Summary
John Cena delivers such a committed performance as the titular character that it’s hard not to find the movie charming.
As a filmmaker, Peter Farrelly first rose to fame with R-rated titles like There’s Something About Mary and Shallow Hal before going on to win an Academy Award with the excellent drama Green Book. After more than a decade in development hell, the director’s straight-to-Prime Video feature, Ricky Stanicky, is a return to his raunchy late-90s roots. The movie stars John Cena as an actor playing the titular character, an imaginary scapegoat.
Once upon a time, three young boys named Dean, Wes, and JT accidentally set fire to a neighbor’s house during a Halloween prank gone wrong. To avoid getting into trouble with the law, the kids came up with the name Ricky Stanicky and pinned the blame on the imaginary friend. For decades after that fateful night, the trio used this best friend they never had to get out of all sorts of troubles.
The three remained best friends well into adulthood, and their commitment to this fake bestie took on a life of its own, as did the “legend” of Ricky Stanicky. Dean is in a happy and childfree relationship with reporter Erin, JT is married to a pregnant Susan, and Wes is an unemployed artist living with his partner, Keith.
On the day of Susan’s boring baby shower, our heroes invoke Ricky Stanicky’s name by pretending he’s having a medical emergency, only to fly into Atlantic City for a Marc Rebillet concert. While there, they come across Rod, a washed-out actor, a raging alcoholic, and a self-love aficionado.
Trouble brews when Susan goes into early labor that same night, which leads to JT missing his son’s birth, causing unprecedented suspicion about the trio’s Stanicky-flavoured lies. Left with no choice, the three hire Rod to play the elusive Ricky Stanicky at the upcoming bris celebration (baby’s circumcision ceremony, and yes, the movie throws in as many inappropriate jokes about it as it can fit on the screen).
It’s hard to say if the type of raunchy comedy, like the infamous There’s Something About Mary that made Peter Farrelly famous in the 90s, is making a comeback. The genre can be a hard sell for our 21st-century sensibilities, but with Ricky Stanicky, it seems Farelly is trying his utmost best to return to his filmmaking roots. Throughout the runtime, we get an unimaginable foray of disgusting humor written for the express purpose of shocking the viewer:
- Kids smeared in excrement? Check.
- Famous songs parodied as “jizz jams,” where Cena’s character is singing his little heart out about masturbatory practices? Yes.
- Circumcising a baby with a cigar cutter? Of course!
- Dogs boning? Absolutely!
And that’s without mentioning the many nonsensical plot holes and plot points introduced only to be dropped at the drop of the hat.
John Cena makes Ricky Stanicky worth watching
Where the plot makes no sense, Cena is completely believable as a washed-out alcoholic who jumps at the opportunity to turn his life around. He is a lot of fun to watch on screen and can almost make you forget how little sense the rest of the narrative makes.
Ricky Stanicky is the type of bromance movie about grown men living in a permanent state of adolescence I had no expectations of. But John Cena’s outstanding performance, combined with some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments peppered in, make this silly title more entertaining than it deserves to be.
What did you think of Ricky Stanicky? Comment below.
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