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Lucy and Desi
Lucy and Desi is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Amy Poehler in her documentary directorial debut. The film explores the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
| Lucy and Desi |
|---|
| Amazon Prime release poster |
| .mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0} |
| Amy Poehler |
| Mark Monroe |
| Amy Poehler |
| Jeanne Elfant Festa |
| Nigel Sinclair |
| Mark Monroe |
| Michael Rosenberg |
| Justin Wilkes |
| Lucille Ball |
| Desi Arnaz |
| Ernesto Lomeli |
| Axel Baumann |
| Robert A. Martinez |
| David Schwartz |
| Amazon Studios |
| Imagine Documentaries |
| White Horse Pictures |
| Paper Kite Productions |
| Diamond Docs |
| Amazon Prime Video |
| January 22, 2022 (2022-01-22) (Sundance) |
| March 4, 2022 (2022-03-04) |
| 103 minutes |
| United States |
| English |
Lucy and Desi is a 2022 American documentary film directed by Amy Poehler in her documentary directorial debut. The film explores the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
The film had its worldwide release on March 4, 2022 through Amazon Prime Video. It received positive reviews and was nominated for six Emmy Awards including the Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, winning two.
Lucy and Desi is an insightful and intimate peek behind the curtain of the relationship between two remarkable trailblazers – featuring interviews with Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, Norman Lear, Desi Arnaz Jr, Carol Burnett and Bette Midler.
The film is directed by Emmy Award winning actress, comedian and director Amy Poehler in her documentary directorial debut, and written by Mark Monroe. Poehler and the creative team were able to utilize never-before-heard audio interviews with Ball and Arnaz after producer Jeanne Elfant Festa discovered a box of audiotapes while exploring archival materials with Lucy and Desi's daughter, Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill. Furthermore, the production team had full access to the Ball/Arnaz estate overseen by Arnaz Luckinbill.
Lucy and Desi debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2022. The film was released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on March 4, 2022.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 97 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Equal parts entertaining and informative, Lucy and Desi takes a palpably affectionate look at the lives and legacies of its groundbreaking subjects."
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Streaming Documentary Television Movie | Lucy and Desi | Won | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Music Composition for A Documentary Series Or Special (Original Dramatic Score) | David Schwartz | Won | ||
| Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program | Mark Monroe | Won | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program | Amy Poehler | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) | Robert A. Martinez, Dan Reed and Inaya Graciana Yusuf | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) | Anthony Vanchure, Daniel Pagan, Mike James Gallagher, Jason Tregoe Newman, Bryant J. Fuhrmann | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Documentary/Nonfiction Program | Michael Rosenberg, Justin Wilkes, Jeanne Elfant Festa, Nigel Sinclair, Amy Poehler, and Mark Monroe, produced by | Nominated | |||
| Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | Best First Documentary Feature | Amy Poehler | Nominated | ||
| Best Biographical Documentary | Amazon Studios | Nominated | |||
| Best Score | David Schwartz | Nominated | |||
| Peabody Awards | Documentary | Amazon Studios, Imagine Documentaries, White Horse Pictures in association with Paper Kite Productions and Diamond Docs (Prime Video) | Nominated | ||
| 2023 | Producers Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television | Amazon | Nominated | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Documentary Script – Other than Current Events | Mark Monroe (Prime Video) | Nominated |
- Lucy and Desi at IMDb
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