LITTLE BROTHER
Starring: John Cena, Eric André, Michelle Monaghan, Christopher Meloni, Sherry Cola, Ego Nwodim, Caleb Hearon, Bryce Gheisar, Pilot Bunch, and Ben Ahlers
Director: Matt Spicer
QUENTIN
Little Brother is the most laughless comedy I’ve seen in ages. The “unwanted houseguest” premise certainly isn’t new, but it’s such a relatable template that a few funny set pieces can make it broadly enjoyable. This movie doesn’t have those, instead opting for woefully unfunny jokes and poor casting. John Cena has demonstrated strong comedic chops and a willingness to get weird with them, so why make him the straight man? Eric André is at least nominally a comedian, but he can’t act. In fact, everything he does here feels like a leftover sketch idea from The Eric André Show. Direct-to-Netflix movies are rarely this bad.
NICK
Little Brother is a throwback comedy — complete with post-credit gag reel — but it isn't a good one. Unlike John Cena's previous team-up films (Jackpot!, Ricky Stanicky, Vacation Friends, I could go on…), he’s poorly used here as director Matt Spicer extinguishes his charm and lovable aloofness for a mean-spirited and unfunny character. When you pair that with whatever Eric André is doing, the poorly written script, and familiarity of it all, maybe it’s time Cena takes a break from this pattern of straight-to-streaming comedies. That said, they’ve never been quite this bad.
ROBERT
I saw Little Brother prior to it dropping on Netflix: it was called You, Me, and Dupree, and it worked great as a concept in the 2000s. I think this was an attempt to recapture the magic of that type of comedy, something John Cena was able to do with Blockers, but as a streamer in 2026, it didn’t hit those highs. I liked the chemistry of Cena and Eric André on occasion — and more Christopher Meloni in comedies, please and thank you — but it didn’t sustain its funniness, which it needed to do.
ADRIANO
Little Brother is exactly the type of safe comedy that would drop directly on Netflix. The narrative beats are the ones you think are going to happen the second you read the concept. But the biggest crime, beyond not being very funny, is that it’s a little too soft, and it's extra noticeable when you have famous crazy man Eric André (outside of a few bits) playing it straight. If anything, the film's strength is its heart, which worked for the most part, and John Cena flexing his comedy muscles again. But it's a forgettable comedy above everything else.
BODE
I didn’t expect Ingrid Goes West director Matt Spicer’s long-awaited return to feature films coming in the form of the Farrelly Brothers-esque Netflix comedy Little Brother, but sometimes comebacks arrive in unexpected packages. Perhaps more unexpected is how often I found myself rather enjoying it. You can see its beats coming a mile away, and I could’ve gone without its turn towards the sentimental late in the game. But when it comes to its R-rated shenanigans, it’s funny when it counts, and everyone involved is game enough to make it work. It’s certainly no classic, but it’s at least a decent distraction.
