'Ricky Stanicky' Review: An Adult Comedy Ride for the Ages
Amazon does it again with yet another comedic ride in ‘Ricky Stanicky’ - A movie filled with endless laughter, ribald jokes and an excellent supporting cast.
‘Ricky Stanicky’ revolves around three friends (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino and Jermaine Fowler) who have been using a fictional scapegoat named Ricky Stanicky to take the blame for their wild and outrageous antics over the years. However, when their wives insist on meeting Ricky Stanicky, the friends find themselves in a comedic dilemma as they struggle to conjure up a real person to fit the role they've created, until they ultimately choose Rock Hard Rod (John Cena) to play the role for their fictional character. The film would explore themes of friendship, deception, and the absurd lengths people go to cover up their mistakes.
When it comes to adult comedy films, Zac Efron is no stranger, appearing in films like Neighbors, Neighbors 2, Dirty Grandpa and That Awkward Moment, he easily understood the assignment and excels in his role as Dean. Playing one of the Jewish husband’s who’s part of the trio that makes up the lie of Ricky Stanicky in order to get away from his responsibilities and to enjoy life ever since childhood. Andrew Santino should be the MVP for his role as JT, being the hilarious real life stand-up comedian that he is, playing the other jewish husband in the trio who’s been friends with Dean since childhood and joins him throughout the years of lies regarding Ricky Stanicky. Finally, you have Jermaine Fowler, a stand-up comedian best known for his work in The Blackening. He brings an extra dose of comedy, brains, and just a bit of therapy to the table to make this trio seem unpredictable and perfect at the same time. The trio’s relationship can be described as similar to the film Good Boys (2019). Being how comfortable they act and speak towards each other. They’re hilarious, serious and dramatic all in the right moments of the movie.
John Cena could not pick a different movie for this kind of role as he arguably outshines everyone in this movie as he plays a character named Rock Hard rod who does impressions of musical artists in forms of self-pleasure… Between his physic, brains and acting, there is no way he leaves a scene without you laughing. With acting experience in films like Daddy’s Home 2, Argylle, Vacation Friends 2 and Freelance, the former WWE Superstar keeps getting better and more comfortable in these adult comedies as he continues his career in acting.
With the way the movie begins, it keeps you hooked and constantly wondering what’s gonna happen next. All up to the final scene. Every scene is unpredictable, ridiculous and keeps you engaged in every moment. There are maybe one or two scenes that can be deleted or reshot to make the movie better and not always a laughing fest but the shocking moments make up for them. The pace is great as the movie explains how the name Ricky Stanicky was born, it provides an example of a lie that the trio uses to introduce the story, the sequences of events that lead up to John Cena ultimately becoming the chosen actor, it eventually goes up and downhill from there and it’s up to Dean to clean up the mess that the trio has been keeping from their loved ones for years.
With adult comedy movies like Anyone But You, The Underdoggs, We’re The Millers, The Hangover and SO much more, Ricky Stanicky MUST be on the list of Top Adult Comedies due to its theme, humor and story, and just like the movies mentioned, Ricky Stanicky teaches you redemption, comebacks and growth. The cast gets along beautifully, lessons are probably learned and the beans are (maybe?) cleaned up…
With so many amazing and fun movies now up on Amazon Prime, in categories like Action in Bullet Train, Romance in Red, White and Royal Blue, Drama in Citadel and Comedy in Anyone But You, Ricky Stanicky has definitely earned its top spot on the streaming channel and should be considered one of the best on Prime Video in 2024.