Ricky Stanicky

Ricky Stanicky

He's the best friend they never had.

Rating

2.7 (3)

Release Date

3/7/2024

Runtime

112 mins

Genres

Overview

When three childhood best friends pull a prank gone wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, the trio still uses the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior. But when their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire a washed-up actor and raunchy celebrity impersonator to bring him to life.

Status

Released

Original Language

English

Budget

-

Revenue

-

Homepage

Visit
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How It Feels

Read from this film's synopsis, keywords and credits, and used to work out what it sits beside.

A raucous farce about three grown men desperately maintaining a decades-old lie, powered by physical comedy and the escalating chaos of pretending their imaginary friend is real. It's gleefully ridiculous and unabashedly committed to the bit.

Mood

PlayfulAbsurdJoyful

Themes

FriendshipIdentityRedemption

Tone

Comedic

Pacing

Brisk

Look

Stylized genre

Structure

Linear

Reviews

stormaciousd

This came out 15 years too late, but being in the wrong decade allowed it to star John Cena so I guess it all worked out in the end. It has enough laugh out loud moments to warrant a watch, but there are some gags that should have been edited out. The ending is a bit lackluster, and Zac Efron doesn't get any of the good comedic material.

brett

<I>Ricky Stanicky</i> is a dumb, yet funny film (at times). The concept of creating a fake person to place all of your blame and worries on isn't a bad idea, but, just remember, the walls can close in at anytime.

Directed by Peter Farrelly, half of the Farrelly Brothers, who has directed such classics as <I><A HREF="https://letterboxd.com/film/dumb-and-dumber/">Dumb and Dumber</I></A> and <I><A HREF="https://letterboxd.com/film/stuck-on-you/">Stuck On You</i></A>, you may be expecting the duo's formula to pass over into one Farrelly's film, but that's not the case here. It's a unique story, and John Cena has the ability to show off his funny chops, but it felt like Zac Effron and the other two stars were just last-minute additions who lacked any on-screen chemistry and poorly delivered their lines.

<B>Final thoughts</b>:
Go in with an open mind and laugh a little. We can all use a few laughs.

<B>Storytime</b>:

20 years ago, I worked part-time in the evenings at a major retail chain. Since I worked with the same men and women at each shift, we had a lot of fun and would laugh the entire time. Whenever we received a call with a customer complaining and asking to speak with a manager, we would redirect them to "Svetlana Yorgeson", our "retail manager". We decided that "Svetlana" was a woman in her mid-to-late 40s, divorced, sounded like she was from Fargo, ND, loved cats, and had two high school-aged children. On the phone (voiced by one of the women I worked with), she was attentive, but also took no shit from customers. Let's just say that "Svetlana" was our voice, saying what we wish we were really able to say to people. Long story short, that was our Ricky Stanicky.

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