History Funny / ILoveLucy

* After one of the many times Ricky says "We can't afford it", Lucy snarks those must've been the first words he learned in English.

* Lucy's attempt to pick a grapefruit from Richard Widmark's backyard in "The Tour" leads to 2 particularly hilarious moments:

* "Paris at Last": Lucy exchanges her money at what she thinks is a bargain price, only to discover that she's been sold counterfeit francs when she tries to pay for her lunch with them. The café proprietor summons the local ''gendarmes'', who promptly arrest her; Lucy doesn't speak French, and the ''gendarmes'' don't speak English, but one of them speaks German, and they've just brought in a Spanish drunk who also speaks German. Ricky's arrival thus sets up a translation chain of one ''gendarme'' translating the other's questions into German, the drunk translating them into Spanish, and Ricky translating them into English; the translations of Lucy's answers thus go from English to Spanish to German to French. Hilarity flows thick and fast, especially when the chain translates Lucy's [[CatchPhrase "Eew."]] by just repeating it.

* "Paris at Last": Lucy exchanges her money at what she thinks is a bargain price, only to discover that she's been sold counterfeit francs when she tries to pay for her lunch with them. The café proprietor summons the local ''gendarmes'', who promptly arrest her; Lucy doesn't speak French, and the ''gendarmes'' don't speak English, but one of them speaks German, and they've just brought in a Spanish drunk who also speaks German. Ricky's arrival thus sets up a translation chain of one ''gendarme'' translating the other's questions into German, the drunk translating them into Spanish, and Ricky translating them into English; the translations of Lucy's answers thus go from English to Spanish to German to French. Hilarity flows thick and fast, especially when the chain translates Lucy's [[CatchPhrase "Eew."]] by just repeating it.

** In the first act, Lucy, with Fred's help, tries to persuade Ricky to cast her in the commercial for his television special by pretending to be on TV… inside their TV.

* From "Lucy's Italian Movie," the classic Wine Vat scene, which is a venerable master class in both Physical Comedy and Facial expressions.
** The same episode has this exchange, which doubles as a BrickJoke from when the group was in England and Ricky had to translate his CatchPhrase as "Blimey" for a local.

--> '''Ricky''': Hey, listen, by the way, what do you know about rice?\\

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1M91x-Go6c closing show]] from "Ethel's Home Town". For context, Ethel goes into full egotist mode when they stop in Albuquerque, her hometown. Her father believes that it was ''Ethel'' that got the movie offer instead of Ricky and after a bit of ego stroking thanks to him and a few childhood friends of Ethel's, she does a one-woman-show at the local theater. By this time, Fred and Ricky are more than willing to just leave, but Lucy insists that they'll be "right behind her." Literally.

** And the ending:

*** Lucy and Ricky's shocked faces are the cherry on top of that sundae.

* "Lucy Hires an English Tutor": Ricky tries reading a children's story, but repeatedly messes up the pronunciations of certain words:
--> '''Ricky''': Once upon a time in the woods live a peasant. He was a good man with a noble heart. He spent his time in the forest cutting down booges[[labelnote:Note]]boughs[[/labelnote]] from the trees. (...) Cutting wood all day made his hands strong and row[[labelnote:Note]]rough[[/labelnote]]. (...) One day he cut wood so fast that by noon, his day's work was thruff[[labelnote:Note]]through[[/labelnote]]. (...) It started to rain on the way home, and he got so wet that his nose became red and he developed a hacking coo[[labelnote:Note]]cough[[/labelnote]]? Well, I know it can't be ''cow''.

--> '''Ricky''': Derry down pip pip...\\

* In "Tennessee Bound", the group gets lost and asks someone where they are. Turns out they're in Tennessee, leading to this:
--> '''Lucy''': Tennessee?!\\

--> '''Lucy''': Bent Fork?!\\

** In the same episode, the Bent Fork sheriff warns Lucy that if she so much as says "boo", he's going to lock her up in jail for the night. Lucy bites her tongue and ''almost'' makes it out the door but can't help herself: "Boo." Cue the handcuffs.

* "Lucy Gets Chummy With the Neighbors": Ricky gets in a fight with Ralph Ramsey. Fred and Ethel come to visit from the city, and Ricky isn't in the house at the moment.
--> '''Ethel''': [[ItsQuietTooQuiet It's too quiet in here.]] I don't like it.\\

--> '''Fred''': I thought people moved to the country for peace and quiet.

* When they're in Hollywood, Fred meets John Wayne, who has been warned by Ricky that Fred is going to see how strong his handshake is. The Duke plays along, and Fred thinks that he's got a stronger handshake than Wayne...until Ethel comes in, shakes Fred's hand, and sends him to his knees without visible effort.
** Then there's Wayne's disbelieving reaction when Fred comes in doing a ''very'' bad imitation of the Duke.

