Most directors, once they’ve tasted Oscars success, would try to double down on it. Peter Farrelly appears to be running in the opposite direction. The recipient of perhaps the least deserving Best Picture Oscar in the last two decades — he helmed the much-derided Green Book — Farrelly followed it up with the already forgotten war movie The Greatest Beer Run Ever. He has now reunited with that film’s star, Zac Efron, for an even more baffling waste of time, the raunchy comedy Ricky Stanicky, out now on Prime Video. Efron’s disinterest is palpable in virtually every frame of the film, about a trio of 30-something men who frequently lie to their spouses because they want to gamble and go to sports games. Why they feel the need to keep their escapades a secret is never exactly explained — it's not like they're committing crimes or cheating — but their go-to excuse certainly is. The buddies have invented an elusive fourth member of their group, a hippie globetrotter they’ve named Ricky Stanicky. And every time an opportunity to shirk their responsibilities presents itself, they use Ricky as an excuse. Also read - You People movie review: Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy’s odd-couple energy elevates Netflix’s star-studded comedy But when their wives begin to suspect something is off about Ricky — remember, they’ve never actually met him; they only follow a catfish account on Instagram — the three friends concoct a harebrained scheme. Dean — that’s Efron’s character — hires an out-of-work actor named Rod, gives him all the information that he could ever need about Ricky in the form of a ‘bible’, and opens the door for a whole mess of trouble. Played by John Cena in a performance that clearly belongs in a different movie altogether, Rod sinks his teeth into the role like he’s Leonardo DiCaprio preparing for The Revenant. He takes his method approach to such an extreme degree that soon, he's no longer Rod at all. He is Ricky Stanicky. The second half of the movie is devoted entirely to Ricky’s quick visit to meet Dean and the gang for a family get-together. He shows up in a cowboy hat, bragging about his humanitarian efforts in Africa and generally drawing a lot of attention to himself. Surprisingly, he’s a hit with everybody, from Dean’s wife to his boss, played by William H Macy. This sort of attention and appreciation is completely alien to the perennially overlooked Rod, who decides on the spur of the moment to ditch his real identity and start living like Ricky Stanicky full-time. But the longer he hangs around, the greater the chances of Dean and his friends’ lies being exposed. Ricky Stanicky is the sort of movie that Hollywood would make at least four times a year not too long ago — the kind of movie you’d buy a ticket to only when your first choice was sold out. But when even spillover audiences stopped showing up for films like this, they were moved — flat jokes and all — to streaming. The problem isn’t that the genre itself is outdated; it’s the manner in which Farrelly approaches this story that feels jarring. Fundamentally, there’s no way that anybody is going to root for Dean and his gang — they don’t deserve it. But it’s easy to get behind Rod, whose hapless buffoonery feels positively familiar and yet, a little pitiful. He’s like Alan from the Hangover movies, like Sydney Fife from I Love You, Man. But Ricky Stanicky, the movie, isn’t at par with Cena’s overcommitted performance. Unlike so many of his fellow former WWE performers, Cena can never be accused of phoning it in. He’s doing the absolute best that he can with the mediocre script, which, stunningly, has been written by six people. Remember, Hollywood is generally very stingy about writing credits, which means that the half-a-dozen men who've actually been credited is probably an underestimation. They can't, however, take any responsibility for Cena's performance; his successes are entirely his own. Although his co-stars' passivity certainly works in his favour. Read more - Old Dads movie review: Bill Burr’s unfunny Netflix ‘comedy’ is an ode to uncles around the world Efron has zero chemistry with Andrew Santino and Jermaine Fowler. They’re supposed to be playing childhood best friends, but more often than not, it looks like they’re just standing close to each other in an airport queue. It isn't entirely his fault, really. He's just saddled with a wet blanket of a character that hardly does justice to his own undeniable talents. A subplot about Dean’s wife’s career feels like such an afterthought that it’s borderline insulting. More insulting, in fact, than if Farrelly had simply embraced the vaguely misogynist undertones of his film instead of overcompensating for them. The general aura of laziness goes beyond just the performances. Most of Ricky Stanicky takes place inside nondescript suburban homes and offices, which isn’t a problem in itself. But far better filmmakers than Farrelly have struggled to elicit drama in closed spaces, especially when they're lit like the inside of a warehouse. These visual choices certainly rob the film of every chance that it might have had of being even slightly cinematic. They might as well have left the green screens in; it would’ve made no difference. Ricky Stanicky Director - Peter Farrelly Cast - John Cena, Zac Efron, Jermaine Fowler, Andrew Santino, William H Macy Rating - 2/5
