book review a man called otto

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

A Man Called Otto review – formulaic but ​charming grumpy old man ​movie

Tom Hanks’s cranky widower may tread well-worn ground​, but the neighbourly kindness that saves him is life-affirming

A Hollywood remake of the glumly life-affirming 2015 Swedish box-office hit A Man Called Ove , which was itself based on a bestselling novel, A Man Called Otto taps into a seemingly unquenchable audience appetite for stories of cantankerous grumps redeemed by the healing embrace of community. The picture stars an uncharacteristically abrasive Tom Hanks as Otto, a short-fused widower who crankily micromanages everything in his street, and also his own multiple suicide attempts. The arrival of new neighbours – heavily pregnant Marisol (Mariana Treviño), her useless husband and their kids – interrupts Otto’s plans to rejoin his recently departed wife.

If there’s one thing even more attractive than the sweet embrace of death, it’s the opportunity to demonstrate the correct way of doing stuff. Everything from parallel parking to dishwasher maintenance falls under Otto’s self-appointed remit. It’s formulaic stuff that makes heavy weather of its flashbacks (Hanks’s son Truman struggles as the younger Otto). But just as Otto is worn down by the warmth and generosity of Marisol, so all but the most dogged of sceptics will be charmed by the message of the redemptive power of small acts of kindness and plastic containers full of tamales.

• Drama films
• The Observer

Comments (…)

Most viewed.

• ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

• Book to Screen

What Critics Are Saying About ‘A Man Called Otto’

BY Michael Schaub • Dec. 29, 2022

Reviews are pouring in for A Man Called Otto , the new film based on Fredrik Backman’s bestselling novel A Man Called Ove .

Ove’s book, published in the U.S. by Atria in 2014, follows a grumpy widower whose life is changed by a young couple that moves next door. It was adapted into a Swedish movie in 2015; the new adaptation stars Tom Hanks and Mariana Treviño, and was directed by Marc Forster.

Robert Abele of The Wrap also wasn’t impressed with the film. “Forster’s haphazard direction is so checked-out it’s painful,” the critic wrote . “[H]is comedy mise-en-scène and timing in even the simplest moments of humor is flat.”

Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times liked the movie, though, writing , “The film has an easygoing, please-like-me quality that somehow never comes off as desperate but instead gives it a reassuring quality, like a mug of warm tea.…The tender message of hopefulness and spiritual renewal is a welcome tonic as the year comes to a close.”

And at the Hollywood Reporter , critic Frank Scheck wrote , “[D]irector Forster thankfully applies a fairly restrained, subtle approach. The result is a film to which you ultimately find yourself succumbing even though you never stop being aware that your heartstrings are being shamelessly pulled.”

A Man Called Otto opened in a limited release on Friday; it will be released nationwide on Jan. 13, 2023.

Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.

• Seen & Heard Children’s Book by Jessica Biel Coming This Spring

• Awards Longlist for 2024 Carol Shields Prize Is Revealed

• Seen & Heard Book on Elon Musk and Twitter in the Works

• Perspectives 4 Picture Books To Celebrate the Muslim Holidays

Our Take On This Week's Bestsellers

Our Verdict

More Book to Screen

Featured Interviews

• podcast Episode 362: Tricia Romano

• podcast Episode 361: Breanna J. McDaniel

• podcast Episode 360: Guest Host Nita Prose

• podcast Episode 359: Amy Lea

• podcast Episode 358: Shayla Lawson

The Magazine: Kirkus Reviews

Featuring 345 industry-first reviews of fiction, nonfiction, children’s and YA books; also in this issue: interviews with Tommy Orange, Steve Coll, G. Neri, and Traci Chee; and more

The Kirkus Star

One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.

The Kirkus Prize

The Kirkus Prize is among the richest literary awards in America, awarding $50,000 in three categories annually.

Great Books & News Curated For You

Be the first to read books news and see reviews, news and features in Kirkus Reviews . Get awesome content delivered to your inbox every week.

• Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
• News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
• Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
• Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
• Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
• More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
• About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

• Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Contact us: 1-800-316-9361 or email [email protected].

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

Advertisement

Supported by

‘A Man Called Otto’ Review: Tom Hanks Learns Life Lessons

Going against nice-guy type (at first), the star plays a misanthrope who’s pulled into caring for a neighboring family in need.

• Share full article

By Glenn Kenny

In 2016, reviewing the film “A Man Called Ove” for this newspaper, I mused: “Sweden’s official entry for a best foreign-language film at the Academy Awards proves that Swedish pictures can be just as sentimental and conventionally heartwarming as Hollywood ones.”

That movie, based on a best-selling Swedish novel, is about a thoroughgoing grump who becomes suicidal after the death of his wife, until interactions with new neighbors soften his heart. One supposes an American remake was inevitable, and here it is, directed by Marc Forster and starring Tom Hanks, with the main character renamed Otto.

Usually U.S. remakes of foreign films tend to homogenize the source material. But “A Man Called Otto” is not only more bloated than the Swedish film, it’s more outré, in a way that’s hard to pin down.

Forster handles the flashback of the back story (in which the star’s son, Truman Hanks, plays a younger Otto) in gauzy-arty fashion. When the older Otto — Hanks reaches back to his excellent work in “Catch Me If You Can” to nail down the man’s overarching irritability — contemplates his happy marriage, his mind always goes back to its earliest times. It’s curious, until the film reveals why it has avoided more recent memories, but by then the omission feels like a withholding cheat.

Otherwise, obviousness rules the day here. When Otto visits an incapacitated former friend, the soundtrack spins Kenny Dorham’s version of the jazz chestnut “Old Folks.” Which is always nice to hear, admittedly. Later, a teenager initially upbraided by Otto tells him that Otto’s wife, who had been a schoolteacher, “was the only person who didn’t treat me like a freak, because I’m transgender.” As the television icon Marcia Brady once put it, “Oh my nose!”

A Man Called Otto Rated PG-13 for themes and language. Running time: 2 hours 6 minutes. In theaters.

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Christopher Nolan’s short film “Larceny” has not been shown publicly since a 1996 film festival. Its cast and crew have been trying to preserve that mystery .

With the release of “Spaceman,” Adam Sandler’s odd and expensive new Netflix film, a writer takes a look at space movie misfires of the past .

The makers of the low-budget film “Hundreds of Beavers,” a mostly wordless indie comedy, are holding energetic screenings across the United States to sell their movie. The gamble is paying off .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, a man called otto.

Now streaming on:

In Marc Forster ’s genial, earnest yet unremarkable dramedy “A Man Called Otto,” the titular character Otto can’t pick his daily battles even if his life depended on it. Living in an unfussy suburban neighborhood of identical row houses somewhere in the Midwest, the aging man gets easily annoyed by every little misstep of a stranger. And his protests are so pronounced that they even rival Larry David ’s in an average episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Portrayed by the beloved Tom Hanks in an indistinct performance that splits the difference between quirky and grounded, Otto is often right about his grievances, to his credit. Why should he pay for six feet of rope and waste a few extra cents, for instance, when he bought just a little over five? Why shouldn’t he warn inconsiderate drivers who often block garage doors or entitled neighbors who can’t as much as remember to close a gate and respect basic rules about trash disposal? Or pick up a fuss when the soulless real estate guys from the fictional and hilariously named “Dye & Merica” show up to sabotage the community’s peace?

