Boys, gather your bros this weekend for a movie night with ‘
Ricky Stanicky
‘. The comedy features all the hilarious set-pieces, lovable characters, zany sight gags, and heartfelt emotions brought to screens with an ensemble cast featuring
Zac Efron
,
John Cena
,
Jermaine Fowler
and
Andrew Santino
.
Ahead of the film’s release, ETimes sat down for a chat with leading men and comedians Jermaine and Andrew and got them to spill some behind-the-scenes secrets, camaraderie, mischief, bromance and glimpse of the ‘forever bond’ they forged on the sets. Excerpts:
Andrew, you and Jermaine are the comedians in the cast, but what was it like playing these relatively sane characters?
Andrew: Well, first and foremost, everyone’s pretty funny in the film. I would say if you’re calling us comedians in the film, you have to put everybody else in that group as well. Everyone kills it comedically in the film.
Jermaine, for a change, your character is grounded and the voice of reason among the men, what is it like playing him on-screen?
Jermaine: That is so sweet of you. Thank you. I got to be honest, this is probably the most subdued I’ve ever felt on film. So I think to your credit, yeah, it felt in a lot of ways pretty refreshing. It was new ground for me in a lot of ways. So yeah, it was definitely new.
Andrew: Yeah, we were in a panic the whole time. So it was fun. It was a chaotic scramble to conceal our secret and promote our imaginary friend.
Ricky Stanicky is like one of those feel-good, old comedies with R-rated jokes and a ton of bromance. How did you four break the ice and bond on set?
Andrew: The hot tub! First night, we all jumped in the hot tub together and we didn’t preface it by saying we would wear clothes. But Cena got in naked, which was so strange.
Jermaine: That breaks ice!
Andrew: Yeah, but he definitely broke the ice and that really bonded us. Forever! We signed a contract…
Jermaine: So we can’t really explain too much about it. But no, seriously, it was easy. The first scene we shot together was all four of us in a casino. I’ve been a fan of Andrew for a minute now, so I was actually excited to meet him. Zac and Cenra as well. So honestly, it felt like work a lot of the time. It was pretty seamless, honestly.
We’ve seen John Cena in this action-hero and here he’s at his comedic best. William Macy’s comedic timing is impeccable. How do you guys keep a straight face through it all?
Andrew: Well, we didn’t have to for some of it. We could just have fun with them at some of the points where, you know, laughing within the scenes and goofing around. But Bill Macy is effortless, man! He’s so good. He would only do one take. He said, ‘You get it in one, and that’s it’.
Jermaine: And he would go home immediately. He would leave. And he would have more scenes to do, too.
Andrew: Yeah, we would just have to talk to a tennis ball that he put on a c-stand. It was wild. But, he’s the best. And they’re all very good at it. Those guys are incredible. And they’re both so good at comedy or drama or whatever you put in front of them because they’re just good actors.
Why is Ricky Stanicky the perfect watch with your boy gang?
Jermaine: The movie is about friendship, number one. It’s about being true to yourself and being true to others. It also delves deep into why people lie, which I think is very, very interesting, especially for a comedy. I think people are going to find things and take away things from the film that they didn’t even know. They didn’t even think about going into the film. So, go ahead and discover that for yourself.
‘Ricky Stanicky’ premieres on Amazon Prime on March 7. So, grab your popcorn and get ready for a laughter-filled ride with this
Peter Farrelly
comedy that tells the tale of friendship, fumbles and mischievous antics.