Ricky Stanicky Movie Review

Does Ricky Stanicky deliver enough laughter to make it worth seeing an imaginary friend come to life?

Ricky Stanicky March 7th on Amazon Prime Video

The Farrelly Brothers have established an incredible legacy when it comes to comedies, they’re responsible for Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, and Shallow Hal. You can’t forget that Peter Farrelly went on to win an Oscar for Green Book. After he conquered the world of drama and winning an Oscar he decided to go back to the world of comedy. Peter Farrelly’s latest comedy is a story about an imaginary friend brought to life by the incredible comedic acting of John Cena.

John Cena plays Rod

Ricky Stanicky is the name of an imaginary character invented by three longtime friends, as someone to blame for their misbehavior over the past two decades. When their partners become suspicious and demand to meet Stanicky, they decide to hire a washed-up actor to bring the character to life. The friends that made up Ricky are Dean (Zac Efron), JT (Andrew Santino), and Wes (Jermaine Fowler) and their chemistry as best friends works…for the most part. John Cena plays Rock Hard Rod, a down on his luck actor/performer, and once again Cena shows his comedic versatility by playing a dude disguised as another dude. Zac Efron plays the straight man in this raunchy comedy and the characters are balanced pretty well. My only complaint with this friend group is that Andrew Santino’s character is a little too harsh and abrasive, it seems like he went for a Rob Corddry character (imagine Rob’s character from from Hot Tub Time Machine) and went a little too far. His personality and opinion is important to keeping the story moving, but his approach to the character was a little extra. The rest of the supporting cast William H. Macy, Jeff Ross, Anja Savcic, and Lex Scott Davis are on their game and bring good energy to each of their characters.

Ricky Stanicky does a good job of creating a ton of funny moments and it’s clear to see that John Cena put a lot of energy into Rock Hard Rod, his musical numbers give me life and I need to see all of the performances that they filmed and didn’t use in the movie. If you’re a fan of John Cena’s work in the Peacemaker series you will love his portrayal of Rock Hard Rod in Ricky Stanicky. This R rated comedy can be a little abrasive at times but Peter Farrelly does include some heart and a meaningful message in all of his raunchy comedies. So don’t write this off as another throw away “Bro” comedy. This movie does have heart and is worth the watch for John Cena’s performance.

I view Ricky Stanicky as the next phase of R Rated Bro comedies. This movie might now be for everyone, but I hope we get more stories like this, with more heart, and more John Cena. He carries this movie with his energy and commitment to Rock Hard Rod. It’s my hope that the soundtrack is Rock Hard Rod performances. Ricky Stanicky will be available on Amazon Prime Video on March 7th.

Check out my YouTube Review for a deeper dive: https://youtu.be/pPV-dTcdbD4