Then again, not everything is as awful as Otto makes them out to be. And he could perhaps afford to have some manners himself, especially when a new, very pregnant neighbor drops by with a bowl of home-cooked meal as a courtesy.

If you’ve already seen 2015’s Oscar-nominated Swedish hit “ A Man Called Ove ” by Hannes Holm , a film that is not any better or worse than this middle-of-the-road American remake (yes, not all originals are automatically superior), you’ll know that Otto hasn’t always been this insufferable. In small doses of syrupy and visually overworked flashbacks, Forster and agile screenwriter David Magee show us that he was socially awkward even from his young days, but at least nice and approachable. With a squarely unstylish side-part haircut that aptly gives out a “nice but unworldly guy” vibe, young Otto (played by the star’s own son, Truman Hanks) had an interest in engineering, in figuring out how things work. His life apparently changed when he accidentally met the dreamy Sonya ( Rachel Keller ), who later on became his wife and passed away recently.

As was the case in “Ove,” Otto can’t wait to join his wife on the other side, but his frequent suicide attempts get interrupted in episodes that are sometimes awkwardly funny, and other times, just plain awkward. The chief interrupters of our get-off-my-lawn guy are the abovementioned new neighbors: the happily married-with-kids couple Marisol (a bubbly and scene-stealing Mariana Treviño , the absolute best thing about the film) and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Ruflo), who often ask little favors from the grumpy Otto. There are also others in the neighborhood, like a kindly transgender teenager Malcolm (Mack Bayda) thrown out of his house by his dad, the fitness-obsessed Jimmy ( Cameron Britton ), Otto’s old friend Rueben ( Peter Lawson Jones), and his wife Anita (Juanita Jennings), who are no longer on cordial terms with Otto. And let’s not forget a stray cat that no one seems to know what to do with for a while.

The mystery is that none of the supporting personalities in this story can take a hint about Otto, at least not well into the film’s second act. Instead, all the characters collectively treat Otto with patience and acceptance, as if he isn’t being willfully rude to them every chance he gets. For example, it’s anyone’s guess why Otto’s work colleagues bother to throw him a retirement party when it will surely go unappreciated or why Marisol continuously insists on trying to bring out the good side of him when Otto offensively shuts down every one of her genuine attempts.

Still, the story manages to land some charms when Otto finally lets his guard down and starts making all the expected amends, while suffering a rare heart condition on the side. First, he becomes a local hero when he unwittingly saves someone’s life in front of a group of unhelpful people too preoccupied with their phones. Later on, he racks up additional goodwill when he takes Malcolm in and builds a slow yet steady friendship with Marisol, a rewarding storyline in an otherwise predictable tale.

But the biggest win of Forster’s adaptation is its worthwhile message about the small wins of everyday people who operate as a functioning and harmonious community against the evils of faceless corporations. “A Man Called Otto” isn’t exactly as philosophical as “ About Schmidt ” or as socially conscious as “ I, Daniel Blake ,” two films that occasionally hit similar notes. But it’s nevertheless a wholesome crowd-pleaser for your next family gathering.

In limited release now, wide on January 13th.

Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to  RogerEbert.com , Variety and Time Out New York, with bylines in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Journal International, Vulture, The Playlist and The Wrap, among other outlets.

Now playing

She Is Conann

Asleep in My Palm

Sheila O'Malley

Cristina Escobar

Brian Tallerico

Film credits.

A Man Called Otto (2022)

Rated PG-13

126 minutes

Tom Hanks as Otto Anderson

Mariana Treviño as Marisol

Kailey Hyman as Barb

Rachel Keller

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo

Cameron Britton

Mike Birbiglia

Elle Chapman as Sarah

• Marc Forster
• David Magee
• Matt Chesse

Director of Photography

• Matthias Koenigswieser
• Fredrik Backman

Latest blog posts

Netflix Launches Ambitious, Engaging Adaptation of 3 Body Problem

Give a FECK!: Chaz Ebert on Her New Book About Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion and Kindness

The Bikeriders, a Motorcycle Club Film, Highlights a Positive Woman’s Role

Director Maureen Bharoocha on Rita Moreno’s Two Requests Before Signing on for Campy Horror The Prank, Watching the EGOT Winner Break Bad

'A Man Called Otto' remakes Swedish book and film

By Martha K. Baker

Really, the only reason to see "A Man Called Otto" is if you missed reading or seeing "A Man Called Ove." Fredrik Backman wrote the book. Hannes Holm directed the Swedish original, which was nominated for two Academy Awards and was the highest grossing foreign film of 2016 in the U.S. Otto, né Ove, Anderson has reason to be depressed, even suicidal: his beloved wife, Sonya, has died. His life was black and white before he found color in love, and it has returned to black and white. Each morning starts with his rounds, that is, making sure neighbors close the gates, park their bikes correctly in the rack, and deposit their recycling in the proper bin. He has, as he insists to anyone and everyone, "things to do." 

These include offing himself. But, wait. Into his neighborhood trundles a young couple. The husband is, according to Otto, a nitwit, the daughters are noisy, and the wife, Marisol, is tremendously pregnant. They need to borrow things Otto has, including his expertise -- although he has recently been let go from his job. Marisol brings him her ethnic food in gratitude.

If you saw the Swedish version, the American version repeats the sadness swirling with the hopeful. It's a story about loneliness versus community, neighbors, and the village it takes. And it's sweet and dear. If you did not view the original, it's fun to see what can go wrong and how it can right itself -- with or without Otto's pleasure.

Tom Hanks personifies Otto Anderson, both tight and loose, a man whose heart is too big. He looks like Walter, Jeff Dunham's grumpy puppet. Hanks is well matched with Mariana Treviño as Marisol, perky and preggers. Although the character is huge, the actor never walks as if burdened by that bump; however, Treviño carries off Marisol's caring nature. Rachel Keller plays Otto's wife in flashback, and Truman Hanks, son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, plays Otto in those flashbacks, a barely challenging role of reactions. Wilson, a producer, sings the closing song.

Marc Forster directed. One would expect a sharper knife's edge given his direction of "Monster's Ball" and "Finding Neverland." David Magee wrote the script. One expects more craft from the man who adapted "The Life of Pi" and scripted "Mary Poppins Returns." "A Man Called Otto" retains tragi-comic similarities with Ricky Gervais' amazing series, "AfterLife," but "Otto" veers off the rails too often. Still, "A Man Called Otto" has its charm.

KDHX Recommends Calendar

A Man Called Otto Review

Tom hanks gets old and cranky in a heart-wrenching tale of loss and aging..

A Man Called Otto hits U.S. theaters on Jan. 13, 2023.

There’s no getting around it; Otto (Tom Hanks) is old. We first meet him at a local DIY store attempting to buy some rope, with hilariously cranky results. Imagine a curmudgeonly, elderly man refusing to get with the times and taking it out on everyone around him. A Man Called Otto is exactly that… at least, at first. But you’ll soon find that it’s actually a film that explores the bleak existence of an elderly man who’s stuck in limbo – a life after life where he’s lost his place in the world. Thankfully, it’s not too long before he finds a new one. While it’s a perfectly heart-wrenching set-up, it doesn’t bring much else to the table, leaning on old tropes and a simple plot to tell a just-okay story about Hanks’ old grouch.

