So after going solo and directing the acclaimed Best Picture winner, Green Book, Peter Farrelly seems to be slowly reverting back to goofy comedy form. Following the underwhelming Greatest Beer Run Ever, Farrelly reunites with star Zac Efron for Ricky Stanicky, a wild story about friendship, imagination, and when a lie grows beyond your control.
Efron stars alongside John Cena, Jermaine Fowler, Andrew Santino, Lex Scott Davis, and William H. Macy in the story of three childhood friends who invent the imaginary character, Ricky Stanicky, to blame for all of their misdeeds over the years. John Cena looks to be having way too much fun in the role of “Rock Hard” Rod, an actor hired to play Stanicky when the friends’ partners start to become suspicious.
Farrelly directs from a script he helped co-write with Jeff Bushnell and others. Bushnell has been attached to the project for quite a while. It first began life in 2010 with James Franco attached, followed a few years later by Joaquin Phoenix who eyed it for a while, followed by Jim Carrey.
After Farrelly, Efron, and Cena came on board, Amazon swooped in to acquire the rights. Ricky Stanicky will hit Prime Video exclusively on March 7th, and is Rated-R. They really want you to know that.
Here’s the synopsis: When three childhood best friends pull a prank gone wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble! Twenty years after creating this ‘friend,’ Dean, JT, and Wes (Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, and Jermaine Fowler) still use the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior. When their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire washed-up actor and raunchy celebrity impersonator “Rock Hard” Rod (John Cena) to bring him to life. But when Rod takes his role of a lifetime too far, they begin to wish they’d never invented Ricky in the first place.