Three friends create an imaginary “Ricky Stanicky” as cover to get away with their misbehaviours. When the family grows suspicious of his existence, the trio hires a washed-up actor to play Ricky.
Three childhood friends create an imaginary Ricky Stanicky as their handy alibi in the film
Photo Credit: Prime Video
Prime Video's latest original, Ricky Stanicky, is a light-hearted comedy you can enjoy with your brain switched off. It is about three childhood friends, Dean (Zac Efron), JT (Andrew Santino) and Wes (Jermaine Fowler), who have been blaming all their shenanigans for the past two decades on an imaginary “Ricky Stanicky” whom no one in their lives has met. Want to skip a gathering? Don't worry, you anyway have unavoidable plans with Ricky that day! Want to put your expenses on someone? Ricky is to be blamed! Want to attend a concert? Of course, you are out helping Ricky that day!
However, Ricky is no ordinary character. He is a seven-year-sober philanthropist who helps dig up hurricane victims, builds orphanages, is extremely planet-conscious and so on. He has had cancer twice and had his one testicle removed. (umm... seems like the writers took the concept of fiction way too far!)
However, this Ricky Stanicky fairy tale gets threatened when the trio mistakenly misses the delivery of TJ's pregnant wife while secretly attending Marc Rebillet's concert in Atlantic City because they were busy helping Ricky with his “emergency surgery” in Albany with their phones switched off.
While the three have been conveniently ducking all suspicions up until now, this time, TJ's mother-in-law Leona starts doubting whether Ricky Stanicky exists, putting the three in a tough spot. She demands that if, in fact, such a man exists, he must attend the bris ceremony for TJ's son in the coming weekend.
Caught up in the web of their lies, the trio decides to hire an actor who could play Ricky for a day. The trio finalises “Rock Hard Rod” (John Cena) — a “trained actor” they met in Atlantic City — and the drama begins!
John Cena's character takes the acting gig of playing the imaginary Ricky Stanicky too seriously in the film
John Cena's character is joyfully dumb! He is a washed-up drug addict, a raging alcoholic, and a washed-up actor who is weirdly passionate about self-pleasure. He has created cheap sexualised versions of famous songs like School's Out, White Wedding, and Baby, I Love Your Way, that he plays in a shady bar filled with disinterested audiences – when he is not busy doing poor impersonations of famous actors or freeloading off the customers in the bar.
He gets blacked out drunk and doesn't know why dangerous men might be chasing him. He is delusionally confident and dangerously optimistic. He is an unapologetically extrovert and can't take social cues, even if his life depends on it.
Rod considers himself a method actor with high “artistic integrity” who takes his job way too seriously. Of course, when his given the role of a lifetime to play Ricky, he wears his skin just fine!
However, there is much more to him than just raunchy songs, funny impressions, and absurd costumes. He would encourage you to follow your calling. He would give you the space to just be yourself and fill you with positivity,
Whether or not you want to, you'd soon find yourself viewing this cringe-worthy character as a warm human that you'd like to befriend, just like the majority of the characters in the film who were smitten by his unique personality.
John Cena does an impressive job playing Rod. His acting doesn't feel forced. He will make you laugh, think, and fall in love with him all at once.
Writing could have been richer in Peter Farrelly's Ricky Stanicky
Ricky Stanicky is a decent one-time watch. While I wouldn't classify it as comedy gold, it could be a good choice when you just want to be entertained. You can easily add it to your guilty pleasure binge-watch list.
The script could have been a lot richer, but then you would have been forced to use a brain cell or two, an idea the writers were clearly against. My advice is not to look for loopholes in the script because you'll find plenty. At some points, the film might feel like an episode of a long-running comedy show, trying very hard to make the audience laugh.
The writing is too predictable, and the entire script stands on a lot of convenient coincidences. For instance, the idea of a bible is too freaking convenient; s if the trio already knew that their lies would catch up one day and that they'd need it to use it as a script for some actor. Or the obvious coincidence of them meeting Rod just before their family grows suspicious of Ricky Stanicy. Had the genre been anything other than comedy, the film would have failed royally.
While John Cena surprised me with a delightful performance, I was a tad disappointed with Zac Effron, who seemed to have run out of expressions. While his disturbed childhood is briefly mentioned in the film, the story arch is left hanging, much like our expectations. However, Jermaine Fowler's acting is worth a shout-out. By the way, he is also one of the few sensible characters!
It wouldn't be wrong to say that Cena effortlessly carried this sailing script on his shoulders. While the writing was a little weak, the film definitely lightened my mood. Be prepared for cringes and laughter while streaming Ricky Stanicky.
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