Ricky (2009)

60% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
35% of users liked it
(859 ratings)

Gallic director François Ozon's idiosyncratic Ricky represents an attempt to weld together two polar-opposite and seemingly incompatible genres: kitchen-sink realistic drama and high-concept Spielbergian fantasy. Loosely inspired by a Rose Tremain short story, the tale opens on a council estate just… More Gallic director François Ozon's idiosyncratic Ricky represents an attempt to weld together two polar-opposite and seemingly incompatible genres: kitchen-sink realistic drama and high-concept Spielbergian fantasy. Loosely inspired by a Rose Tremain short story, the tale opens on a council estate just east of Paris (in the Seine-et-Marne), where single mom Katie (Alexandra Lamy) ekes out a low-key and fairly miserable existence. She earns her keep as a factory worker while glumly attempting to raise her seven-year-old daughter, Lisa (Mélusine Mayance), on the side. Circumstances shift dramatically when Katie falls into an affair with a Spanish colleague, Paco (Sergi López), but no one can guess just how dramatically. Together they conceive a son whom they name Ricky, who has a physiological quirk that makes him a freak of nature, draws a considerable amount of attention from the press, and creates all kinds of impracticalities for the parents. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: François Ozon
Written By: François Ozon
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 16, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Apr 12, 2011
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
The story begins in gritty realism, ends in pure fantasy and leaves out most of the alphabet as it makes its way from A to Z.
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice
What Ricky lacks is a more thorough, consistent examination of maternal bonds.
Boyd van Hoeij, Variety
Because Ozon doesn't develop his characters once Ricky shows his true nature, the movie's slightly overcooked working-class realism quickly morphs into a grotesque story of a mutant baby. The film's two halves feel almost mutually exclusive.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Acaba encontrando uma inesperada estratégia narrativa para mover seus personagens.
Enrique Buchichio, Uruguay Total
Puede tratarse de una fábula sobre el amor materno, sobre lo milagroso de la experiencia humana a pesar de las dificultades cotidianas, o simplemente de un cuento fantástico sobre un bebé al que le crecen alas y empieza a volar, ni más ni menos.
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
It's not a total success in delivering heartfelt movie satisfaction, but Ozon makes the film with absolute confidence
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
While there may be some sensational elements about this tale from François Ozon, it is essentially an engrossing love story with a twist
Norm Schrager, Filmcritic.com
a symbol-filled observation on, well, just about everything.
Armond White, New York Press
In Ozon's distinctively eccentric style, Ricky applies modern skepticism to the prospect of parthenogenesis (based on an American short story by Rose Tremain), then deepens the concept.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
Refreshingly unpredictable, imaginative, funny and provocative, but it eventually becomes a bit uneven, awkward and lacks emotional resonance.
Marcy Dermansky, About.com
Ozon's Ricky contains moments of real grit, but also contains a dose of otherworldly magic that only movies can provide.
Sam Adams, AV Club
Ricky, the first of two Ozon films to debut this year, marks a return to his busy-bee ways, not least because it feels like two disparate movies joined at the hip.
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York
It would be risible if Ozon's hand didn't remain so steady and confident throughout, all the way up to a complicatedly upbeat conclusion that recreates the Christian Annunciation with the straightest of faces.
Bill Weber, Slant Magazine
Ricky's quicksilver changes of mood and genre make for an engaging puzzle, but its last notes of transcendence seem insufficiently earned.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
The first half is wholly successful, the second one is flawed... and the movement from one part to the other is handled with all the grace of a dachshund on wet ice.
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses
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Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Randy T

This could have easily turned into something cute and frivolous but Ozon has a way of turning a story inside out. Instead, <i>Ricky</i> is an angelic metaphor, an uplifting tragedy about coming to terms with devastating loss. An odd but lovable film.
Greg S

A single mom factory worker gives birth to a very special baby; of course, every mother thinks her baby is miraculous, but in this case the press thinks so, too. Magical realism that never really gets off the ground; it starts as a dour domestic drama then tries to shift gears and… More
A single mom factory worker gives birth to a very special baby; of course, every mother thinks her baby is miraculous, but in this case the press thinks so, too. Magical realism that never really gets off the ground; it starts as a dour domestic drama then tries to shift gears and turn into a whimsical comedy. A good idea with a good heart, and beautifully acted, but unexpectedly dull in the execution.
Walter M

"Ricky" starts with Katie(Alexandra Lamy), a single mother, in tearful anguish, wanting to give up one of her children to foster care because he cries too much. Oh, if only that's all it was... There was a time when it was just Katie and her 7-year old daughter… More
"Ricky" starts with Katie(Alexandra Lamy), a single mother, in tearful anguish, wanting to give up one of her children to foster care because he cries too much. Oh, if only that's all it was... There was a time when it was just Katie and her 7-year old daughter Lisa(Melusine Mayance). At the factory where she works, Katie meets Paco(Sergi Lopez), a handsome new worker from Spain, and before you know it, they have a lunchtime quickie. Things between them turn more romantic after that, with Paco moving into Katie's small apartment with thin walls and they end up having a baby together. While a deliriously loopy movie on the one hand with a particularly ambiguous ending, "Ricky" also serves a warning to beware of conceiving children around dangerous chemicals.(You see this kind of thing happening in comic books all of the time. Or would you prefer the spiritual approach?) Surprisingly what writer-director Francois Ozon gets right is the dynamic of a working class family, not hestitating to tell the story from Lisa's point of view on occasion as her close relationship with her mother is complicated by the entrance of a stranger into their close knit lives. This is followed by the relationship between Katie and Paco being thrown into turmoil by a new baby who receives the lion's share of attention due to the inordinate amount of his crying. On the other hand, there is one key moment when Katie does not behave like any mother I know in an act contrived only to move the plot forwards.