The relationship between the pair was “so groundbreaking,” another iconic comedienne, Amy Poehler, tells Parade in a new interview. “It paved the way for so many female friendships on TV.” Like many, the director, who was born 20 years after Lucy first premiered, grew up watching the classic sitcom, but it wasn’t Lucy who inspired the SNL alum to pursue comedy. Continue reading Parade’s Q&A with Amy Poehler to find out who influenced her most and which “groundbreaking” Lucy moment is her favorite….
Did being a fan of I Love Lucy draw you to this project?
Yes and no. I’m a huge fan of their show, but once I started getting to know them as innovators and artists and rule breakers, disruptors, all that kind of stuff, because they’re just two outsiders who through hard work got into a business and kind of got into the room and started to be the ones that ran the room. That all really interested me. So yes, talented and hilarious, but also I just was really interested in the way they kind of shaped their personal and professional lives.
Did you grow up watching Lucy?
I did. I mean, Lucy was always on. Right? Lucy was just a show that was always on. I think that it wasn’t until I was older that I really started to really pay attention to Lucille Ball’s performance. I mean, I always thought it was funny and silly and goofy, and then I would really start to watch and realize like, oh, look what she’s doing there. She’s an incredible actress. And I don’t think I knew it at the time, but I think the real-life chemistry of Lucy and Desi in real time was interesting to watch. Although I was too young to really understand what that meant, as I got older, I saw it and I saw that ensemble and was really drawn to it.
Lucille Ball was a trailblazer for women in comedy. Did she have any influence on you wanting to pursue comedy?
I was more influenced by Carol Burnett… I was more of a ’70s and ’80s baby, so I kind of watched Carol and her show and Gilda [Radner] and Catherine O’Hara and just kind of like the early ’80s,’ 70s and ’80s SNL sketch ladies. But of course, yes, I mean Lucy just, you know, started it all in terms of that kind of comedic television performance.
Why do you think there is an interest in Lucy and Desi lately?
They were a really modern couple. They remain a very like interesting, very watchable, sexy modern couple whose chemistry and whose big risk-taking is really interesting to watch. So their story is really interesting. I think interesting stories endure and I think good art, you know, keeps coming back around and it keeps getting discussed and dissected and deconstructed. So it’s not surprising.
This documentary shows there was love between Lucy and Desi up until the end.
[Their daughter] Lucie Arnaz Luckinbil really helped us keep track of where everybody was feeling. I think that what we hope to have people ask themselves at the end of this is, what is a successful life? What’s a well-lived life? And a lot of people want to know who will be with them at the end of their life, who will be the person that you’ll sit with and talk to and who will hold your hand. And I do think that Lucy and Desi were that for each other at the end of their lives. That to me was like a version of a successful relationship. They’d both partnered with other people and they had long since divorced, but there was just great respect and admiration for each other until the end.
I’ve gotta ask, what’s your favorite I Love Lucy moment?
Oh my gosh, so many. I mean, I think that I really enjoy the episode when she’s pregnant, she’s about to have a baby, just because it was so groundbreaking at the time. You know a woman had never been really pregnant on TV, a character—I’m sure there were many pregnant women that were on TV that were hiding being pregnant, but a character. Them getting ready to go to the hospital and leaving Lucy behind, it’s a small moment, but it was just one of the many moments where you watch and you think, ‘Oh, that was the first time that was ever done. Oh, this is the first joke about pregnancy on TV.’ They created so many things that just still happen—it’s one of many amazing episodes. Hard to pick just one. Next, 7 I Love Lucy Scenes That Still Make Us Laugh
