Being the Ricardos: Lucille Ball may have lived a full and fruitful life, but director Aaron Sorkin simply crams this biopic with too many sub-stories. He is trying to tell her story and that of her husband Desi Arnaz, badmouth the HUAC, criticize the hypocrisy of the American society at large, talk about the role of women; if it sounds like he is trying to do too much, it’s because it is. The most interesting aspect (which wasn’t even listed) is a look at the creative process behind their famous sitcom. This being Sorkin, there is a lot of fast dialogue (and a lot of stumping), all of which are very nicely read by the cast. And it is such a great cast, too: Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, supported by Nina Arianda, J.K. Simmons, and Tony Hale, all dealing well with the text. Costume design (by Susan Lyall), production design (by Jon Hutman), cinematography (by Jeff Cronenweth) are all quite well done, and the editing of Alan Baumgarten keeps things flowing in an entertaining way.