Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Lucy and Desi’ on Amazon Prime Video, Amy Poehler’s Documentary About the Iconic Couple

TV legend Lucille Ball has been a hot topic over the last year and change. Thanks to Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar-nominated flick Being the Ricardos starring Nicole Kidman as Ball, and Amy Poehler’s new Amazon documentary Lucy and Desi, we’re learning more about the funny lady and her personal life than ever before. With the help of some seriously big stars, Poehler tells the story of Ball, her husband, and everything in between. 

LUCY AND DESI: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Long before I Love Lucy changed the sitcom forever, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were just trying to stay afloat in this rapidly changing world. Lucy and Desi starts at the beginning, in Lucy’s humble hometown of Jamestown, New York, where she was raised by her mother and grandfather. Lucy never had big dreams of becoming a child star; she cared most about supporting her family and achieving some kind of sustainable success. She put in her time doing B movies, playing roles no one else wanted to play and doing it all with graciousness and joy. Just as she began to step into ingenue roles, she crossed paths with Desi Arnaz, a Cuban musician and performer who had just broken into Hollywood himself. The two fell into a whirlwind romance, embracing their chemistry both in their personal life and on stage.

With the help of the children of the directors, writers, and performers highlighted in Lucy and Desi as well as experts and icons like Carol Burnett and Bette Midler, we begin to get a full picture of just how impactful Lucy and Desi’s work really was (and continues to be). We watch them build their career from vaudeville and turn it into the smash hit that became I Love Lucy, we see their relationship grow and change, we experience their struggle with racism and later to hold onto their reputation during the Red Scare. In a little under 2 hours, Poehler covers everything from childhood to Lucy and Desi’s divorce and the mutual respect and love that followed their separation, and the way their careers changed as I Love Lucy moved into the rearview window. Lucy and Desi is a loving portrait of TV icons and the industry they changed forever.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Some other documentaries about prominent, influential funny ladies in Hollywood history include Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Everything is Copy, Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Audrey, and even a bit of Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies.

Performance Worth Watching: It’s not a straightforward performance, but the archival footage from the set of I Love Lucy we haven’t seen before is what makes so much of Lucy and Desi sing. Watching these greats drop their characters and just exist – and now knowing how much went into creating the magic that wound up being the final product we still love and watch today – is something truly special.

Memorable Dialogue: Much of Lucy and Desi‘s most memorable dialogue comes straight from the mouth of Ball herself as she discusses the early days of her career. “I was so grateful to be any part of the business. I was a part of it! I didn’t care what I did. They never had to ask me twice to do anything.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: Lucy and Desi has a big heart. There’s not much new here in the way of format or storytelling – Poehler’s film definitely sticks to the paint-by-numbers documentary structure we see a lot of these days – but its obvious passion and love for its subjects turns it into something really engaging. Lucy and Desi wisely lets its own subjects do the talking, utilizing archival recordings (many we’ve never heard before) to allow Lucy and Desi themselves to narrate large chunks of the documentary. Whether you’re a casual viewer or diehard fan, you’re likely to find something to love about Lucy and Desi. I went in knowing little but the basic facts and emerged enthralled by it all, able to see Lucy, Desi, and the rest of the gang in an entirely new light.

There’s a sentimentality to Lucy and Desi that might not hit home for everyone, but it is in this nostalgia and emotional indulgence that the documentary does some of its best work. Hearing from their daughter, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, helps to illustrate the relationship in a way not often discussed, and the contribution of other descendants of creatives involved with I Love Lucy only further illuminates this whole story. Poehler dedicates a lot of time to contextualizing Lucy and Desi’s respective talents, allowing us to really see why they were able to achieve so much on their own, and change the industry forever once they combined forces. Part history lesson and part love letter, Lucy and Desi does its subjects justice and then some, delivering a delightful viewing experience for all kinds of audiences.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Lucy and Desi is a heartfelt, compelling love letter to this legendary couple, the magic of television, and the power of a laugh.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.