Laura McKenna’s Movie Review: Ricky Stanicky

First, let me start by saying Comedy movies are not my thing.   One of my favorite former co-hosts even coined the phrase that I was “The NFL”- The No Fun Laura.    While that has always made me laugh (because I am fun, dang it), it’s true when it comes to my taste in movies, TV shows, and books.  

I just don’t normally like comedies. I like thrillers, court room dramas, detective mysteries, and horror.   To me, those are fun.   But that’s also why there was always more than one section at the video store.   I’d bypass the comedies and head straight for the good stuff.

So imagine my surprise when just the other night I was about to select a horror movie to lull me into a good slumber and I actually pressed play on Ricky Stanicky.  On purpose!

It was not just because of the cast but because I thought- you know, I could go for something “light” tonight.  Don’t worry, I probably won’t do that again for a long while but….. surprisingly….

It wasn’t bad.

And coming from me, that’s saying a lot because again- I don’t like comedies.

I think the plot was just goofy enough yet believable.  I even found myself laughing out loud at quite a few parts.

But if you’re like me, once you stumble upon a character that you know you’ve seen in something else- the movie will have to come to a screeching halt.    I can’t concentrate on what’s happening because my brain just keeps trying to figure out where I’ve seen this person before.   

In this particular case, it was the pregnant wife:  Susan.    

I knew I had seen her in something before.  But what was it?    So I did what I always do.   I paused the movie and went to IMDB.com.   Sure enough, I had seen her before.    Her real name is Anja Savcic and she had played Scarlet in a murderous weekly series called Big Sky.   (I wasn’t kidding when I said I usually just watch those kinds of things).  

While I was there on the site, I found out that the Ricky Stanicky movie was actually first announced in 2010 with Ricky’s character to be played by James Franco.  Then later recast with Joaquin Phoenix and years later with Jim Carrey and even Nicholas Cage.   Eventually the entire film was dropped until it finally was made thanks in part to Zac Efron.  It was then that Ricky was cast with John Cena.   I think this actually worked out perfectly. He was great in that character.   Funny and just quirky enough.

Keep in mind, this is coming from the girl who doesn’t like comedies.   So if I liked it, I think you will, too.