Film: Ricky Stanicky Review

Life can be rough. It can be overwhelming and wonderful and stressful, sometimes all at once. After several months of dealing with adulthood, I’m working myself back into the review world, and Ricky Stanicky was the perfect first film back. It’s a film full of predictable surprises, past revelations, and appreciation of the present.

Ricky Stanicky is the newest film from Peter Farrelly. It centers on three childhood friends who have spent the last twenty-plus years using their fictional best friend, Ricky, to get out of trouble (by blaming him) in their youth, or to engage in adventures (by using him as an out) as adults. When this elaborate lie is at risk of exposure, Dean (Zac Efron) convinces JT (Andrew Santino) and Wes (Jermaine Fowler) that Ricky needs to become a reality. These three friends hire Rod (John Cena), an obnoxious Atlantic City showman to portray Ricky.

I have to admit, this premise was intriguing from the very beginning. It’s not just a half-baked plan thought up by children. It’s a plan that has been perfected by intelligent and put-together grown men. There’s no way this complexity could be anything but a train wreck. It’s the Kombucha Girl meme in real life. Who wouldn’t want to escape responsibilities from time to time for enjoyment? I admit their gusto and had to know more.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the need for escapism these types of movies provide. Not that I necessarily want to revisit films of the past, mainly because they haven’t aged well, but the director I will always revisit is Farrelly. He knows how to handle these kinds of movies. They are equal parts embarrassingly raunchy yet surrounded by heart. Throughout his career, he has mastered that yin & yang, and it was great to see how it has evolved to what he was able to produce with Ricky Staticky.

For me, one of the most interesting experienced emotions in the film is secondhand embarrassment. The urge to walk away and hide is strong, yet you can’t help but be fixated on the screen as it unfolds. Ricky Stanicky is full of these moments. There is a scene that showcases way too many examples of porn-worthy song hits, you get the concept after two, but they kept coming, more elaborate as they go on. Yet somehow, Farrelly knows how to push that boundary with elegance. Because as this sequence continues, you find yourself guessing what the next song could be, it almost becomes an interactive game with the script. What makes this work so well is beyond just what Farrelly brings to the film, it’s seeing song lyrics changed and costumes explored by none other than Cena. 

I don’t know what kind of water is being served at the WWE, but here is another perfect blend of action and comedy in one very muscular actor. The main difference between him and The Rock, in my opinion, is that Cena has more of an ability to expand his acting into a wider range of personality fullness (if you haven’t seen Blockers, please do). Don’t get me wrong, I will 1000% run out to any movie The Rock is in, but you know what you’re going to get. With Cena, that’s not always the case, and with Ricky Stanicky, I don’t know if the film works without him. Rod/Ricky is an embarrassing character who digs deep to find intelligence while still tripping on his two left feet. The sincerity and bumble avalanche from the frame, made his presence known. You can’t look away.

Even with the well-known recipe of the childish adulthood movies, there are still moments throughout Ricky Stanicky that surprised me. It’s hard not to have predictability follow the embarrassment of stupidity, but what is surprising is that there is a level of heart that wraps itself around it all. It may be the character’s devotion to acting the part of Ricky, but you do feel that Rod wants to truly bring Ricky to life, to have this fictional life and these three best friends. That desire not only means that he is devoted to the role, but also to the men who are hired him. Because of this, you have an edge-of-your-seat effect wondering what is going to happen. How will this unbelievably stupid yet clever story play out?

Of course, this story encompasses misrepresented truth and elaborate lies, but it also has hints of traumatic pasts that yearn to evolve. As Ricky/Rod embeds himself with this trio, the audience begins to know more about the friends and individuals. The revelations of their past do not excuse their stupidity, but they allow the audience to understand the reasons behind the deceit. It’s like in hero movies, the best villains have a goal that makes sense. Not that these boys are grand villains, they just may be the villains in their own story. It gives you context to the story as it unfolds, allowing you to feel for these man-boys and their clown. All this means, in the world of Ricky Stanicky, is that the story is well-rounded and not just a bathroom humor film for almost 2 hours.

None of these elements mean anything unless we look at them through the lens of our characters in their current situations, professionally and personally. Sometimes we need to take a step back from our life and see things from an outsider's perspective to understand our truth. That truth seeker is Ricky Stanicky, their recent longtime best friend to help them through it all. It’s at times unbearable having a person around who doesn’t understand social boundaries, but it’s that lack of boundaries that allows that person to see the heart beyond the situation. We all know life is hard and full of challenges, but Ricky Stanicky reminds us that it’s also precious and we are blessed to be participating in it. 

These three main elements (predictable surprises, past revelations, and appreciation of the present) combine to create a uniquely fun film in Ricky Stanicky. It’s Farrelly in top form, but also the escape we need when we might need it most. I knew I was in for a ride, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so much fun.

Ricky Stanicky is available to stream on Prime Video on Friday, March, 7th.

Written by Lisa M Mejia
Images provided by Amazon Studios