Ricky Stanicky: Movie Review

Cast: Zac Efron, John Cena, Andrew Santino, William H Macy, Lex Scott Davis, Jermaine Fowler

Director: Peter Farrelly

Ricky Stanicky is the kind of film that frustrates in more ways than one.

A Farrelly film that somehow took the hollowed out cadavers of six people to script it, its central premise is not a bad one - namely, a trio of childhood friends (Efron, Santino and Fowler) always use a made up scapegoat named Ricky Stanicky for their escapades to avoid taking any blame. But what started as a childhood  prank has become a part of their adult lives.

As the film begins, the trio use Stanicky's made-up cancer treatment as a last minute excuse to get away from partners (and in one case, their own baby shower) to head to Atlantic City. 

There they accidentally meet Cena's washed up Rock Hard Rod, a Vegas style performer who turns famous songs into masturbation medleys (bizarrely one of the funniest parts of an increasingly unfunny film) and in a turn of events are forced to hire him to impersonate Ricky Stanicky when it appears their years of lies are about to catch up to them.

For an R-rated film comedy, Ricky Stanicky is surprisingly tame.

Though perhaps anyone tanked up after a night out and wanting to watch something on streaming - or perhaps a group of very puerile teens - may find a few laughs scattered throughout.

While Efron's straight man frustrated schtick counters nicely with Cena's deadpan dumbass, Farrelly's attempt to capture some prior highs (issues in a bowling alley like Kingpin) just really demonstrates how increasingly desperate Ricky Stanicky becomes.

Scattershot and largely flat, the film frustrates as the bone-headed mentality of the lead characters means they are less than empathetic leads to root for. It's the writing that is the crime here - not enough comedy is put into the writing and not enough laughs are forthcoming as a result.

Ultimately, while there are some attempts at sympathy, and Cena manages a somewhat decent arc, the denouement of this bro comedy is so muddled and unwarranted, it feels like all six of those who spent time writing it, should be shunned from any future development. If the script had been as committed as Cena is throughout this, Ricky Stanicky would have been a searingly funny story seeded from a good idea.

The truth of the matter though is it is anything but.

Ricky Stanicky streams from March 8th on Prime Video.