-->'''Ethel''': While we're there, can I get some linament for my shoulder?

-->'''Ricky''': Listen, honey, Betty didn't have anything to do with this -- I can 'splain.
-->'''Lucy''': ''(backing him against the wall, causing everyone else to back up out of her way in unison [[ThisIsGonnaSuck with terrified looks on their faces]])'' Well, [[BorrowedCatchPhrase start splainin!]]
*** The priceless line "Oooh, it was darker than the inside of your sombrero!"

* "L.A. at Last": Of course, the scene where Lucy, sporting a fake nose to disguise herself from William Holden (whom she had an embarrassing moment with in the Brown Derby restaurant earlier), accidentally sets the fake nose on fire when trying to light a cigarette. While the script had her removing the nose and dunking it in her coffe, Lucy ad-libbed, resulting in her extinguishing the fake nose in her coffee while it was still attached.

--> '''Ethel''': Fred, sit down. Remember? "She's just people, like you and me."\\

* Even legendary funny man [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers Harpo Marx]] wasn't impervious to Lucy's overall charm as he noticably [[{{Corpsing}} breaks]] while the two recreate the classic mirror scene from his film ''Film/DuckSoup''.
* Lucy having to battle the worlds heaviest head dress while shooting her big hollywood debut role. The poor director is nearly driven insane by her antics.

* One of Lucille Ball's personal favorites, Lucy performing as Camille, the snaggel toothed Queen of the Gypsies in "The Operetta."
** The lyrics for the operetta in general, as written by Lucy, are cheesy, clunky and yet [[SoBadItsGood stupidly funny in a charming way]].

-->'''Ricky''': Lucy, come on out of there!\\
''(Lucy gives Ricky, are you kidding me look)''

-->'''Lucy''': ''(snidely)'' Psst. Hey kid, are you tired of paying high prices, do you want high class beef? Tell ya what I'm gonna do...?

-->'''Ethel''': But it only cost $0.69.\\

-->'''Lucy:''' Oh, Ethel. You should see it back here. Gee, is it beautiful. There's a swimming pool... and a tennis court... and a barbecue pit... and a doghouse... ''(growling)'' [[ExplainExplainOhCrap AND A DOG!]]

-->'''Ethel:''' Oh, Fred, thank goodness you're home. Listen, I'm in Beverly Hills, and Lucy's in an awful mess. ''(pause)'' Never mind "what else is new!"
* "Equal Rights": Lucy and Ethel demand equal rights from Ricky and Fred. This backfires on them immediately when they get separate checks at dinner and aren't able to pay. As a result, they're put to work in the kitchen.
--> '''Fred''': This is a little embarrassing, Rick. I didn't know we came to dinner with a couple of deadbeats.

--> '''Lucy''': Yeah, and I wouldn't be surprised if a thug jumped out from behind a dark building and pounced on us and said, "Your money or your life." And you know where ''that'll'' leave us.
* "The Handcuffs": Lucy and Ricky and cuffed together as a result of Lucy botching a joke. When the two retire for the night, they struggle to figure out how to sleep in their usual beds [[labelnote:Note]](this is back before couples on TV slept in one bed)[[/labelnote]].

* "Paris at Last": The scene where multiple police officers (as well as Ricky), each speaking only certain languages, translate Lucy's sentences. Especially the moment when the chain translates Lucy's [[CatchPhrase "Eew."]] by just repeating it.

*** The seeds of mayhem are sown early on when technical assistant Joe notices that Vitameatavegamin is 23% alcohol. Lucy, who uses her maiden name to avoid arousing suspicion, is more concerned with the taste; the first few times she takes a spoonful after declaring "It's so tasty, too!", Lucille Ball's disgusted face is a masterclass in FacialDialogue. In fact, her face alone provides the trope image for the aforementioned FacialDialogue trope too!

** Then there's the episode's timeless second act, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwkzNclZR4s Vitameatavegamin]] -- the single funniest sketch in the history of television. So funny even the other actors can't contain their laughter. If you look closely you can see Desi and the actor playing the director, Ross Elliott, biting down on the insides their cheeks to avoid cracking smiles. Desi even went on record saying the inside of his cheeks were sore after shooting that scene.
*** The seeds of mayhem are sown early on when technical assistant Joe notices that Vitameatavegamin is 23% alcohol. Lucy, who uses her maiden name to avoid arousing suspicion, is more concerned with the taste; the first few times she takes a spoonful after declaring "It's so tasty, too!", Lucille Ball's disgusted face is a masterclass in FacialDialogue.