When the Mendes family moves in across the street, Marisol (Mariana Treviño), her husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and their two daughters throw Otto’s life into disarray. They’re the annoyingly perky neighbors who always want to borrow a wrench or need help with a window. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out what happens next, as director Marc Forster uses just about every cliché in the book to hammer home Otto’s changing outlook on life.

But let’s back up for a moment. In between tubs of cookies and requests for babysitting, we learn that Otto is desperately sad. He lost his wife, Sonya (Rachel Keller), less than a year ago, and he’s a shadow of the man he once was, who we learn about through a liberal helping of flashbacks. In some ways, it’s easy to compare A Man Called Otto to one of Hanks’ more famous films – it’s basically the anti-Forrest Gump.

Otto is definitely on the opposite end of the happiness spectrum, but it’s more than that. A Man Called Otto highlights all the greatest hits of Otto’s life, but it starts at the opposite end of a life lived. Through flashbacks, we learn why Otto is the way he is, as well as find out more about the love of his life… and exactly why she meant so much to him.

What's Tom Hanks' best movie?

The trouble is, there’s just nothing truly unique going on here. That’s not to say A Man Called Otto isn’t a decent enough film – it tugs at the heartstrings in all the right places, and you’ll be hard-pressed to walk out of the theater with dry eyes by the end. But it’s not exactly full of twists and turns; quite the opposite. The final act is telegraphed from a million miles away, and it all feels perhaps a bit too familiar.

Based on the New York Times best-seller, A Man Called Otto does everything you expect… but little else. Forster does his best to inject some life into proceedings in the form of some curiously eccentric neighbors. Unfortunately, the rather twee elements of finding a new family and the excruciatingly labored metaphors laced liberally throughout distract from any originality you might find. There are even scenes of the literal changing of the seasons, to add to some of the not-so-subtle metaphors. Yeah.

Thankfully, Hanks is in typically good form as Otto, lending an air of gravitas to what could be a startlingly pedestrian role. Instead, Hanks walks a fine line between loveable grouch and eccentric geriatric, with plenty of his trademark heart thrown in for good measure. A debut performance from his son, Truman Hanks, is less impressive. Not that there’s anything wrong with his acting, but Truman suffers from having little to work with – much of his role revolves around cooing over the love of young Otto’s life, making doe-eyes at the pretty girl and following her, unerringly, wherever she may go. Not exactly an actor’s wildest dream.

Still, he proves himself to be adequate, at least… and with some stirring performances from Otto’s neighbors, the cast carries this decidedly unremarkable story on its capable shoulders. Throw in some truly funny moments in its unexpectedly witty script, and there’s just enough to make the film worth watching.

The Best Movie of 2022

A Man Called Otto is ultimately a formulaic comedy-drama that leans far too much on tried and tested cliches. A charismatic central performance from Hanks elevates the movie, albeit slightly, with standout performances from Mariana Treviño and Cameron Britton. A tight script punctuates Otto’s misery with some truly memorable comic moments, and Forster wrangles the potentially miserable tale into something far more uplifting. A Man Called Otto is often gut-wrenching and sometimes even charming, but it just fails to bring much new to the table. If you can enjoy it for what it is, you’ll be rewarded with a sweet tale of an old man losing his place in the world only to find an entirely new one.

A Man Called Otto is a benign comedy-drama that peppers a heart-wrenching story with plenty of eye-rolling jokes to distract you from its perfectly pedestrian plot. A tear-jerking performance from Tom Hanks shows a certain subtlety you won’t find in its storyline, while Hanks’ son Truman fills in the gaps with some adequate flashbacks in a reverse-Forrest Gump. You’ll struggle to escape from the theater with dry eyes, but director Marc Forster leans on familiar tropes and cliches to amp up the feels – and it might not work on everyone. A Man Called Otto is good enough to pass a quiet holiday weekend, but it fails to bring much else to the table.

In This Article

More Reviews by Ryan Leston

Ign recommends.

Review: Tom Hanks gives ‘A Man Called Otto’ an easygoing sincerity

• Show more sharing options
• Copy Link URL Copied!

It says something about the current state of studio filmmaking in Hollywood that all the things that make “A Man Called Otto” stand out are things that really should make it commonplace. The film is made with a level of craft and simple competence that has become shockingly rare. A genuine movie star is allowed to radiate charisma and charm, and all the performances have character nuance and emotional depth.

These should be the basic building blocks of Hollywood moviemaking and yet here we are, with “A Man Called Otto” feeling special for being a winsome dramedy with some effective moments of tearjerking tenderness. It’s not so much a matter of they don’t make them like this anymore as they should be making them like this all the time.

For your safety

The Times is committed to reviewing theatrical film releases during the COVID-19 pandemic . Because moviegoing carries risks during this time, we remind readers to follow health and safety guidelines as outlined by the CDC and local health officials .

Directed by Marc Forster, the film is based on the 2012 novel “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman, which became an international bestseller and previously was adapted into a 2016 Swedish film that earned two Oscar nominations. From a screenplay by David Magee, who this year also wrote the adapted screenplays for “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and “The School for Good and Evil,” the new film finds enough ways to update the core material to keep it fresh.

As the film opens, Otto (Tom Hanks) is buying a few bits and pieces at a hardware store and then gets into an argument with a clerk about whether he is being overcharged by a few cents for a length of rope. Once he is back at his modest, meticulously kept row house, it is revealed that Otto plans to kill himself, but life keeps getting in the way.

There are his new neighbors, Marisol and Tommy (Mariana Treviño and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a young couple with two small children and expecting another. The trans kid who delivers the newspapers was a student of Otto’s deceased wife, a teacher. Otto also finds himself reconnecting with a pair of longtime neighbors with whom he had a falling-out. Even a self-styled “social media journalist” won’t leave him alone after Otto, who had intended to throw himself onto the tracks, saves a man from being struck by a train.

Otto seems at first to be a rigid, stuck-in-his-ways old man similar to the type Clint Eastwood has played recently in films such as “Gran Torino,” “The Mule” and “Cry Macho,” men who must learn to overcome their prejudices. Otto, largely because of circumstances revealed around his late wife (played in flashbacks by Rachel Keller), is more readily open-minded and open-hearted than those Eastwood characters. He is nevertheless endlessly aggravated by others for a perceived lack of knowledge or abilities.

The film is an odd companion to Hanks’ recent, more willfully weird turn as Colonel Tom Parker in “Elvis,” which found him working against an accent and prosthetics and a fanciful villainous characterization. His role in “Otto” plays to Hanks’ more obvious strengths, his essential affability even when he is presenting a gruff, unyielding exterior. The sweet heart of the character is never too far below the surface.

“A Man Called Otto” is also something of a family affair, with Rita Wilson, Hanks’ wife, as one of the producers and co-writing and performing the song “Til You’re Home.” In flashback scenes, young Otto is played by one of Hanks’ and Wilson’s children, Truman Hanks. And in one of the film’s slyer jokes, the hip-hop song “White Boy Summer” by their son Chet Hanks is used to personify a certain kind of clueless obliviousness in others.

