'Little Brother' Netflix Review: John Cena & Eric Andre Are A Match Made In Comedy Heaven

Little Brother feels like a throwback to brainrot comedies from 2000s and 2010s, like Step Brothers, Due Date, Bheja Fry, Due Date, and a bit of Mujhse Dosti Karoge (whose central premise is taken from, believe it or not, the 1897 Edmond Rostand play titled Cyrano de Bergerac). Directed by Matt Spicer and written by Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel, the movie starts with Marcus escaping from Renaissance Recovery to reunite with his “brother,” Rudd. As Marcus makes his way to New York, Rudd is busy getting prepared to star in the reality TV show, NYC Hustlers, in the hopes that it’s gonna put his real estate firm in the spotlight. These reality TV shows have semi-fictional narratives and the one that the producers have chosen is that of Rudd trying to get out of the shadow of his older brother, Josh. Since Rudd has spent his entire life doing so by getting buff, having a swanky job, and building a happy family (with Deirdre, Cory, and Shane), he doesn’t want to let this opportunity to highlight his firm be hijacked by Josh. And, yes, on top of that, Marcus barges into his life because Mia, Rudd’s assistant, has been exchanging emails with him, reciprocating Marcus’ wish to live with Rudd. Whether or not Rudd will sink or swim through this tumultuous waters is what forms the crux of the narrative.

As mentioned before, Little Brother is a premise that’s been done to death in the 2000s and the 2010s. But much like everything in Hollywood, that subgenre of comedy went out of vogue and was replaced by satires and that quippy humor peppered between CGI-heavy action sequences that was popularized by the MCU. Those things have their charm but satires don’t always work because most of the time the production companies involved in the making of those comedies are unironically the subject of the movies’ critique and “blockbuster” comedies are expensive to make. What the aforementioned subgenre provided was an imperfect but immersive blend of escapism that you could laugh at, forget about right after the credits rolled, rewatch it in a couple of months, and laugh again. It has the illusion of deep themes like brotherhood, hubris, trust, family, etc., but that’s only a canvas for the writers to paint with some of the bizarre situations and laugh-out-loud jokes. To be clear, you can totally treat the film as a serious commentary on the need for honest relationships that bring us out of our shell and make us look at all the things we’ve been taking for granted. Or you can put all that seriousness to the side and chuckle at John Cena and Michelle Monaghan having a butt-munching time to save their marriage.

Little Brother has a ton of slapstick humor. It’s essentially like a live-action cartoon movie. If anybody tried to do what Marcus did in the first 10 minutes of the film, I’m sure they would have died. But the way Spicer chucks realism out of the window is simply too impressive. There’s a peeing gag that goes on and on and, readers, I kid you not, it had me in splits. The montage of Marcus overshadowing Rudd is amazing. And then there’s the party, which is such a hoot. The best thing about Rudd’s drug-induced breakdown is that it looks so simple. What I mean is that a lot of modern comedies have a “we accidentally got too high” sequence but they are either too timid or so over-the-top that you know that most of the film’s budget went into that and that’s why the movie overall looks so bad. Meanwhile, Spicer and his team not only have clear visuals, a good sense of style, great stunts, solid sound design, and a “getting high” sequence that you can make in After Effects or even Canva for that matter. That last part is not a criticism though. I am saying that in a complimentary way because it’s gonna inspire so many budding filmmakers to experiment with the tools at their disposal instead of waiting for their big break so that they can access some expensive, sophisticated software. It’s like an extension of the movie’s message about embracing what you already have before reaching for the stars.

The biggest draw of Little Brother is the acting. I have not seen much of Eric Andre outside of The Eric Andre Show and Bad Trip. I know that Eric always plays himself no matter what role he is in. And I was afraid that this was gonna be no different. I was right but, oddly enough, he was perfect for this role. He channels the energy of comedy legends like Steve Carrell, Zach Galifianakis, John C. Reilly, Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, and Eddie Murphy while also being wholly original. The way he uses his body is truly exemplary. His dialogue delivery is fantastic. It’s a role made for Andre and he absolutely knocks it out of the park. That said, Andre might’ve been a drag to watch if his vibes weren’t balanced by the one and only John Cena. Cena’s uptight act is on point, and when he lets loose to make a joke out of himself, he shows no inhibition at all. It’s almost like a reverse Ricky Stanicky, which is a John Cena movie that you should definitely watch if you liked this movie. Michelle Monaghan is so good that I wish she had more scenes. Ego Nwodim, Sherry Cola, Caleb Hearon, Christopher Meloni, and the rest of the supporting cast, as well as the stunt doubles, are splendid too; a round of applause for everyone. I do think there’s some kind of a resurgence of the 2000-2010s era comedy happening with movies like Little Brother, Ricky Stanicky, Playdate, Pizza Movie, etc. It’s a shame that they are restricted to streaming platforms and not being screened theatrically, especially during a time when theaters are witnessing a massive boom. Well, maybe one day, when the sun sets on satires and “blockbuster” comedies, crude comedies will become the bread and butter of Hollywood once again.