Ricky Stanicky | Zac Efron and John Cena team up for risquee Prime Video comedy, but what’s it about?

Having stunned audiences with his tender portrayal in the ultra-machismo world of professional wrestling with “The Iron Claw” earlier this year, former “High School Musical” great Zac Efron once again returns to the world of wrestling - teaming up with former WWE Champion John Cena for “Ricky Stanicky,” the new risque comedy from Peter Farrelly. 

Farrelly of course is no stranger to the gross-out/risky comedy genre, having established his filmmaking career alongside brother Bobby with hits such as “Dumb and Dumber” in 1994, “There’s Something About Mary” in 1998 before co-writing and directing “Green Book” in 2018. The latter film, which starred Viggo Mortensen and Mahashala Ali, earned the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 2019 ceremony.

But it’s a return to the humour that helped make his name, teaming up once again with Zac Efron after the pair collaborated on the AppleTV+ film, “The Greatest Beer Run Ever” in 2022, and the first time Farelly will be working with Cena - despite the former WWE superstars having shown his knack for humour and the ability to make fun of himself as demonstrated in “Blockers” and his scene-stealing performances in “Trainwreck” with Amy Schumer back in 2015.

So who will John Cena and Zac Efron be portraying in the new Prime Video film, given Cena’s tendency to do films at times that are “child friendly,” is the tale of an imaginary friend one you can watch with your little ones this weekend?

What is “Ricky Stanicky” about?

“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 behaviour.” 

“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 "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.”

Who stars in “Ricky Stanicky”?

Prime Video released the cast list for “Ricky Stanicky” earlier this year, with Zac Efron and John Cena joined by Jermaine Fowler (“Coming 2 America,” “Sorry To Bother You”) and Academy Award nominee William H. Macy (“Fargo,” “Shameless”). 

• Zac Efron as Dean
• John Cena as Rod / Ricky Stanicky
• Jermaine Fowler as Wes
• Andrew Santino as JT
• Lex Scott Davis
• William H. Macy as Ted Summerhayes
• Anja Savcic

How long does “Ricky Stanicky” run for?

“Ricky Stanicky” has a run time, according to Amazon MGM Studios, of 104 minutes, or 1 hour 44 minutes in Lehman’s terms. 

Is “Ricky Stanicky” child-friendly if John Cena is in it?

Sadly not for those young John Cena fans - the British Board of Film Classification has rated “Ricky Stanicky” as a 15 for “strong sex references, language [and] drug misuse.” In their summary for the 15 rating, the BBFC write: “Rude humour includes people vomiting, and a bag of excrement exploding. Some scenes depict teenagers misusing fireworks and playing with matches, but these incidents do not glamourise dangerous behaviour.” 

“Comic, yet discriminatory, references are made about homosexuality, but the film as a whole clearly does not endorse these views. Brief moderate violence occurs, and discreet verbal references are made to domestic abuse.”

When is “Ricky Stanicky” released on Prime Video?

“Ricky Stanicky” arrives on Prime Video on March 7 2024 (subscription required)