The real standout in the supporting cast is Treviño, a comedy star in her native Mexico who brings real energy and feeling to her role as one of Otto’s new neighbors. She barges into Otto’s orderly life and brings a bit of chaos with her, inserting a much-needed liveliness into the movie as well. Mike Birbiglia is also well cast playing against type as a sleazy real estate developer.

It is not meant as faint praise to say that “A Man Called Otto” is nice. The film has an easygoing, please-like-me quality that somehow never comes off as desperate but instead gives it a reassuring quality, like a mug of warm tea. It’s borderline corny, but sometimes corny can mean unselfconscious, willing to be unguarded in its sincerity. The tender message of hopefulness and spiritual renewal is a welcome tonic as the year comes to a close.

'A Man Called Otto'

Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic material involving suicide attempts, and language. Running time: 2 hours, 6 minutes Playing: Starts Dec. 30, AMC the Grove, Los Angeles; AMC Century City

More to Read

Live action shorts: Stories of life, death and the quirkiest of in-betweens

Feb. 19, 2024

The art of film editing: ‘Try things out and see what works emotionally’

Feb. 15, 2024

Everyone was feeling ‘A Real Pain’ at Sundance this year

Jan. 26, 2024

Only good movies

Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Mark Olsen writes about all kinds of movies for the Los Angeles Times as both a feature writer and reviewer.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Da’Vine Joy Randolph thanks her mother, teacher and publicist in strong 2024 Oscars speech

2024 Oscars ceremony is delayed by protests calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war

Billie Eilish performs ‘Barbie’ hit at Oscars; ‘Zone of Interest’ wins best international film

The 2024 Oscar winners list: live updates

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Netflix streaming
• Amazon prime
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• Dune: Part Two Link to Dune: Part Two
• Love Lies Bleeding Link to Love Lies Bleeding
• Orion and the Dark Link to Orion and the Dark

New TV Tonight

• Invincible: Season 2
• Boat Story: Season 1
• The Academy Awards: Season 96
• Apples Never Fall: Season 1
• The Girls on the Bus: Season 1
• Girls5eva: Season 3
• Manhunt: Season 1
• Chicken Nugget: Season 1
• Young Royals: Season 3
• The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• The Gentlemen: Season 1
• Shōgun: Season 1
• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Season 1
• The Tourist: Season 2
• The Regime: Season 1
• The Signal: Season 1
• One Day: Season 1
• Halo: Season 2
• Supersex: Season 1
• House of Ninjas: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News
• Prime Video

Certified fresh pick

• Elsbeth: Season 1 Link to Elsbeth: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

Box Office 2024: Top 10 Movies of the Year

100 Best Movies on Tubi (March 2024)

Women’s History

Awards Tour

Oscar Winners 2024: The Complete List

Awards Leaderboard: Top Movies of 2023

• Trending on RT
• Play Movie Trivia
• Oscar Nominations
• Awards Leaderboard
• Oscars Ballot

A Man Called Otto

2022, Comedy/Drama, 2h 6m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Check all cynicism at the door and allow A Man Called Otto to tug at your heartstrings with its tried-and-true tune -- it just might sing. Read critic reviews

Audience Says

With a perfect Tom Hanks in the lead, A Man Called Otto is almost guaranteed to make you laugh and cry. Read audience reviews

You might also like

Where to watch a man called otto.

Watch A Man Called Otto with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, or buy on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video.

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)

You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified..

AMCTheatres.com or AMC App New

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

Theater box office or somewhere else

By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.

You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

A man called otto videos, a man called otto   photos.

Based on the comical and moving New York Times bestseller, A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a grumpy widower whose only joy comes from criticizing and judging his exasperated neighbors. When a lively young family moves in next door, he meets his match in quick-witted and very pregnant Marisol, leading to an unexpected friendship that will turn his world upside-down.

Rating: PG-13 (Mature Thematic Material|Language|Suicide Attempts)

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Marc Forster

Producer: Fredrik Wikström , Rita Wilson , Tom Hanks , Gary Goetzman

Writer: David Magee

Release Date (Theaters): Jan 13, 2023  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Feb 28, 2023

Box Office (Gross USA): $64.1M

Runtime: 2h 6m

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Production Co: Playtone, Columbia Pictures, SF Productions, Stage 6 Films, Sony Pictures

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

Cast & Crew

Otto Anderson

Mariana Treviño

Rachel Keller

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo

Cameron Britton

Mike Birbiglia

Dye & Merica Real Estate Agent

Kelly Lamor Wilson

Shari Kenzie

Julian Manjerico

Beppo the Clown

Kailey Hyman

Jon Donahue

Officer Dudley

Hilda Ivette Rodriguez

Juanita Jennings

Peter Lawson Jones

Truman Hanks

Young Otto Anderson

Marc Forster

David Magee

Screenwriter

Fredrik Wikström

Rita Wilson

Gary Goetzman

Executive Producer

Renée Wolfe

Louise Rosner

Michael Porseryd

Sudie Smyth

Steven Shareshian

Celia D. Costas

Neda Backman

Tor Jonasson

Barbara Ling

Production Design

News & Interviews for A Man Called Otto

The 5 Most Anticipated Movies of January 2023

Holiday Movie Calendar 2022

Critic Reviews for A Man Called Otto

Audience reviews for a man called otto.

There are no featured audience reviews for A Man Called Otto at this time.

Movie & TV guides

Play Daily Tomato Movie Trivia

Discover What to Watch

Rotten Tomatoes Podcasts

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

A Man Called Otto

Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a f... Read all Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around. Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around.

• Marc Forster
• Fredrik Backman
• Hannes Holm
• David Magee
• Mariana Treviño
• Rachel Keller
• 684 User reviews
• 178 Critic reviews
• 51 Metascore
• 1 win & 8 nominations

• Hardware Store Clerk
• Hardware Store Customer

• Hardware Store Taylor

• Stimco Steel Boss
• Stimco Steel Terry
• Stimco Steel Co-Worker #2

• Stimco Steel Worker #4
• Stimco Steel Worker #5
• Stimco Steel Worker #3
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia The young Otto is played by Truman Hanks , Tom's son, who was 26 years old during principal photography.
• Goofs When Otto is at the train station you see a line of trains parked outside. They are yellow. These rail cars are modern safecar automobile trains and didn't exist at the time the movie was set in. Most automotive carriers at the time were flat beds or side load.

Otto Anderson : [to Marisol] You have given birth to two children. Soon it will be three. You have come here from a country very far away. You learned a new language, you got yourself an education and a nitwit husband and you are holding that family together. You will have no problem learning how to drive. My god, the world is full of complete idiots who have managed to figure it out, and you are not a complete idiot. So, cluch, shift, gas, drive.

• Connections Featured in The Graham Norton Show: Tom Hanks/Naomi Ackie/Suranne Jones/Richard Osman/Rina Sawayama (2022)
• Soundtracks This Woman's Work Written and Performed by Kate Bush Courtesy of Noble & Brite Ltd

User reviews 684

• Feb 28, 2023
• How long is A Man Called Otto? Powered by Alexa
• What is the breed of cat in the film?
• January 13, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Sony Pictures
• Otto: Bác Hàng Xóm Khó Ở
• Central Union Terminal, Toledo, Ohio, USA (Train Station)
• Artistic Films
• Big Indie Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $50,000,000 (estimated)
• $64,267,657
• Jan 1, 2023
• $113,190,218

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 6 minutes
• Dolby Digital

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Explaining the News to Our Kids

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

A man called otto, common sense media reviewers.