*** In fact, her face alone provides the trope image for the aforementioned FacialDialogue trope too!

---->'''Lucy:''' It's so tasty, too! ''[takes a spoonful - and immediately makes a face that practically screams "WHAT did I just drink!?" before finally swallowing and shuddering involuntarily, then taking a few seconds to get her breath again]'' [[BlatantLies It's... just like candy!]]

* "Paris at Last": The scene where multiple police officers (as well as Ricky), each speaking only certain languages, translate Lucy's sentences. Especially the moment when the chain translating Lucy's [[CatchPhrase "Eew."]] by just repeating it.

** The finale, where Ricky has to perform a song live on TV and since the two are still cuffed together, Lucy hides behind the curtain and masquerades one of her own arms as Ricky's.

* The fight in the wine press.

--> '''Lucy''': Yeah, and I wouldn't be surprised if a thug jumped out from behind a dark building and pounced on us and said, "Your money or your life." And you know where ''that'll'' leave us.

-->'''Ethel:''' Oh, Fred, thank goodness you're home. Listen, I'm in Beverly Hills, and Lucy's in an awful mess. ''(pause)'' Never mind "what else is new!"

-->'''Ethel''': But they only cost $0.69?\\
'''Lucy''': Well, we might as well make a little something.

'''Ethel''': Oh, my goodness! If he looks like that, what must ''Lucy'' look like?\\

* "Ricky's Screen Test": [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x186ikt_i-love-lucy-close-up_tv The entire last act]] has many funny bits: The loud assistant director that rattles Lucy ("QUIET ON THE SET!" "ROLL 'EM!" "RICARDO SCREEN TEST, TAKE FOUR!"), Lucy constantly trying to face the camera to be "discovered" (she's supposed to be shot only from the back), the director getting increasingly fed up and finally snapping, putting the AD to shame ("All right, now this is it: Good, bad, or indifferent! ROLL 'EM!!! ROLL 'EM, I SAID!!!"), and Ricky eventually resorting to ''tying Lucy up on the bench''.

Given that Lucille Ball is often ranked and considered the funniest comedienne in television history, and ''I Love Lucy'' is still to this day lauded as one of the greatest Sitcoms of all time, expect quite a few legendary examples on this page.

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* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1M91x-Go6c closing show]] from "Ethel's Home Town". Not to mention that Ethel didn't notice anything until THE VERY END??

-->'''Charles Boyer''': In French, I think we have a word for her. ''Balle du vis.''
-->'''Ricky''': What's that mean?
-->'''Charles''': ''Screwball.''

-->'''Lucy''': Well what acting experience do you have?
-->'''Charles''': ''[straightfaced]'' Mostly Westerns.

---->'''Lucy:''' ''[leaning over the table]'' Weeell, I'm your Vitaveatyvidgyvat girl. Are you tired, rundown, listless? [[{{Spoonerism}} Do you pop out at parties? Are you unpoopular?]] ''[{{Beat}}]'' Well, are you?? ''[picks up the bottle]'' The answer to all your problems is in this li'l ol' bottle. Vitameatavegamin. ''[checks the label, surprised she got it right]'' That's it. Vitametavegamin contains... vitamins, meat, [[{{Spoonerism}} megetables, and vinerals.]] ''[she grins, then lets off an AlcoholHic]'' So why don't you join the thousands of happy, peppy people, and get a great big bottle of, uh... Vitaveataveanymeenyminymoe. ''[tilts the bottle sideways, emptying the contents onto the studio floor, then rights it again]'' I'll tell you what'cha have to do, you have to take a whole tablespoonful after every meal. ''[she picks up the spoon, but puts it under the body of the bottle instead of the neck as she pours. She tries again, but this time the spoon is over the bottle. Finally, she puts the spoon on the table and empties the bottle toward it, then sets the bottle down... before grinning, picking up the bottle, and chugging from it directly]'' It's so tasty, too! ''[picks up the spoon, downs its contents, and licks the back, then swirls her finger in the spilled liquid and licks it off as well]'' Just like candy. ''[picks up the bottle]'' So everybody get a bottle of... ''[tries to remember the name, but can't]'' this stuff.

'''Local''': You got a real bad echo in that car!

*** Ricky isn't fooled for a moment; his suspicions are first aroused when Fred tells him the show is about to begin, even though it's only 4:23. When he gets his first look at Lucy on (or, rather, in) TV dressed in the bellhop costume of [[ProductPlacement Philip Morris cigarette ad frontman Johnny Roventini]] and holding a pack of said cigarettes (apparently they don't just sponsor ''I Love Lucy'', but also the ShowWithinAShow), Ricky snarks, "I can't get over how clear the picture is." When Lucy accidentally drops the pack of cigarettes and has to pick it up, he adds, "Well, what you know? Third-dimensional television."