After a decade in limbo, Zac Efron and John Cena's buddy comedy 'Ricky Stanicky' hits streaming

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When director Peter Farrelly set out to make what became the genre-defining rom-com “There’s Something About Mary” more than 25 years ago with his brother, Bobby, he knew it might take some convincing for a studio to open the purse strings for a boundary-pushing comedy.

“People are scared to do comedy,” the Oscar winner recalled. “We were lucky because there hadn’t been a lot of R-rated comedies in quite a few years. Most of them were PG-13.”

And while its box office debut was rocky, it ultimately became the third highest-grossing film in the year it was released.

Now, Farrelly is banking on that same thirst for vulgarity and depraved humor for “Ricky Stanicky,” his latest buddy comedy starring Zac Efron and John Cena that hits Prime Video on Thursday.