Ricky Stanicky: Film Review
The Farrelly brothers were known for silly gross-out comedies in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When Peter Farrelly went solo, he forged his own path with more dramatic films like Green Book and The Greatest Beer Run Ever – but he has now returned to his roots with Ricky Stanicky.
Zac Efron, Jermaine Fowler and Andrew Santino play childhood friends Dean, Wes and JT. Since they were kids, they have blamed their wrongdoings on their fake friend Ricky Stanicky. As adults, the lie has become more elaborate – they have a phone to post on social media and text as Ricky and they use him to get out of stuff or go to events without their partners. He is the ultimate scapegoat.
When one of their Ricky lies backfires, their loved ones demand to meet this person once and for all. The trio hire Rock Hard Rod (John Cena), an alcoholic actor they met at a casino in Atlantic City, to play Ricky for a family function. What could possibly go wrong?
Ricky Stanicky goes for the cringe-worthy, awkward and gross style of R-rated comedy. Between the absurd title and a young boy getting a bit of poo in his mouth in the prologue, you know the type of comedy you’ll be getting early doors. But how you get on with it will really depend on your sense of humour.
I personally found the film a mixed bag. Some of the comedy setpieces are hilarious – like a feisty duck trying to drown a small dog or a sequence at a bris ceremony – but others don’t work and are not remotely funny. There are some decent jokes outside the setpieces but I would have liked a greater laugh ratio. There is also a dark backstory to Efron’s character that felt incongruous to this type of film.
While Efron, Santino and Fowler are funny, this is all about Cena. I already knew this from Blockers, but Ricky Stanicky cements him as a great comedic actor. He’s just so committed to the bit and isn’t afraid to look silly for a laugh. My favourite sequence is a montage of Cena performing Rock Hard Rod’s show. He sings songs about masturbation to famous tracks and he wears the corresponding outfits (like the Britney Spears schoolgirl look). This montage absolutely cracked me up.
Ricky Stanicky is very much in the same vein as Farrelly’s older comedies There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber and I’m not sure that style works well nowadays. However, it has its moments and Cena is a delight.
On Prime Video from Friday 8th March