Little Brother Review: John Cena and Eric André Can't Save This Uneven Netflix Comedy

I made the mistake of going into this movie completely blind. I didn't look up the premise beforehand, and honestly, I probably should have.

The film follows Rudd (John Cena), a struggling realtor who's trying to build a name for himself while living in the shadow of his much more successful older brother Josh, played by Christopher Meloni. When Rudd gets a call saying his brother has been involved in an accident, he rushes to the hospital only to discover they're not talking about Josh at all. Instead, it's Marcus Pinchel (Eric André), a former "Little Brother"  from a high school mentorship program. Marcus has escaped from a mental institution because he believes Rudd needs his help, setting the entire story into motion.

This is very much a raunchy comedy, but unfortunately, it just wasn't that funny to me. And that's coming from someone who genuinely likes several people in this cast. I'm a fan of Eric André, John Cena, Ego Nwodim, and Christopher Meloni, so I was expecting a lot more laughs than I got.

There are definitely a few moments that work. Some jokes land, and every now and then the cast shows flashes of the chemistry you'd expect from performers this talented. But those moments are few and far between. Most of the comedy relies heavily on crude and over-the-top humor that never really evolves into anything memorable.

Going in, I actually thought this was going to be a story about stepbrothers or some kind of long-lost sibling relationship. The reveal that they're connected through a Big Brother/Little Brother program is actually a pretty interesting idea. It gives some insight into why Rudd latched onto Marcus in the first place, especially since his relationship with his actual brother is so dysfunctional. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t do anything with that concept and instead settles for a series of random comedic situations that don't add up to much.

What really hurt the movie for me was the lack of believable chemistry between the characters. No matter how talented the cast is individually, I never bought into the relationships enough to care about what was happening. Combine that with a weak script and a plot that feels all over the place, and the movie ends up falling flat.

I usually have a pretty good time with Netflix comedies, even the ones that critics don't love, but this one was a miss for me. While there are a handful of laughs scattered throughout, they aren't enough to save the overall experience.

I can't recommend this film, but I always say it's best to form your own opinion. Just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean you won't find something to enjoy.