What happens when a decades-old white lie starts snowballing out of control? Well, Zac Efron, Jermaine Fowler, Andrew Santino, and John Cena are all about to find out in Peter Farrelly’s new comedy film, Ricky Stanicky, which shared its first trailer today.
Set to premiere on Prime Video on March 7th, Ricky Stanicky tells the story of three longtime friends (Efron, Fowler, and Santino) who have invented an imaginary character, named “Ricky Stanicky,” to strategically blame their misbehavior on. When their latest Stanicky antic doesn’t go as planned, though, their families begin to question what’s really going on. Hoping to quell any suspicions, the three come up with a solution: hire an actor to pretend to be Stanicky.
Landing on washed-up, X-rated, rock ‘n’ roll impersonator, Rock Hard Rod (Cena), as their Stanicky, the three’s plan seems to work at first. But as the uber-charismatic — albeit, brazen — Rock Hard Rod gets a new job, new friends, and a new outlook on life, he starts feeling like he’ll be Ricky Stanicky from here on out, much to the dismay of the three friends who hired him.
With numerous funny one-liners — like when Rock Hard Rod thanks his lackluster nightclub audience for coming out, informing them that he’s “so horny to be here” — the trailer packs a comedic punch, and Efron and Cena both seem to be in high form. The cast is filled out by Lex Scott Davis, Anja Savcic, Jeff Ross, and William H. Macy.
The screenplay was written by Jeff Bushell, Brian Jarvis, James Lee Freeman, Pete Jones, Mike Cerrone, and Farrelly, and an early iteration of the title even earned a spot on the Black List for best un-produced screenplays back in 2010. Farrelly was first reported to be directing in 2022, and the cast was announced over the course of 2023. It follows the release of The Greatest Beer Run Ever in 2022.
Watch the trailer for the film below.
Ricky Stanicky will arrive on March 7th, and will be available to stream on Prime Video. New subscribers can get a free trial by signing up here.