Neighborly love warms comedy about suicidal curmudgeon.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

While movie deals with suicidal ideation and suici

Marisol, an immigrant and mother, is persistent, c

Positive characters who are diverse in terms of ag

Several suicide attempts (hanging, carbon monoxide

A married couple's love story is told from beginni

Strong language includes "bastard," "crap," "godda

Recurring joke about men who identify with certain

Parents need to know that Tom Hanks produced and stars in A Man Called Otto, an ultimately life-affirming dramedy that deals frankly with suicidal ideation. Adapted from Fredrik Backman's bestselling book and the Academy Award-nominated 2015 Swedish film A Man Called Ove, it centers on a man named…

Positive Messages

While movie deals with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, ultimate message is that life has more to offer than we may think -- we just need to hang in there and be open to what it brings us. Cranky people likely have a painful reason behind their rude behavior. Themes of love, loss, compassion, finding family in unexpected places.

Positive Role Models

Marisol, an immigrant and mother, is persistent, caring, unapologetically herself. Neighbors, co-workers, and people Otto comes into contact with are remarkably patient and cheery despite his rude behavior.

Diverse Representations

Positive characters who are diverse in terms of age, gender, race, disability, and economics. Focus on issues related to aging, including forced retirement, loss, and health problems. Title character, director, and writer are all White men, but a Latino family is the heart of the film; the matriarch is a Mexican immigrant (played by Mexican actor Mariana Treviño) who frequently speaks in unsubtitled Spanish. Significant supporting characters with disabilities. Transgender character shares his struggle with family acceptance.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Several suicide attempts (hanging, carbon monoxide poisoning, shooting, train) that fail in ways that are depicted as humorous; ultimately, the character comes to understand that life has much to offer him, and he has much to offer others. Vehicular accident with bodies strewn about; strong emotional consequences. Hostile but humorous behavior from main character toward small animals. Peril when a person falls onto railroad tracks. Road rage incident: driver pulled out of vehicle.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A married couple's love story is told from beginning to end in flashbacks. Kissing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language includes "bastard," "crap," "goddamn," "pr--ks," "s--t," "son of a bitch," "suck," and "what the hell." Cranky character calls people "idiots" and calls the neighborhood stray "stupid cat."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Recurring joke about men who identify with certain car brands, so vehicles are highlighted with close-ups on the ornament or logo.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Tom Hanks produced and stars in A Man Called Otto, an ultimately life-affirming dramedy that deals frankly with suicidal ideation. Adapted from Fredrik Backman's bestselling book and the Academy Award-nominated 2015 Swedish film A Man Called Ove , it centers on a man named Otto (Hanks), the epitome of the cranky "get off my lawn" type, who wants to end his life as a matter of efficiency. The movie presents a series of humorously interrupted attempts at his death via suicide (using a rope, asphyxiation, a gun, etc.), all of which lead to the point at which Otto realizes that, while his wife and career are gone, life can still be fulfilling. The movie encourages giving others grace, since you may not be aware of what they're going through. The residents in Otto's housing complex are diverse in terms of age, gender, race, economics, disability, and health, and they're the definition of "neighborly." Otto is counterbalanced by Marisol ( Mariana Treviño ), a positively portrayed Mexican immigrant mother of two who moves in across the street. In addition to Otto's attempts at ending his life, there's a road rage incident. Otto is impatient with others and calls them "idiots," "bastards," and "pr--ks." Other language includes "s--t" and "goddamn." Characters kiss. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (24)
• Kids say (23)

Based on 24 parent reviews

Multiple Realistic and Long-Form Depictions of Suicide

Could be triggering to those with mental illness, what's the story.

Tom Hanks is A MAN CALLED OTTO, the neighborhood crank who has no tolerance for those who don't follow the rules. After retiring and the loss of his wife, Otto feels he has nothing else to live for. But his pesky neighbors keep interrupting his attempts to end his life.

Is It Any Good?

With this remarkably warm and fulfilling film, Hanks and director Marc Forster pull off the impossible: making a family-friendly suicide comedy. Even though the 2015 Swedish original starring Rolf Lassgård was quite successful, after watching A Man Called Otto , it feels impossible to picture anyone else in the starring role. Hanks' grumpy old man trumps all of those who came before him: Clint Eastwood , Walter Matthau , Jack Lemmon , etc. He's so beloved that every rude thing he says is likely to make you laugh, and Forster smartly balances the crankiness by surrounding Otto with warmhearted souls who return his barbs with a knowing look and a smile: Yep, that's Otto! They don't take his mean streak to heart, and it allows viewers to go on the journey and care about him.

While we might understand that Otto "is something special," he's also the dark to the light that is Marisol (Mariana Treviño), the very pregnant woman who moves across the street from Otto. She's a flutter of radiant energy that just refuses to be pushed aside by Otto's hostility. And she's just one strong example of positive diverse representation in the film. The residents in Otto's townhouse complex represent "community" in every sense of the word: They're a family in their own unique way, with residents from all stages and walks of life who look out for each other in good times and bad. While Otto's suicide attempts do make the film too mature for younger children, it's a strong choice for movie night with teens and grandparents.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how A Man Called Otto plays on viewers' compassion . How can we practice patience for those who exhibit bitter behavior while also not indulging unacceptable treatment?

How does the movie portray depression and suicidal ideation? What should you do if you're worried about a friend or family member? What resources are available to help both kids and adults ? (If you or someone you love is in crisis, you can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.)

Even though Otto is impatient and unkind, did you find yourself rooting for him? What skills does Hanks use to make Otto likable and vulnerable?

Talk about the diversity represented in Otto's neighborhood. Does this accurately reflect real life? Why is positive representation in the media important?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 30, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : February 28, 2023
• Cast : Tom Hanks , Mariana Treviño , Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
• Director : Marc Forster
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors
• Studio : Columbia Pictures
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Book Characters
• Character Strengths : Compassion
• Run time : 126 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : mature thematic material involving suicide attempts, and language
• Last updated : November 20, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

Grumpy Old Men

It's a Wonderful Life

The Bucket List

Groundhog Day

Feel-good family movies, best family comedy movies, related topics.

• Book Characters

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

The Real-Life Inspiration Behind A Man Called Otto

Tom Hanks starring in a film based on a best-selling book is a recipe for success, as Sony learned earlier this year when it released "A Man Called Otto"  in theaters. It earned solid reviews from critics and ended up grossing $109 million at the worldwide box office . It would seem plenty of people took a detour from checking out "M3GAN" in January to give this heartwarming film about the strength of the human spirit a watch. 

The film follows a widower named Otto (Hanks), a curmudgeonly 63-year-old who wants to die by suicide. However, he's thwarted at every attempt via flashbacks of his past as well as intervention from those around him. The story has truly resonated with people, as the 2012 novel was first adapted into a 2015 Swedish film called "A Man Called Ove." It's a movie all about humanity, and it only makes sense for viewers to wonder if Otto or Ove was a real man. 

The story itself is fabricated. This can be seen in the fact the original novel is fiction, not labeled as being based on a true story. However, the author, Fredrik Backman, did find inspiration after someone he knew had an amusing encounter with a man named Ove at an art museum.

