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Lucy and Desi

✭ ✭ ✭ ✭   Read critic reviews

United States
·
2022

1h 42m

Director Amy Poehler
Starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Lucie Arnaz, Bette Midler

Genre Documentary

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This documentary revolves around the personal and professional partnership between comedian Lucille Ball and husband Desi Arnaz.

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WHAT ARE CRITICS SAYING?

80

TheWrap by Elizabeth Weitzman

What makes "Lucy and Desi" so compelling is that we can feel, all the way through, that Poehler enjoys telling their story just as much as we enjoy watching it.
80

Slashfilm by Ethan Anderton

Amy Poehler relies heavily on this intimate collection of media, provided with the full support of both the Arnaz and Luckinbell families, and honestly, it's the most fascinating way to tell their story. It adds the kind of intimacy and personal touch that fans hope to see from a documentary like this.
70

Screen Daily by Fionnuala Halligan

Lucy And Desi benefits greatly from a raft of archival footage ... Repeated montages and a schmaltzy score can lessen their effect, but Poehler has strong sense of the couple’s contribution to the entertainment industry, and nobody watching her documentary will emerge anything less than convinced of how outstanding that was.
75

The Playlist by Jason Bailey

You get a sense of Poehler’s energy in the fast pace and comic timing of film, which moves at a good, precise clip. There’s a lot of material to cover here, some of it overly familiar, but Poehler does it with pizzaz.
83

Consequence by Mary Siroky

Lucy and Desi feels like a critical watch for anyone working to carve out their own corner of the incredibly difficult entertainment industry, particularly young women. In Poehler’s hands, it’s a worthy testament to two pioneers whose stories began with a date and a dance.
58

The Film Stage by Michael Frank

Lucy and Desi won’t provide many surprises for those with a general understanding of Ball and Arnaz. It can look and sound like a paint-by-numbers documentary, with the trappings of any streamable film being churned out at major studios. Technically, it’s standard fare. Emotionally, it’s a beating heart—Poehler’s beating heart.
75

IndieWire by Robert Daniels

Smart and affecting ... It’s not flashy. It’s not often revelatory for any super fans, or even anyone who watched "Being the Ricardos" ... "Lucy and Desi," however, is still meaty as a standalone work, and an essential, authentic salute to these trailblazers.

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