Best Comedy Movies Of 2024 So Far

There was a time not too long ago when a film like “Ricky Stanicky,” with A-listers like Zac Efron and John Cena leading its cast, would be a go-to studio comedy for a theatrical run. However, it’s only seen a low-key release on Prime Video, despite coming from the directorial mind of Peter Farrelly, who with his brother directed some of the most iconic comedies of the 2000s, including “Dumb and Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary,” and “Me, Myself, and Irene.”

“Ricky Stanicky,” compared to those other comedies, lives and dies by Cena’s performance at the center of it. The film follows a group of childhood best friends who have grown accustomed to blaming their mischief on their titular imaginary friend, but when it comes time to pay the piper, they end up hiring Cena’s Rod, an actor and parody songwriter, to play the role, which ends up having disastrous consequences for all involved. Variety went so far as to call Cena “the movie’s MVP” in their online review.

For fans of Cena’s comedic performances in films like “Trainwreck” or “Blockers,” “Ricky Stanicky” might be the actor’s best work yet. As AP News wrote, “Cena really and truly commits and brings a kind of unexpected depth and pathos to Rock Hard Rod,” though they had little good to say about the rest of the film. Nevertheless, it’s a decent watch for a late-night movie marathon, especially for those who miss raunchy 2000s comedies.