-creations of Lucy's best routines are pretty good. It must be hard to near-impossible to try an imitate a comic genius credibly, but Rachel York does a very good job. I've read nearly everything ever written about Lucy and Desi, and while this film is not perfect, it is generally pretty accurate.
    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.
    greshfam7

    I liked it.

    I thought that the actors did a good job portraying such well-known and loved people. Sure, nobody could ever do it perfectly, but they did their best. Other people have mentioned that the Vitameatavegamin and Candy Factory scenes were done wrong. If they knew how the real episodes went and then saw those scenes and where they were or how they were dressed, a viewer would realize that those scenes were done as rehearsals. Lucy in her dressing room with a bottle of Coke practicing with a mirror, and Lucy and Vivian experiencing the conveyor belt for the first time at practice. Some people just don't pay attention. Like I said, I enjoyed this movie but would rather read Lucy's autobiography, "Love Lucy."
    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.

    More like this

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    6.5
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    7.3
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    Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
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    #Stuck
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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
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert 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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