John Cena and Zac Efron Pull Off an Epic Lie in ‘Ricky Stanicky’ Trailer

The Big Picture

• Amazon and MGM Studios have released the first trailer for Ricky Stanicky, a new comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly.
• The film revolves around three friends who created a fictional person named Ricky Stanicky to avoid taking responsibility for a prank, but things go awry when they hire an actor to play him.
• Ricky Stanicky will be released on Prime Video on March 7.

Amazon and MGM Studios have just dropped the first trailer for Ricky Stanicky, the new R-rated romp from the legendary comedy director Peter Farrelly, the Oscar-winning producer of 2018’s Best Picture, Green Book, but, more relevantly, the director of comedy classics like Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary. The film is led by an A-list cast including the likes of John Cena, Zac Efron, Jermaine Fowler, Andrew Santino, and William H. Macy, revolving around a childhood prank that went too far.

Back in their younger days, three buddies Dean, JT, and Wes (played by Efron, Santino, and Fowler) pulled off a prank and, in a panic, invented an individual to take the fall named Ricky Stanicky to dodge the fallout. Fast forward twenty years, and these guys are still using good ol’ Ricky as their go-to excuse whenever they goof up. Just one problem – their partners are getting pretty curious about this mysterious Ricky and want to meet him, having heard so much about him. In a tight spot, the group has two options: tell the truth… or do something far more stupid.

So, what do they do? They hire “Rock Hard” Rod (Cena), an actor who’s seen better days and is known for his wild impersonations, to play Ricky. But things start going sideways when Rod gets a bit too into being Ricky, and the guys start thinking maybe inventing him wasn’t such a great idea after all. The film has a truly unusual history, considering it’s a comedy film. It was first mooted 14 years ago when Peyton Reed was set as director for James Franco to lead. Three years later, Jim Carrey was attached to the project, but then all went quiet for a decade until it was finally confirmed to be going ahead with the current cast.

Why Was John Cena Cast as ‘Ricky Stanicky’?

Speaking to Deadline in 2022, Farrelly revealed his reasons for casting Cena as the lead character. For anyone who’s followed Cena’s career, it will come as no surprise to see how utterly magnetic and charismatic he is on screen, which was clear to the director. Farrelly explained:

“Cena is Ricky Stanicky, and if you’ve seen him in Peacemaker, you see what he can do in a comedy. He’s hysterical in a show that really pushes it. I never knew much about John Cena until I saw that, and I was like, ‘There’s Stanicky right there.’ That guy, I love him. His timing is impeccable, and it’s surprising for a guy his size. He’s comes across like a little guy. His sense of humor is more self-deprecating than big guys usually have. I learned this is a guy in the Guinness Book of Records for Make-a-Wish Foundation grants. He’s done like 500 of them, and that’s what he does like every weekend. He’s a sweet guy, big hearted, and that’s what this Stanicky has to be. He’s got to be this guy who’s a fraud, but you can’t not love him, and it becomes a problem for our guys as he starts surpassing them in many ways.”

Ricky Stanicky will be released on Prime Video on March 7. Check out the trailer below.