When three childhood friends play a prank that goes wrong, they create Ricky Stanicky to save themselves.
The Review: Known for his award-winning efforts on ‘Green Book,’ Director Peter Farrelly shifts gears comedically with ‘Ricky Stanicky,’ a movie about eternal friendship among childhood pals. The filmmaker manages to skillfully move the camera to capture what friendship is all about making the viewers feel the bond between friends as manifested through their interactions.
However, despite being fun and engaging, it appears that the film has fallen into the usual trap of an ordinary plot which may hardly surprise its viewers. The collaborative script from Farrelly, Jeff Bushell, Brian Jarvis, James Lee Freeman, Pete Jones and Mike Cerrone is devoid of any conceptual innovation that could have made it achieve riotous comedy status expected from a director of Farrelly’s reputation. Anyway, this 108 minute-run-time will hold your attention at least once.
It starts off with Dean (Zac Efron), JT (Andrew Santino), and Wes (Jermaine Fowler). The three long-standing friends discover themselves in a difficult situation after their practical joke fails miserably. Desperate to escape trouble, they invent an imaginary friend by the name Ricky Stanicky.
Twenty years later and they are still relying on Ricky as an excuse for their pranks. But when their wives get suspicious and demand to meet this phantom Ricky; they turn to washed up actor Rod played by WWE star John Cena who helps them breathe life into this figment of their imagination.
Cena does well as Rod/Ricky breathing life into this piece while getting things moving even faster than before. Efron who has previously shown his dramatic acting skills returns to his comedic roots as Dean mastermind of the Stanicky prank in which he is supported by Santino and Fowler as loyal friends JT and Wes respectively.
This brings us back to our story where Rod taking on the role in a big way makes things go sideways, blurring the line between fiction and reality. There is confusion leading to several funny happenings that all serve to make this story more than just a linear plot.
Despite not being innovative, it is still an entertaining film due to its cast’s charisma and Farrelly’s skilled direction. ‘Ricky Stanicky’ is another tale of friendship’s unbreakable bonds wrapped up in a rather formulaic comedy package.
To sum up, this Efron-Cena helmed comedy movie offers something good for one view only as it brings laughter and nostalgia through childhood mischief with adult outcomes. Regardless of having nothing new to offer, ‘Ricky Stanicky’ is worth seeing by those wanting an easy escape.
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