The Farrelly name on the credits tells you what to expect of this tale of overgrown boys acting up – a combination of boorish swagger and manly, moist-eyed sentimentality. It also suggests the promise of broad, bawdy comedy. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of a game John Cena in the title role, the laughs are a little thin on the ground.
Cena plays a struggling alcoholic actor recruited to play the role of Ricky Stanicky – the invented buddy of Dean (Zac Efron) and his two best mates. Ricky was created to take the blame for a childhood prank; now he’s a convenient social get-out-of-jail-free card for the adult friends. But when the wives and partners demand to meet the elusive fourth wheel, Ricky takes on a disruptive life of his own.