New to Amazon Prime Video in the UK and US today is the comedy movie, Ricky Stanicky. Directed and co-written by Peter Farrelly, the movie stars John Cena, Zac Efron, Jermaine Fowler, Andrew Santino, and William H. Macy, and tells the story of three close friends and the imaginary pal they invented to take the blame for all their misdemeanours.
In the movie, it is Halloween night in 1999 and school friends Dean, Wes, and JT are out trick or treating, when they arrive at a house with a bad reputation for not handing out candy. Deciding to teach the owners a lesson, the trio place a bag of dog poo on their front porch, which they have set alight.
They ring the door bell, then hide in the bushes and wait for the owners to answer. But when no one comes to the door, the kids are horrified to see the fire start to spread.
After failing to put out the fire, the kids make a run for it before the fire brigade arrive. However, before they dash off they leave a garment on the lawn, with a fake name written inside, to cast suspicion on a made-up person.
The name they use is ‘Ricky Stanicky’. When this name works as intended, Dean, Wes, and JT continue to use Ricky’s name for all problems they encounter in life, in order to get them out of trouble.
Decades later, the trio are still using Ricky’s name to avoid tricky situations and have managed to convince their partners he is a real person. But when their partners become suspicious of this oft talked about friend, they have to hire an actor to play the role of Ricky in order to temporarily bring him to life.
OK, so let’s make this clear now: As far as comedies go, Ricky Stanicky isn’t particularly funny. It’s mildly amusing in places, but at no point is it laugh out loud hilarious nor is it one of director Peter Farrelly’s best films (it’s certainly no Dumb and Dumber or There’s Something About Mary).
However, while Ricky Stanicky might struggle in the laughter department, it is likeable and certainly very watchable. The film drifts along fairly easy, and occasionally has its moments.
A large part of this is down to John Cena, who takes on the role of Ricky impersonator, Rod. Cena nails the role, playing washed up actor-turned-faux friend, Rod/Ricky, and is a great deal of fun.
In short: Cena makes this movie what it is. Without him, it wouldn’t be as appealing and it wouldn’t get the few laughs it does.
All the other actors in the movie, Efron, Macy, etc are fine, but no one really stands out. Cena does and his performance adds something to the film.
Because Ricky Stanicky isn’t very funny, it is a film which is likely to disappoint some Farrelly fans. Those hoping for some over-the-top scenes or gross-out moments are going to struggle to find them.
Whenever the movie begins to move into this territory, it pulls back very quickly. Quite simply, it never goes deep enough to push any boundaries.
The most it heads into this realm is during a sequence in which Rod is dressed as various pop stars and singing adult versions of well-known songs. It’s still tame stuff, but there is a sense the movie is circling the right ideas it needs to produce the laughs, and this where it should be spending a bit more time.
It feels strange to be saying this, but Ricky Stanicky needs something gross, disgusting, or ballsy to make it stand out. Frustratingly it offers plenty of set-up for moments like this (a sequence involving ketamine, another with a duck, etc), but it ultimately chooses not to take any of these sequences to the line.
Putting the under-performing comedy to one side for a moment, where Ricky Stanicky is at its best is when it is delving into the heart of the film. Sure, there’s plenty of deception in the central premise, but when the film is zeroing in on Rod there are a few touching moments.
Prior to his transformation into Ricky, Rod is depicted as an addict, a struggling actor, and someone who no one has any real time for. He leads an unfulfilled life, and is barely hanging on to what he has.
Throughout the course of the film, as Rod morphs into Ricky, he is given the opportunity to become someone more personable, and this gives him a new direction to grow. In turn, this provides the movie with something heartfelt to latch onto and keeps audiences invested as Rod grows in confidence.
Once again, John Cena’s performance here is key. Rod/Ricky is the glue which holds all this together and you can’t help but root for him because of what Cena delivers.
While Ricky Stanicky isn’t going to impress many people, and it won’t cause anyone to chuckle themselves into a coma, it is a movie which provides a fair amount of entertainment. At times, Ricky Stanicky offers up some nice sentiment and there are enough likeable moments to keep things on track.
It’s not amazing by any stretch of the imagination, and it doesn’t push itself when it should, but it is alright. A likeable central performance from Cena goes a long way, and it ultimately provides acceptable and agreeable viewing.
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