Ricky Stanicky

Three childhood friends invent an imaginary companion, Ricky Stanicky, to take the blame for a prank that goes wrong. The lie works so well that they keep using it for years, blaming Ricky for their absences and irresponsible behaviour whenever they need an excuse. As adults, with their partners growing suspicious, the three men are pressured into arranging a meeting with the friend their families have heard about for decades but never met. Unable to admit the truth, they hire Rod, a struggling actor and celebrity impersonator, to pose as Ricky and keep the deception alive, though his performance soon creates problems of its own. The comedy stars Zac Efron, Andrew Santino and Jermaine Fowler as the friends, with John Cena as the man hired to become Ricky.

Peter Farrelly directed and co-wrote the film with Mike Cerrone and Pete Jones, and also produced it. It is the sixteenth of the eighteen features he has directed, following The Greatest Beer Run Ever and preceding I Play Rocky. The production brought together Australian, British and American companies, including Amazon MGM Studios, with a budget of 50 million dollars. Among the large credited cast and crew, Lex Scott Davis and Anja Savcic appear as the partners applying the pressure.

The film received a mixed response. Critics gave it 5.2 out of 10 across 86 reviews, while audiences have rated it somewhat higher, at 6.2 out of 10 on IMDb from around 61,000 votes and 6.5 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 842 votes.