10 Funniest Scenes In Ricky Stanicky, Ranked

Warning: This list contains spoilers for Ricky Stanicky.

The wacky sitcom-inspired movie Ricky Stanicky includes many funny scenes, primarily due to the comedic talents of its lead actors. Zac Efron’s post-Disney Channel career is still going strong, with him starring alongside John Cena in this movie. In Ricky Stanicky, Dean (Efron) and his best friends JT (Andrew Santino) and Wes (Jermaine Fowler) have always relied upon their invented friend Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble — until the day their respective partners want to meet the man. This leads them to hire a washed-up actor (Cena) to play Ricky, with disastrous results.

In addition to the main trio and their alleged best friend, Ricky Stanicky’s cast includes more characters such as friends, family, and co-workers whose inquiries make the lie even more difficult to conceal. Dean and his friends find themselves in various goofy scenarios, but they repeatedly commit themselves to the ill-advised deception. While Ricky Stanicky is not a masterpiece of shocking twists and turns, it is a fun comedy to watch on the weekend.

10
The Partners Say Ricky Should Come To The Bris

The moment in Ricky Stanicky where the main dilemma takes shape.

After JT’s wife Susan (Anja Savcic) goes into labor, interrupting a supposed weekend away supporting Ricky through surgery, the guys are stumped to come up with an explanation. While JT awkwardly holds his son, the lie unravels as their alibi starts to contradict itself, and Susan, Erin (Lex Scott Davis), and Keith (Daniel Monks) point out the holes in the story. The audience can probably guess where this is going, but it is still amusing to see them frantically try to cover it up, before cutting to their more directly funny conversation in the parking lot.

9
Ricky Arrives At The Bris

The trio greeting Ricky Stanicky is over-the-top.

Dean and JT are in the middle of being interrogated by JT’s mother-in-law Leona (Heather Mitchell) about Ricky when the man of the hour arrives at the bris, and the guys proceed to make a huge show out of greeting their mysterious friend. The scene is over-the-top, bordering on cringe-worthy, which works in the context of the story. It sets up the increasingly out-of-control sequence of events that take place next, even if it is not the instance of the movie’s smartest humor.

8
Ricky’s Impressions When Dean, JT, & Wes Meet Him

Ricky Stanicky has a wild introduction that establishes his character.

When the guys meet Rod Rimestead, who will become Ricky Stanicky, he is immediately the most attention-worthy character in the movie. They are put off by him, but he persists in his mission to annoy “Barry the bartender” (Bob Farrelly), get free calamari, and advertise his acting talents, the last of which leads to his admittedly impressive Owen Wilson impression. The scene is awkwardly funny and sets up the dynamic between Ricky and Dean, JT, and Wes. Wes is already bonding more with Ricky than the others and has some of his own comedic comments.

7
Ricky Inspires Wes To Write A New Book

Ricky Stanicky is funny but oddly inspirational.

Wes occupies a unique position in the Ricky Stanicky lie since he believes they should just tell the truth. When Dean and JT shut this down, Wes casually accepts that Ricky will be around for a while and has some entertaining but genuine moments with him. This odd friendship starts to take shape when Wes shares a book he has been working on and Ricky bluntly tells him it is terrible, but encourages him to keep working on writing, using a wild story as an allegory. The scene upholds Ricky’s outlandish characterization but is important to the plot, and comes back around for Ricky Stanicky’s ending.

6
Rabbi Greenberg Catches The Peanut

At JT’s son’s bris, the Ricky Stanicky plan spins out of control.

When Ricky believes that he has previously met a family friend at the bris, the guys come up with the terrible plan to drug Gary (Jackson Tozer) and send him home in a cab. However, the plan backfires when Rabbi Greenberg (Jeff Ross) randomly appears to catch the “peanut” tossed in the air and swallows it himself. The abrupt change in the guys’ attitude from enjoying their plan — because Gary is generally unlikable — to being completely horrified is the scene’s main point of humor. Dean should have stuck to his original assertion that they were not going to drug Gary.

5
Ricky Pitches His Investing Idea To Dean & JT’s Boss

While also a predictable moment, all of Ricky Stanicky’s career breakthroughs are funny.

When Dean and JT throw Ricky under the bus and insist he explains the new investing idea to their boss Ted (William H. Macy), in the hopes that it will get Ricky fired, the audience can, again, probably predict that it is strangely going to go Ricky’s way. Sure enough, the scene is filled with one “unexpected” moment after the next of Ted taking Ricky’s side. The movie’s humor starts to pick up when Ricky is hired, and this scene in particular manages to still be funny despite being predictable.

4
Ricky Hires West & Shows Dean & JT The Video

Wes is having fun, Ricky is doing his job, and Dean and JT panic.

The next phase of Wes’ blasé attitude about Ricky begins when Ricky hires Wes as his assistant, prompting the humorous contrast where Dean and JT continue to freak out while Wes doesn’t care at all. In this instance, Wes is also backing Ricky up when he says he needs to show Dean and JT a video of Ted, where they realize that Ted has a habit of making suggestive hand gestures while talking. It is just another day at the office where everything bizarrely works out for Ricky, annoying the guys even further.

3
Dean & JT Call Wes After Ricky Is Hired

Dean and JT stick to their plan and take it out on a random passerby.

The movie’s high point comprises the sequence of scenes when Ricky becomes a part of Dean and JT’s company. Once again, Wes drives the comedy by being upbeat about the whole thing. Wes’ optimism is a fun constant throughout the movie but also serves a purpose when he later prompts the revelation that makes Ricky Stanicky a different movie than the audience expected. However, Wes is still funny in the phone call scene, which also benefits from the random but hilarious beat of the man who gave the guys the concert tickets that led to them meeting Ricky passing by.

2
Dean & JT Find Out Ricky Was Hired

Everything goes wrong when Ricky Stanicky shows up at work.

The work day after the bris, it seems like everything is back to normal, and Dean and JT are sucking up to their boss at work. That is until the dramatic moment when everything goes wrong because they are not yet free of Ricky, which the viewer definitely knows is the case. However, the moment where Ted drops the awful news is perfectly executed, transitioning from a friendly if awkward conversation to Dean’s deadpan shock, and then his and JT’s frantic attempt to change Ted’s mind.

1
Ricky Arrives At Work (& Talks To Dean & JT In His Office)

Ricky Stanicky establishes what kind of employee he is going to be.

On the tail of Dean and JT’s awful revelation, Ricky stylishly walks into work in a scene that suits his character and foreshadows the mayhem he will cause. He is then completely clueless when Dean and JT are angry at him for accepting the job and for reducing their job to being “bookies.” The scene has a lot of funny moments of Dean and JT struggling to keep up and Ricky just acting happy to be there. This contrast between characters having the best and worst days of their lives is what makes Ricky Stanicky a comedy.