“When three childhood best friends pull a prank that goes 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.”

So that’s the pitch, and yes, it’s ridiculous, but Ricky Stanicky is a lot of fun. The film has a wonderful animated title sequence that harkins me back to the 1980s. This compliments a plot that is comparable to films like Don’t Tell Mum the Babysitters Dead and Weekend at Burnies. But Ricky Stanicky is funnier than both of these.

Ricky Stanicky is not a politically correct film. It’s not offensive, just daft, and that is what I really enjoyed about it. Some of the most ridiculous comedy comes directly from John Cena. He is utterly self-deprecating, and that is completely charming. Cena’s role as Rock Hard Rod is brilliant, insightful, and deranged.

Meanwhile, Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, and Jermaine Fowler are a natural pick for a group of childhood friends. They have great chemistry and play off each other excellently. And as great as they are, William H Macy is the real scene stealer in this film. He is just fantastic and well used.

Besides the laughs, I appreciated the fact that the Ricky lie was never used for the guys to go strip clubs, or other pervy locations, but instead it was just for them to spend time with each other.

This is not the funniest film of the year, but it is definitely worth a watch. It has a fun story and several heartwarming moments. What else can you want?