Michelle Monaghan announced on Instagram that Netflix’s upcoming comedy “Little Brother” is coming June 26. Her caption was short and enthusiastic: “Are you ready for a raucous good time June 26.” She tagged her co-stars and director Matt Spicer, and that was the whole announcement.
The cast is worth stopping for. John Cena, Eric Andre, and Christopher Meloni are all in this one alongside Monaghan. That’s a genuinely unexpected lineup.
Spicer made “Ingrid Goes West” in 2017, a dark comedy starring Aubrey Plaza that got a lot of love on the festival circuit. It was dark and genuinely funny. “Little Brother” sounds more crowd-friendly, but Spicer in the director’s chair is still a solid reason to pay attention.
Cena has been building a nice comedy resume for a few years now. “Blockers” in 2018 was a broad studio comedy, and Cena was the best part of it. He had real comic timing there. “Peacemaker” on HBO Max pushed things further. He played a lovable, oblivious antihero for a full series and made it work without getting old. At this point, casting Cena in a comedy is just a smart call. Netflix seems to agree.
Andre is a different kind of funny. He’s best known for “The Eric Andre Show” on Adult Swim. It’s been running for years and is still one of the weirder things on television. Basically organized chaos. Putting him in a Netflix movie with Cena sounds like something that probably shouldn’t work. That’s exactly why it’s interesting.
Meloni rounds things out. Most people know him from his long run as Detective Elliot Stabler on “Law & Order: SVU.” But “Happy!” on Syfy introduced a completely different version of him. That show followed a burned-out hitman who could see an imaginary flying unicorn, and Meloni committed to every bit of it. It was strange and fun in equal measure. He’s got real comedic range, and “Little Brother” looks like a film that might actually put it to use.
Monaghan has had a long and varied career. The “Mission: Impossible” films put her on the map early, and her work in the first season of HBO’s “True Detective” is still one of that show’s best performances. An ensemble comedy is a bit of a change from all that. A welcome one.
The announcement photo was taken by Clifton Prescod.
Netflix hasn’t put out a trailer yet. With the premiere six weeks away, one should be coming soon.
“Little Brother” arrives on Netflix on June 26. A summer release seems right for this kind of movie. Between the cast and Spicer’s track record, it has a good shot at being one of the more entertaining Netflix comedies of the year.
