Little Brother follows Marcus Pinchel (Eric Andre) as he disrupts his older brother Rudd’s (John Cena) life after years of not seeing each other. The only problem is, it’s not his actual brother, it’s someone who signed up to a ‘Big Brother Little Brother’ scheme when they were both younger and has since forgotten he existed.

The film, available to watch on Netflix, tries its best to be a wacky, crude comedy throughout in the infamous stylings of Andre, but unfortunately, it doesn’t always nail every beat. There are some genuinely funny moments, but with every funny moment comes a cringeworthy comedy attempt that only lands depending on your sense of humour. I’m not someone who’s watched a lot of Eric Andre, but it does feel like a tamer version of his content style that I’ve seen over the years.

It’s a fairly obvious plot line throughout that could have easily been more moving by the end, but I found that the cringeworthy comedy moments that didn’t work necessarily for me really slowed down the film’s momentum. It felt like Director Matt Spicer was willing to give Andre more comedic freedom than perhaps was needed, and I would have been interested to see a version of this film with a bit more precision in its writing and comedy.

That being said, there are still a lot of positives for Little Brother. When we’re all older and reminiscing on our favourite comedy actors, I feel confident that there’ll be a name on everyone’s lips that you wouldn’t necessarily expect if you asked now: John Cena. He’s quietly putting together quite a lot of decent comedy performances as the straight man who slowly loses his mind, and even if the films aren’t necessarily the greatest, it’s always hilarious to see him give 110% either way. Personally, I can’t help but love John Cena doing John Cena things, and it will be interesting to see how his acting career evolves now that he’s retired from the WWE.

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I still think his performance in Daddy’s Home 2 is incredibly underrated. Outside of the leads, the ensemble cast also gives a lot of great performances, with Christopher Meloni and Michelle Monaghan doing their best with the script as Rudd’s actual brother, Josh and Rudd’s partner, Deirdre. Sherry Cola is also super under-utilised as Rudd’s assistant, Mia, who, for some reason, has spent years replying to Marcus’s emails without Rudd realising, in a plot line that only really touches the surface.

In the end, Little Brother has a lot of promise and could easily be a hit depending on your sense of humour. For me, it didn’t land as much as I hoped, but I still had a fun time watching. You’ll have a great time, as long as you watch it whilst doing other things in your Living Room, or if you watch it on a train and occasionally stop to look out the window. It’s not a film that you need to be one hundred per cent locked into, but it doesn’t try to be either.

Cena and Andre are clearly having a great time throughout, alongside the rest of the cast, and although you know where the plot is heading from the start, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel heartwarming by the time the credits roll. 

★★★

On Netflix from June 26th / John Cena, Eric Andre, Christopher Meloni, Michelle Monaghan / Director: Matt Spicer / Netflix

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