Ove's public meltdown inspired Fredrik Backman

Fredrik Backman did an interview with The New York Times to talk about his creation, and while there is a real "Ove," he's a far cry from the one seen in the two subsequent film adaptations. According to the story, one of Backman's co-workers witnessed a public meltdown when Ove made a scene while trying to buy tickets for an art museum. Fortunately, Ove's wife was there to calm him down. His co-worker then created a fictional version of Ove for a blog post, and Backman ran with it, creating future blog posts about this guy's various annoyances in life. 

Right from the start, it's easy to see where reality and fiction differ. For starters, Otto's a widower in the film, but in the real-life incident, he had a wife with him. At one point, Backman realized he had enough material for a book, so he published "A Man Called Ove" in 2012. It was adapted into a Swedish film and then the American one starring Tom Hanks. However, most of what viewers find in the movie is wholly fabricated, including the suicide attempts and the interventions from his neighbors. 

"A Man Called Otto" is not based on a true story, but all it took was one amusing incident for a fully-fledged character to come out of thin air. And now, people can watch Tom Hanks play the grumpiest man in Pittsburgh now that the film is available on Netflix. 

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Review: A Man Called Otto

Image: ©Sony Pictures

In A Man Called Otto , Otto Anderson is an elderly man who lives in a delightful housing community, surrounded by friendly neighbours. However, Otto is far from friendly himself, and in recent times, he has become grouchy and irascible.

Otto’s change in mood and attitude is largely connected to the death of his wife, Sonya, who passed away a short time ago. Since Sonya died, Otto has cut himself off from the community, and has become increasingly disgruntled with the world.

One day, after reaching the end of his tolerance for everything, Otto buys a length of rope, calls his utility providers to have his services disconnected, and tries to commit suicide. However, his attempt to kill himself is interrupted by the sudden (and slightly chaotic) arrival of new neighbours, and this puts his plans on hold.

Over the next few days, Otto makes further attempts to end his life, but every time he tries to kill himself outside forces get in the way. He also finds himself being drawn back into the lives of those within his local community, including new neighbour Marisol, who continually reaches out to him despite his acerbic nature.

Directed by Marc Forster, A Man Called Otto stars Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, and Truman Hanks. The movie is based on the book A Man Called Ove by Hannes Holm, which has previously been adapted into a 2015 Swedish movie of the same name.

A Man Called Otto is a drama-comedy, which looks at the impact that grief can have on a person. It throws a spotlight on how difficult it can be to move on from the death of a loved one, and how tragedy can transform the trajectory of a person’s life.

The film tackles some emotional and hard-hitting subjects, with suicide and death being a continuous theme throughout the story. As such, it is often quite a sombre affair, likely to draw a tear or two.

However, despite the moving material in the film, A Man Called Otto is humorous in places, occasionally touching, and from time-to-time it is thought-provoking. As someone who can be a little grumpy (to say the least), I found myself captured by its premise and its central character, I was compelled throughout, and came away with much to think about.

Tom Hanks takes on the part of Otto, and as you might expect, he is perfect in the role. Hanks is a pro in the acting game, I don’t need to tell you this, and he manages to find the right balance of anger and sadness within Otto to provide a complex character who has somehow fallen through the cracks in society.

Whereas once upon a time Otto was an important player in his neighbourhood, and someone filled with love and compassion, now he is a man who gets worked up by the slightest inconvenience. He gets angry at road users, at shop workers, and pretty much anyone he meets on the street.

Some actors would play this role completely one note, making Otto either unlikeable or unreachable. But Hanks finds the right pitch, being able to demonstrate Otto’s dissatisfaction and heartache, while ensuring the audience can see the mental health crisis he is suffering while battling with his grief.

To back Hanks up, there is a small ensemble of actors who play Otto’s well-meaning neighbours and they are essentially his anchors to the world. Chief amongst these is Mariana Treviño who plays Marisol – a friendly young mother, who keeps pushing her way into Otto’s life, despite his best efforts to keep her at a distance.

As Marisol, Treviño is the perfect foil for Hanks and they work together very well. As with Hanks, Treviño plays the role just right, making it clear why she is able to get close to him when others have failed.

Outside of the lead actors, A Man Called Otto benefits from strong direction from Marc Forster, as well as a solid screenplay by David Magee. The pair previously teamed up on 2004’s Finding Neverland (2004) and they have worked their magic once again for this film.

A Man Called Otto also has another ace up its sleeve in production designer Barbara Ling. Ling – who once worked on the Joel Schumacher Batman movies of the 1990s – helps to create a believable housing community for Otto to reside in, and the look and feel of the neighbourhood becomes an important part of the story.

While A Man Called Otto may repeat some well-worn movie tropes at times, its central premise, its direction, and its cast keep things moving along nicely. The film also delivers an important message about togetherness, and acts as a timely reminder to check in on family, friends, and neighbours, who might be struggling during this post-Christmas/New Year slump better known as ‘deepest darkest January’.

Should you wish to watch A Man Called Otto for yourself, the movie arrives in UK cinemas on Friday January 6 th . If you live in the US, the film is currently playing in limited theatres in New York and Los Angeles, but will be going country-wide on January 13 th .

Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede! . For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.

Share this:

Leave a comment cancel reply.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Book and Film Globe

Books, Film, TV, Culture.

‘Otto,’ Not Very Erotic

Tom Hanks stars in a genial weeper about the ties that bind

In A Man Called Otto, the title character Otto Anderson, played by Tom Hanks at his most universally appealing, is a stoic, hard-working man, willing to sacrifice his own happiness for the common good. In other words, he’s not a millennial. A Man Called Otto is weepy, over-sentimental glop, about as realistic as a greeting card, in the same tradition as books like Tuesdays With Morrie . Yet it’s sincere enough, and so committed to its corny messaging, that it ends up charming anyway. Its appeal to common decency and neighborliness and the ties that bind may be a white lie writ large. But it contains enough truth to make the movie a hit among grownups looking back on their own lives with a mixture of happy nostalgia and wistful regret.

A MAN CALLED OTTO ★★★  (3/5 stars) Directed by: Marc Forster Written by: David Magee Starring: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Rachel Keller Running time: 126 min

A Man Called Otto is not quite a shot-for-shot remake of the popular Swedish film ‘A Man Called Ove,’ itself adapted from a best-selling book . But the changes are so slight that it’s hard in many ways to tell the films apart. Otto is a grump, possibly because he lives in what appears to be Philadelphia, who is trying to protect his small block of townhomes from rapacious real-estate developers. He’s especially sad because his beautiful wife Sonia has recently died from cancer. He keeps trying to kill himself, but neighbors who have things that need fixing knock on his door constantly to interrupt him. People need him, a cat needs him, and if he commits suicide, nothing will get done right. In the Swedish version, the family that unofficially adopts the grump was Middle Eastern. In ‘Otto,’ they are Latino. A “Social Media Journalist” plays a key role in the new version, and a troubled neighborhood teen who Otto takes under his wing is transgendered, all nods to modernity.

