LUCI AND DESI

Cert PG On Amazon Prime Video now

Three Oscar nominations for Aaron Sorkin’s drama Being The Ricardos have reignited interest in 1950s showbiz power couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. So comic-turned-documentarian Amy Poehler’s heartfelt tribute to her comedy idol is well timed.

Using archive footage, talking-head interviews and self-recorded reminiscences which Ball left to her family, Poehler charts their relationship from their meeting on the set of musical Too Many Girls.

Six months later, they are married but, while Hollywood kept Ball busy, the work began to dry up for Arnaz. After serving more than three years in the army, the Columbian singer hit the road with his band, spending nearly eight years of the first nine years of their marriage away from his wife.

“You can’t have a baby over the phone,” said Ball. Their seminal TV sitcom I Love Lucy was conceived as a way to save their marriage.

Poehler serves up plenty of reminders of Ball’s talent for physical comedy, but the interviews, which mainly consist of family and fans calling her a genius, become very repetitive.

Arnaz’s womanising played a huge part in their divorce in Sorkin’s drama but is barely mentioned here. This glowing account of their relationship, also produced by Amazon, works as a companion piece to the film but, unsurprisingly, didn’t register on the Oscars’ radar.