Available to view on Amazon Prime beginning March 4th
Amazon Studios’s release of Lucy and Desi fills the gaps that their previous work, Being the Ricardos, doesn’t explore. While it doesn’t offer anything new television historians don’t know, this excellent documentary does the job to revisit the pressures they faced from a different perspective. Both fled from one world to go live in another, either New York or Florida, in their pursuit of the American dream.
Both found success before meeting. Their love and failed relationship–as recounted in the prior drama–isn’t the focus. This take by filmmaker/documentarian Amy Poehler looks more at how they became a career focussed couple. Their bond only got stronger after the divorce. It’s well known that Desi didn’t enjoy living under Lucille’s shadow, so that’s why he needed his excursions elsewhere to be happy. Sadly, that included certain vices no doubt inherited from his family’s opulent life. Also, Desi stepped away from the limelight. It helped preserve the relationship instead of letting it fall apart.