But underneath it all is an old-fashioned story about Otto the Grouch, who finds meaning again late in life, despite unimaginable grief at having lost his one true love. The movie spends a surprising amount of time in flashbacks to the halcyon days of what appear to be an apolitical 1970s, where Otto and Sonia meet cute on a train platform, fall in love, marry, and then lose their baby in a melodramatic way that makes the films of Douglas Sirk (or an episode of All My Children) seem subtle. Sonia was the bright light, and Otto was a penny-pincher who knows how to fix things. But he literally suffers from a medical condition of having a Big Heart. That’s the kind of “The Rest of the Story” sledgehammer that the movie brings down on you from time to time.

A Man Called Otto is a love letter to the lost virtues of thrift and competence. It’s anti-corporate, and is maybe mildly critical of our health-care system. But mostly, it depicts a world where decent neighbors being decent can band together against the forces of evil. Who doesn’t want to believe that’s true? And while the supporting cast is all fine and pleasant, this is Tom Hanks’s movie, and career, in miniature. His Otto is thoroughly immersive and believable, and marks his best late-career performance to date, though I also loved his WWII sea captain in the submarine thriller Greyhound and his Old-West storytelling fella in News of The World. If American film has a block captain who’s keeping it in order despite immense pressure from the forces of evil, it’s Tom Hanks. No one doubts that he knows how to fix things.

 You May Also Like

• ← Famous Film Fiascos Before ‘Megalopolis’
• BFG Podcast #087: Russell Banks, Aubrey Plaza, and ‘The Rig’ →

Neal Pollack

Book and Film Globe Editor in Chief Neal Pollack is the author of 12 semi-bestselling books of fiction and nonfiction, including the memoirs Alternadad and Stretch , the novels Repeat and Downward-Facing Death , and the cult classic The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature . A Rotten Tomatoes certified reviewer for both film and television, Neal has written articles and humor for every English-language publication except The New Yorker. Neal lives in Austin, Texas, and is a three-time Jeopardy! champion.

2 thoughts on “ ‘Otto,’ Not Very Erotic ”

Hanks was not a submarine captain in Greyhound. Greyhound was a surface ship defending agains Uboats.

you are correct and we will make the change.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tom Hanks’ New Movie A Man Called Otto Is Based On A Popular Book

Tom Hanks stars as a grouch whose heart is melted by his pregnant neighbor.

Tom Hanks is really playing against type in the new movie A Man Called Otto . Everyone’s favorite dad is a curmudgeon named Otto, a man best described as a grump. A man who does not like change or chaos or disorder. Until his new neighbors, a pregnant woman with her husband and son, who do not give him a choice about opening up his heart. All of which sounds like a perfect book. But is it?

A Man Called Otto is based on a popular book.

A Man Called Otto is based on the 2012 book A Man Called Ove , written by Swedish author Fredrick Bachman and translated by Henning Koch. The book was on the New York Times bestseller list, and this is in fact the second film adaptation made from the original story. The book synopsis reads almost exactly like the film’s, which presumably means that director Marc Foster was loyal to the original story.

In A Man Called Otto , Otto is a rigid, cranky, strict widower who essentially rules over his neighborhood with an iron fist. He has regimented rules for everything and all of his neighbors are expected to follow them to the letter. Until a young family moves in next door, and they are not interested in his rules. Marisol (Mariana Treviño) is a quick-witted pregnant mom of one who has no time for Otto’s rules. In fact, she’s hoping he will be a friend to her husband (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) as the family settles in to the neighborhood. And Otto, against his will, finds that Marisol might be able to open him up to a new kind of family after all.

Tom Hanks’ son Truman plays him as a younger man in the movie.

In a flashback scene from when Otto was younger, he is played by Hanks’ youngest son Truman, who he shares with wife Rita Wilson. It was a decision that was all Truman’s . “We talked about it a lot and it was all his choice, but I said to him, ‘No matter what your last name is, you are going to have to hit the marks,’” Hanks told Graham Norton, per the Daily Mail .

How can you watch A Man Called Otto ?

A Man Called Otto will be in theaters across the country on Christmas Day , just when you might need a little feel-good moment.

‘A Man Called Otto’ Review: Tom Hanks Plays a Florid Grump

Hanks is well-cast as a misanthropic loner, but the film lacks the courage of his caustic conviction.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

• ‘Magpie’ Review: Daisy Ridley in a Thriller About Motherhood, Loneliness and a Husband with a Fatal Attraction 18 hours ago
• ‘Road House’ Review: Jake Gyllenhaal Takes Command in an Ultraviolent Retread That Makes Slumming Look Artful 2 days ago
• ‘Stormy’ Review: At SXSW, a Documentary About the Stormy Daniels Saga Wonders Where the Outrage Is 2 days ago

The opening scene of “A Man Called Otto” is promising, as Hanks’ Otto Anderson, a newly retired widower of about 60, attempts to buy a measurement of rope at a chain hardware store, only to learn that the store’s bureaucratic pricing protocols won’t allow him to pay for the exact five feet of rope he wants to purchase. He’ll have to pay for six feet. This completely unhinges him, not because he’s so cheap but because it’s the sort of built-in consumer exploitation that represents, to him, a larger slackening of standards.

Hanks harumphs with an irresistible self-justifying logic, and the clueless response on the part of the store’s millennial clerks, who are doing all they can to accommodate his tantrum, is the icing on the high-dudgeon cake. The secret weapon of a scene like this one is that even though Otto is overreacting like a jerk, in his petty and snappish way he’s sort of right. It should bother people, a little bit, that a corporation designs it so you can’t just buy five feet of rope.  

If “A Man Called Otto” had followed up on the premise of that scene, it might have been a better movie — funnier, more biting, less formulaic — than the wheezy by-the-numbers tearjerker it is. Imagine that the Hanks character was stuck in a rut of bad vibes, but that much of his complaining was funny because it carried a caustic ring of truth. That sounds like a crowd-pleaser.

Otto, in case you were wondering, plans to use that five feet of rope to kill himself. He’s still reeling from the recent death of his wife, and he intends to hang himself in his living room (from a hole he punches into the ceiling — a doomed plan or what?). I’ve never been crazy about botched-suicide comedy, going back to the prelude sequence of “Harold and Maude” (sorry, not a fan of that calculated cult ’70s quirkfest). The reason isn’t that I think it’s so scandalous but that it’s actually, under the surface, quite sentimental. The joke is always the same: that the suicides fail because the person… really wants to live . In this case, the idea that Hanks’ Otto has given up on life is a conceit the audience scarcely pretends to buy.

Otto occupies a condo in the same soothing blue prefab row-house development he has lived in ever since he married Sonya (Rachel Keller), the true love he first spotted on a Philadelphia train platform — she dropped her book! He picked it up and ran after her! All the way to the other side of the platform! — when he was a young man.

The film is threaded with flashbacks to their relationship, and they’re built on the potentially effective stunt casting of Truman Hanks, Hanks’s 27-year-old son, as the younger Otto, who came to Philly to enlist in the military, which turned into a doomed mission. Hanks’ acerbic actor son Colin has often seemed a chip off the old block, but Truman Hanks comes off as notably sweeter, softer, and more benign than his dad. In almost any movie you’d have to squint to buy him as the young Tom Hanks, but in this movie, where we have to believe that this angelic nerd evolves into a sharp-tongued malcontent, it’s far too jarring a leap.

