The Ricky Stanicky Trailer Puts Zac Efron And John Cena In A Raunchy Throwback Comedy

Peter Farrelly made his name in Hollywood by directing raunchy comedies such as "Dumb and Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary" alongside his brother, Bobby Farrelly. Since going solo, however, Peter Farrelly has been making more serious fare such as the Oscar-winning "Green Book." But now, he's back with an R-rated comedy in the form of "Ricky Stanicky." With an A-list cast and a ridiculous premise, it looks like a throwback in every conceivable way. Check out the trailer above for yourself.

Here, Farrelly is re-teaming with Zac Efron, who worked with him on "The Greatest Beer Run Ever." While Efron is coming off of the most serious performance of his career in "The Iron Claw," this sees him going back to his comedic roots, having previously starred in films like "Neighbors" and "Dirty Grandpa." Meanwhile, John Cena is getting to flex his comedic chops as well as the titular character. Frankly, Cena excels in this area and if there's any reason to think this sort of comedy can work in 2024, it's because he's part of the proceedings. The official synopsis for the film reads as follows:

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 behavior. When their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire 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.

There was a time when the Farrelly brothers were dominating Hollywood with juvenile humor that was somehow also brilliant at the same time. "Kingpin" is the perfect example of what they once did very well. But after 2014's "Dumb and Dumber To," Peter Farrelly split off to tackle more dramatic fare, which served him well as "Green Book" ultimately won Best Picture (say what you will about the actual film). But the comedy itch came calling once again and this looks very much like him trying to do what he used to do so well.

Amazon seems to think it's a great idea as it bought the global rights to the film last year. It will be released on Prime Video in March. Aside from Efron and Cena, the cast also includes Jermaine Fowler ("The Blackening"), Andrew Santino ("Dave"), Lex Scott Davis ("The First Purge"), Anja Savcic ("Loudermilk"), Jeff Ross ("The Wedding Ringer"), and William H. Macy ("Fargo"). Jeff Bushell, Brian Jarvis, James Lee Freeman, Peter Farrelly, Pete Jones, and Mike Cerrone all contributed to the screenplay.

"Ricky Stanicky" premieres on Prime Video on March 7, 2024.