How many times have we made up lies or pushed our best friend under the bus to save ourselves from a tricky situation? It is almost like a golden rule of friendship that the friends have to have each other’s back no matter what. There are quite a lot of movies which show that essence of friendship. Some of Zac Efron’s movies have the friendship angle too. The latest one to join the ranks is Ricky Stanicky.
Ricky Stanicky is a comedy film about three men who lie about having a friend named Ricky Stanicky. As time goes by, they use Ricky Stanicky as their card to get out of anything they want. It began when they were children and accidentally set fire to Halloween decorations at a neighbour’s house. They wrote a made-up name on the jacket and thus emerged Ricky Stanicky.
Since that night, JT, Dean and Wes have used their “friend” Ricky Stanicky’s name to get out of any situation they don’t want to be in. In doing so, they have attended sports and music events, even gone on vacations. One time they took it too far, was on the day of TJ’s wife’s baby shower. To prove that Ricky Stanicky exists, they hire a lowly actor named Rod to play Stanicky. Their lie goes too far when the others around the trio are impressed and so is their boss. Soon, everyone finds out the truth.
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Ricky Stanicky Trailer
Ricky Stanicky is a comedy movie, no doubt about it. But there is a certain crass touch to it. Especially with Rod’s character and his gig as a pathetic singer who sings NSFW songs late at night in clubs. Then comes the utter lack of respect shown by TJ, Dean and Wes by skipping TJ’s own baby’s baby shower and leaving their wives to fend for themselves.
Now, before there is a dialogue that everyone has secrets and everybody lies, what is to be noted here is that TJ gave importance to a weekend away over the birth of his own son. He missed his son’s birth as his wife went into an early labour. to cover up where they all actually went and to fend of other questions, TJ, Dean and Wes came up with more lies.
My problem with movies like Ricky Stanicky is that in an attempt to poke fun at marriage and romantic relationships. Such movies always show a one sided approach to relationships, making the people look pathetic and pitiful. In most cases, it is always the boyfriend or the husband who is tired of his girlfriend or his wife and only wants to escape from her presence. But when she is around, he pretends to be the best partner she could have.
While such scenarios were funny a while ago, now they only seem outdated and unnecessary. If you want to escape your partner so much, do everyone a favour and leave the relationship. One need pretend or fake emotions to such an extent where you lie every time and experience a life on your own on the side, your partner blissfully unaware.
The tropes presented in Ricky Stanicky have been tried and tested a lot over the years, especially in early 2000s and late 2010s comedies. While the attempt at humour is well placed, one can’t help but leave with a bad taste in their mouth that the movie could have been better. Bodily humour sits well in a scene when done with a finesse, but with this movie, it feels that it was taken too far.
John Cena’s acting serves as redeeming factor in this experience because with only his character do we truly see any development happen. For the other characters, it is just pushed under the rug and we are made to assume that all is well with them. The movie runs its predictable course in 114 minutes, with some scenes feeling like an unnecessary addition.
While the trio is in the wrong, they are eventually forgiven for their lies. Dean ends up marrying his girlfriend, Wes gets published, TJ and his wife focus on their family and Rod aka Ricky becomes a part of the gang as well. But as the movie ends, one can’t help but feel they could have chosen something else to watch instead.
What are your thoughts on Ricky Stanicky? Let us know in the comments below.
