Ricky Stanicky movie review: John Cena & Zac Efron starrer buddy comedy is feel good & heartwarming

Cast: Zac Efron, John Cena, Jermaine Fowler, Andrew Santino, Lex Scott Davis, and William H. Macy

Director: Peter Farrelly

Well, during our childhood days, we used to have a friend, who would take the blame or rather we blame him or her for our misbehaviour. The plot of Ricky Stanicky revolves around three childhood friends Dean (Zac Efron), JT (Andrew Santino) & Wes (Jermaine Fowler), who create a cover named Ricky Stanicky to get away from cops after a prank goes wrong. They continue to use this imaginary friend for over two decades as a cover calling Ricky Stanicky “the best friend they never had.”

However, soon the partners of the three primary characters doubt them and demand to meet Ricky Stanicky. Dean hires a struggling hopeless actor, Rod (John Cena) to play Ricky and hands over to him the character's bible which he, JT and Wes wrote about their imaginary friend including his traits and qualities apart from all the adventures and incidents of their life.

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Rod impresses everyone as Ricky including Dean and JT's boss, who hires him in his company. But now, the friends don't want Rod aka Ricky around as it can expose them. And after that, we witness a series of comic punches and twists, which don't only make you feel good but also bring back some nostalgic memories of your close friends.

Peter Farrelly, the co-director of Green Book & Dumb and Dumber franchise comes without his partner-in-crime Bobby Farrelly to deliver this buddy comedy, which hits the right notes and keeps the movie throughout entertaining with the highlight being the situational comedy. However, none of the characters are memorable.

Talking about the performances, Zac and Cena are charming and bring out their electrifying personality on the screen, which makes them charismatic yet relatable. Jermaine as Wes is good but honestly needed more screen time.

On the whole, Ricky Stanicky is an entertaining watch, which will remind you of your close childhood friends.

Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)

Ricky Stanicky is streaming on Prime Video