Plot Summary
Peter Farrelly’s new comedy tells the story of three childhood friends who invent a fictional character to get them out of trouble. This character is named Ricky Stanicky, somebody they take with them into adulthood to use as a means to escape from their adult responsibilities.
But when Ricky is invited to a family event by one of their wives, they enlist the services of an actor named Rod to take on the role of their imaginary friend.
Rod becomes Ricky but the lie can’t be maintained forever. As the movie nears its climax, the truth about Ricky is revealed. How so? We reveal all in our Ending Explained article.
Why do Dean and his friends invent Ricky Stanicky?
The movie begins in the past when Dean and his pals Wes and JT are kids. On Halloween night, they pull a prank on one of their neighbours. Unfortunately, the prank goes wrong and they inadvertently set a house on fire.
To remove themselves from blame, they write the name Ricky Stanicky on a jacket and leave it at the scene of the crime. When the police investigate, the boys blame the fire on Ricky.
From that day on, the character of Ricky Stanicky becomes their go-to friend whenever they need an excuse for their bad behaviour.
Who takes on the role of Ricky Stanicky?
In the present day, Dean and his friends (now adults) head to Atlantic City after lying to their partners about their friend Ricky and his cancer diagnosis.
While there, they meet a rock and roll impersonator going by the name of Rock Hard Rod who makes a living twisting words of well-known songs into songs about masturbation.
After the guys say goodbye to Rod and head home for the birth of JT’s child, they find themselves in a quandary when JT’s mother-in-law becomes suspicious about Ricky, their so-called friend.
Wes almost gives the game up by telling the truth but Dean steps in and awkwardly accepts the suggestion that Ricky should come to JT’s son’s bris (circumcision ceremony).
Ricky doesn’t exist, of course. But as Dean has Rod’s phone number, he gives the guy a call and hires him to act the part of Ricky Stanicky, his childhood friend and supposed humanitarian who works for a non-profit organisation.
Rod is quick to accept the part, mainly because some shady-looking guys are after him, so he’s desperate to get out of town.
Do the guys get away with their lie?
When Rod turns up at the airport, the guys are alarmed to discover he’s going cold turkey for his alcohol addiction. But despite looking worse for wear, Rod does a good job of fooling people into thinking he’s Ricky at the bris.
The day goes surprisingly well, with JT’s mother-in-law the only person suspecting Rod of being a fraud.
When Rod heads back to the airport, the guys think they have seen the back of him. But JT and Dean’s boss Ted, who was at the ceremony, hires Rod/Ricky for a job at Summerhayes, the financial company that he is in charge of.
Needless to say, the guys are unhappy about the situation as it means their lie might be uncovered. Dean is particularly distraught when his wife Erin tells him she has been hired by a news station to run a ‘hero of the week’ story on Ricky.
Does Erin learn the truth about Ricky?
It turns out that Erin knew Rod was a fraud at the bris. When Dean told her a story about Ricky’s mission to assist with an Ebola situation in Nairobi, she knew this was a lie due to there being no Ebola situation in the country.
Using her journastic talents, she found out about Ricky’s true identity but decided to go ahead with the ‘hero of the week’ story to get back at Dean.
How is Ricky’s true identity revealed?
At an event for Summerhayes, Dean decides to come clean about Ricky before the news story is aired. His boss sacks him as a consequence but when the story is given a screening at the event, everybody is surprised when Rod is still hailed as a hero by the news reporter.
Rod is hailed as a hero because he turned his life around to start afresh with a new identity. In the interview, he discusses his alcoholism and tells the reporter how Dean and his friends gave him the opportunity to be a better man.
This is good news for Dean, as he is treated as a hero by people at the event. He then shows his real heroic side when two heavies make their way towards Rod. These are the people that Rod previously escaped from.
Dean steps in to help Rod but is floored by one of the guys. Rod then discovers they aren’t there to collect money from him – as he previously suspected. Rather, they are there to serve him with a ‘cease and desist’ order to stop using Billy Idol’s songs in his act.
The movie ends happily with Rod able to live a new life as Ricky Stanicky after legally getting his name changed. The guys are able to turn over a new leaf too as they are seen doing charity work at the climax of the movie. This sudden change in their character is a result of their experiences with Ricky and how their initial ruse became something that taught them how to be better people.
Read More: Ricky Stanicky Movie Review