When three childhood best friends pull a prank that goes wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, they still use the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior.

Just weeks before the deadline for his latest commission, a composer has lost the creative spark that brought him international acclaim. At the urging of his ever-patient wife he searches for inspiration on the Brooklyn waterfront and finds it in a thrill-seeking tugboat captain who soon has Steven questioning everything in his life.