Jennifer Gatero’s Netflix film, An Instant Dad, parachutes us into the bachelor life of Ricky (Blessing Lung’aho). He is a serial bachelor who gets stage fright even at the thought of sharing breakfast with his one-night stands. To avoid this, he had invented a “mom trick.” Whenever his last-night flings try to get close to him, he sends an SMS message to his best friend. Ricky’s friend would later call him, pretending to be his nosy mother and claiming she was on the way to his house. It’s a genius trick, and it saves Ricky’s neck every single time. Ricky is the kind of man who cringes at the mere mention of marriage. He wants to savor his bachelor life to the fullest, unlike his other friends, who got married before they even had the chance to make the most of it. Little did he know, Ricky’s fate had something else in store for him.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Is Amy, And How Is She Related To Ricky?
Ricky from An Instant Dad wasn’t someone who would ever get married in his right mind, let alone parent a child. Unfortunately, he had to when a girl knocked on his door. The girl was Amy, and she claimed to be Ricky and Patricia’s daughter. In reality, years ago, Ricky had had a girlfriend, Patricia. Something happened between them, and Ricky got cold feet and ran away. Now that Patricia was dead and Amy’s grandmother was too sick and frail, the responsibility fell on Ricky’s shoulders. Whenever Ricky ran into trouble, he sought the help of his sister and savior, Leah. She worked for child protective services and was possibly Ricky’s only solution to the Amy-problem. The serial bachelor had never been in this type of puddle, so it was obvious that Ricky had no idea how to deal with it. His first course of action was to feed Amy pizza and keep her occupied with Johnny Bravo and Donald Duck until Leah found him a solution. Ricky was hoping that Leah would find someone to take her in. Unfortunately, Amy was telling the truth. Her grandma was too sick to pay attention to her. Moreover, Amy didn’t even have any relatives who’d agree to take her in. Leah told Ricky to get a DNA test to prove Amy was his own blood and raise her himself. Ricky denied it and said he won’t be a good father to her.
How Do Ricky And Amy Connect?
Even though Ricky would never admit it, it was clear that his life was an empty, meaningless void. He was a womanizer who ran away at the first sight of responsibility. Ricky had done it before, and he was trying his very best to do it again. No matter how hard Leah tried, Ricky just wasn’t ready to accept that he could be a parent to Amy. But as time passed, Ricky began to connect with Amy. Rather than ordering the usual takeout, Ricky once tried cooking chapatis for her. The duo ended up making a huge blunder in the kitchen and had to order pizza anyway. Ricky took Amy to his hometown and told her all about his formative years: the games he used to play with his father and whatnot. Amy, too, did things that her mother never allowed her to do. This included watching cartoons while eating and savoring fast foods. Moreover, Amy even told Rick bedtime stories Patricia used to tell her. Most of the stories were about Richard, who left the love of his life to find something he needed and never came back. These stories reminded Ricky of himself and how he wronged Patricia. Maybe this was the reason why Ricky was trying to get rid of Amy. Maybe she reminded Ricky of his mistakes and the chances he missed to correct his errors. Moreover, Ricky always dodged the question whenever Amy asked him about his father.
What Breaks Amy’s Heart?
Leah found Amy’s aunt, who agreed to take her in. However, she had seven kids, so Amy might not get the best care. Amy found out about it the hard way. This broke her heart, but she agreed to go with her aunt. She even swore that she would never see Ricky again. She believed that everything that happened between them was a farce. Ricky never accepted her as a daughter, and all the while, he had been looking for ways to get rid of her. Even though this wasn’t Amy’s fault, she blamed herself for it. As per Amy, the reason Ricky wasn’t ready to become her guardian was because there was something wrong with her. Ricky, too, couldn’t help but wonder about what Leah said. What if, really, his life was an empty, meaningless void? Ricky was given another shot, but he ruined it. In an attempt to not fail Amy, Ricky did the exact opposite. He failed Amy, just like he failed Patricia, Ricky said to himself.
What Happened Between Ricky And Patricia?
This was the most pressing question throughout An Instant Dad: What really happened between Ricky and Patricia? It all dates back to the time when Ricky’s father was alive. Ricky and his father were close, and for him, the latter was a superhero without a cape. After his death, Ricky was heartbroken and spiraled into depression. He distanced himself from everyone and turned to alcohol to ease the numbness he was feeling. Ricky wanted to die, and when he couldn’t find the courage, he suppressed every emotion he had. At that time, Ricky and Patricia were dating and were in love. Unfortunately, Ricky’s love died, and he left town. Patricia waited for Ricky to return, but he never did. Now, Ricky was on the verge of doing the exact same thing to Amy. Ricky was going to abandon Amy right when she needed him the most.
Even if it was a tad late, Ricky finally understood what Leah was trying to tell him all along. Without Amy, his life would be empty, and he’d be an idiot if he let the chance slip through his fingers. So, what did Ricky do? As An Instant Dad neared its end, Ricky got in his car and raced to get his daughter back. After what Ricky did, it was hard for Amy to trust him. As expected, Amy refused to go back with him. Amy figured Ricky would abandon her the first chance he got. However, Amy gave Ricky a chance when he promised her he would love her with all his heart. Does his love cover regular visits to grandma’s house and playing the wheelbarrow game? Amy asked. So, what was Ricky’s answer? He obviously agreed.
It’s never too late to fix things. Fortunately, Ricky was smart enough to understand it. He spent his whole life dodging the truth that his life was aimless. Life gave him a chance to undo his screw-ups, but he blew it. Ricky’s mother and sister kept telling him he would be a good parent to Amy, but he wasn’t convinced. Fortunately, Ricky woke up to reality before it was too late. Amy was a ray of sunshine in his messed-up world, and he was just too freaked out to notice it. Now, he would do everything possible to make sure that Amy didn’t miss having her mom around.
