Movie Review: Ricky Stanicky

Ricky Stanicky-a Prime Video vehicle that for better or worse feels like a modernized riff on the kind of R-rated comedy that would've made $40 million in theaters in 2006 before becoming a cult hit once the unrated DVD came out-is the funniest movie a Farrelly Brother has helmed in about 25 years and it's all thanks to John Cena. Peter Farrelly must've saw how bright Cena shined in his bit parts in Trainwreck and Sisters and handed him a role that was perfect for his particular set of comedic skills in the form of "Rock-Hard" Rod-an alcoholic actor headlining a sleazy revue show in Atlantic City where he sings sex-themed parodies of popular 80's rock songs who gets hired to play the titular character by three lifelong friends (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, Jermaine Fowler) who invented Stanicky as a way to get out of trouble when they were teenagers and have used him as a get out of jail free card ever since. Cena approaches the part with the perfect mix of unflinching seriousness and go-for-broke silliness as the character is both fiercely committed to nailing the role of Stanicky while also being a true loose cannon with zero social awareness whose crass antics threaten to blow the facade at any moment. It's a finely tuned comedic performance that knows when it to play it straight and when to really lean into the stupidity of a bit, which is probably why the usual string of lowbrow Farrelly gross-out gags that occupy this film has a considerably higher hit rate than any other film they've made post-Me, Myself and Irene. 

Once you move past Cena's performance, Ricky Stanicky doesn't have a ton to offer. The attempt at delivering a heartwarming ending after delivering 90 or so straight minutes of dumb comedy doesn't really land while the other leads outside of Fowler struggle to generate much in the way of meaningful laughs despite having a fairy solid rapport. Normally, these types of deficiencies would make me think less of a movie, but Cena is so good that I had no problem sweeping them under the rug. It's exceptionally rare that a non-dramatic film ends up working due to a single performance and as a long-time believer in Cena's acting ability, it was awesome to see take his biggest comedic role to date and absolutely knock it out of the park.                      

Grade: B