Summary

Call out your partner’s B.S. in “Ricky Stanicky” – a comical scapegoat story with a star-studded cast.
Lex Scott Davis shines as Erin, a journalist who questions the existence of the titular character.
Davis shares a great rapport with Zac Efron and hopes to explore action genres post-comedy.

If it seems like your life partner is feeding you a bunch of B.S., sometimes there’s nothing wrong with calling them on it. There’s a new slapstick comedy on Prime Video with a purposefully silly title. Ricky Stanicky derives from a ludicrous name that three lifelong friends gave an imaginary person who they can use as a scapegoat for years to come. For example: “It wasn’t us who set that house on fire… it was Ricky!” Once enough people start explicitly doubting the dude’s existence, enter John Cena as a bumbling Vegas performer who the guys hire to literally play the part.

The movie is helmed by iconic filmmaker Peter Farrelly and co-stars several high-profile actors, such as Zac Efron, William H. Macy plus real-life comics Jermaine Fowler and Andrew Santino. But perhaps the most likable of the bunch is Lex Scott Davis, who was just announced as the star of the new Suits: L.A. spinoff series. Davis plays Erin in Ricky Stanicky, a journalist and the wife of Efron’s not-so-likable character Dean. Erin is one of the many, many characters in Ricky Stanicky who doubts the titular character’s existence — and rightfully so. We recently caught up with Davis to learn more about how she prepped for the journalist role and her unexpected love for action movies.

Working With Efron: ‘We Hit It Off’

Davis shares most of her scenes with Efron, so we were curious what it was like co-starring with another seasoned Hollywood professional. “Oh, my goodness, we had a great time. From the moment we met, we hit it off,” Davis told MovieWeb. “He was very welcoming to me and very encouraging. He definitely helped me feel seen and heard, and any ideas I had or wanted to try, he was willing to make sure that they’d be heard.”

Another big name attached to Ricky Stanicky is the man behind the lens: Peter Farrelly, a.k.a. one-half of the comedic brotherly duo responsible for crowd-pleasing comedies such as Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, and Kingpin. “Peter, our director, was also fantastic,” said Davis. “I’ve worked with him before, and so I trust him a lot in terms of guiding me and definitely making sure the humor was there, and that those things landed the way they should.”

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Based on her experience on Stanicky, would she welcome the opportunity to team up with Farrelly again? “I hope so,” she said. “I’m in the family now.”

As mentioned earlier, Davis’ Stanicky character Erin is a tough, hardworking journalist who is already searching for the next big headline when we first see her. “It was listening to a lot of journalists, women, and how they speak in that tone when reporting,” said Davis in discussing how she went about preparing for the role. “It’s very specific, and not everyone can do it. And I was very nervous about it, whether I could do it or not. But I did study that a bit and make sure I could nail it. Hopefully, I did.”

5:14 Related Exclusive: Comedians Jermaine Fowler and Andrew Santino on Bringing the Laughs in Ricky Stanicky The real-life standup comics spoke to MovieWeb about the perks of working alongside Zac Efron and getting paid “in hugs” (but not really).

Love for John Wick — and Rustin

Looking ahead, we were curious if there might be another film genre Davis would like to explore beyond comedy. “Action. I want to do stunts,” she told us. “I’ve been saying this forever: I want to get into more stunt training and that type of genre… The John Wick universe — I’ll put that out there, somewhere in the orbit of John Wick.”

Davis continued:

“I am also a producer, so there are things that I’m working on on that side of things that I’m extremely excited about. But this has been my focus for some time now. And this is our baby. I’m so excited that it’s finally coming out because we were affected a little bit by the strike. We were pushed out a little bit. So I’m just so pleased that it’s coming out… and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Related Ricky Stanicky Review: The Wondrous John Cena Can’t Quite Save Peter Farrelly’s Uneven Comedy Oscar winner Peter Farrelly follows up Green Book with a pair of Zac Efron projects, the latest feeling all too silly and fails to utilize the actor.

With the Oscars finally arriving, Davis was vocal about a certain Netflix project that she’s been rooting for. “Rustin… I’m such a fan of Colman Domingo,” she said. “I haven’t worked with him, but we have a lot of mutual friends. And he’s a friend of my husband. And so I’ve loved everything he’s touched, and he’s very inspiring. And I feel like I learn something new every time I watch him on screen. So it’s fantastic.”

It’s also worthy of note that Davis possesses showbiz talents beyond acting. “I was a dance major before I decided to switch to becoming an actor,” she said. “I’m a late bloomer on the acting side of things but always been a performer.”

On that note, it’d be a thrill to see Davis tackle a project where she can utilize both acting and dancing. In the meantime, Ricky Stanicky is now streaming globally on Prime Video.