Of course, it didn’t just happen. There were… events . And if there had been only one, it might not have planted the film on tracks of contrivance. But “A Man Called Otto” is built on enough Lame Screenwriting 101 devices to fill a trilogy of old-school second-rate awards-bait movies. There’s the cataclysm that befalls Otto and Sonya. There’s the long-simmering estrangement between Otto and his friends and neighbors (Peter Lawson Jones and Juanita Jennings). And, of course, there’s the conceit that propels the film: Marisol (Mariana Treviño), Otto’s new neighbor, gloms onto him for help, and he starts to help her so much that he practically becomes an honorary family member.

In case all those don’t get to you, the movie makes a point of throwing in a transgender former student of Sonya’s, who’s there to demonstrate that Otto may grouse at the world but that he sees it entirely without prejudice. He’s a hater with a heart of gold. “A Man Called Otto” wants to lift our spirits, but the trouble with it is that the nicer Otto gets, the more naggingly fake the movie becomes. It should have been called “Florid-est Grump.”

Reviewed at AMC Lincoln Square, Dec. 16, 2022. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 126 MIN.

• Production: A Sony Pictures Entertainment release of a Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, SF Productions, Play-Tone production. Producers: Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman. Executive producers: Marc Forster, Renée Wolfe, Louise Rosner, David Magee, Michael Porseryd, Tim King, Sudie Smyth, Steven Shareshian, Celia Costas, Neda Backman, Tor Jonasson.
• Crew: Director: Marc Forster. Screenplay: David Magee. Camera: Mathuas Koenigswieser. Editor: Matt Chessé. Music: Thomas Newman.
• With: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Truman Hanks, Mike Birbiglia, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.  

More From Our Brands

Sean lennon wishes yoko ono ‘happy mother’s day’ during oscars speech, the 7 best luxury resorts in ubud, bali’s booming spiritual center, stephen a. smith teases series with john legend, michael b. jordan, the best mattress protectors, according to sleep experts, oscars 2024: billie eilish performs barbie’s ‘what was i made for’ — watch, verify it's you, please log in.

Film Review: A Man Called Otto

by SaraKay Smullens

A Man Called Otto

Director Mark Forster

Production Company Columbia Pictures

Genre Dramedy

Writer David Magee

Cast Tom Hanks

Release Date 12/29/2022

Duration 126 minutes

Vital Topics: Social Work & Film

by   SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD

     It’s a given: Social workers face horrific days with our clients when we know better than to respond to the well-intended question, “How was your day?”  For if we try, we may well be asked, “How can you spend your days like this? Why do you do this?”   

     My advice for these days: Go home; respond to only what is necessary; take a long, hot bath (whenever possible, pick a home with a tub, a highly undervalued retreat); and then visit Tom Hanks and company in his 2022 dramedy, A Man Called Otto .

     Hanks has openly shared that his wife Rita Wilson and her family taught him to love—a primary theme of Otto —and the Hanks family is heavily invested in an uplifting and heartening escape from familial and societal cruelty. Hanks and Wilson are two of the film’s producers. The soundtrack album features the single “Til You're Home,” written by Wilson and David Hodges and performed by Wilson and Sebastián Yatra. Hanks’ son Truman plays Otto as a young man, dearly and convincingly.

      Otto offers some twists and turns, both traumatic and charming, but plot and resolve are predictable from earliest moments. Hanks is introduced as a seemingly impenetrable curmudgeon of the highest order, one who manages to pick fights with everyone he interacts with and holds on to long ago grudges for dear life. We will immediately understand that his consuming irritable stance is a defense against overwhelming depression, which for Otto is not a new state of being. But, of course, Otto is played by Tom Hanks, the beloved Jimmy Stewart of this era, and you and I know immediately that a way will be found for his true nature to emerge.

     The film opens six months after Otto’s cherished wife Sonya (Rachel Keller) has died of cancer. In flashbacks, we learn how Sonya and Otto met, all they loved about each other, and the horrific crisis they faced together. For Otto, life held no meaning before he met Sonya. Her death returned him to a forsaken state of “nothingness.”  

     Although the film does not have a character who is a social worker, it offers a portrayal of an extraordinary young, vibrant woman best understood as a “natural social worker.” To explain how and why this description evolved: During a fascinating lunch years ago with Michael Austin, a former dean of my alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work (now the School of Social Policy and Practice), Dean Austin used the term “natural” to reference those who are innate social workers without even knowing it. In 1994, a film starring Woody Harrelson, directed by Oliver Stone, based on a story by Quentin Tarantino was released. The focus was on unloved, abused, and traumatized children, branding them “Natural Born Killers,” the title of the film. 

     Appalled and infuriated by this ignorant, ugly, damaging, and dangerous depiction of children , and of course, knowing well that efforts to counter the perspectives of this powerful team would ever remain uphill, I decided to build on Dean Austin’s wisdom. So I began to speak and write about “natural social workers”—those who instinctively understand the necessity of love and protection for all children and do all they can, regardless of chosen professional direction (which often does include social work), to work toward and educate about this necessity. Otto brings us face to face with the best possible example of a “natural social worker,” his new neighbor, the very pregnant, very bright, and quite persistent and savvy Marisol (Mariana Treviño), who instinctively knows how to achieve an “Otto breakthrough,” and refuses to give up her quest.

     Marisol is assisted by Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), her klutzy husband, not nearly as bright as Marisol, yet utterly loveable, and their two adorable daughters, Abby (Alessandra Perez) and Luna (Christiana Montoya). We also meet diverse neighbors and a determined, unrelenting activist, who, as impossible as Otto becomes, take him in their stride, and—despite all—have underlying affection for him.

     A warning: A Man Called Otto should not be watched with young children, and viewing it with teens requires pre- and post- discussion. Because Otto longs to be united once again with Sonya, he attempts suicide four times. Each time, however, even when close to accomplishing his goal, an event that holds surprise and (as incredible as it seems) humor diverts his success.   

     This film is a second adaptation of the 2012 novel, A Man Called Ove , by Frederik Backman, first adapted in 2015 as a Swedish film of the same name. Because the “nothingness” consuming Otto’s early life, relived after Sonya’s death, is insufficiently explained in the Hanks production, I also watched A Man Called Ove . The plot line in both films is similar. The talent of cast members in each is extraordinary, and both adaptations offer a perfect depiction of a “natural social worker.” However, the Ove production clarifies the protagonist’s grave youthful pain, traumatic losses, and terrors in full dimension, and in this way fills in vital psychosocial gaps in understanding him. 

     “Otto” is many of our clients (and perhaps even family members and ourselves) in fruitless attempts to ward off loss and despair through a carefully crafted cover to keep others at a distance. He has been blessed with a perfectly suited life partner whose presence was cover, not cure. But the film offers authentic cure. In his last chapter of life, we see a man discover he is truly worthy of love. He learns to accept it and to offer it.

     A marvelous ensemble cast urges that we sit back, relax, and view this best of our professional Selves—made possible through the innate skill of a natural social worker.    

SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD, whose private and pro bono clinical social work practice is in Philadelphia, is a certified group psychotherapist and family life educator. She is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (2004) and the Social Worker of the Year (2018) from the Pennsylvania chapter of NASW, and the 2013 NASW Media Award for Best Article. In 2018, she was one of five graduates of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice selected for the school’s inaugural Hall of Fame. SaraKay is the author of  Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work (2nd Edition).

All material published on this website Copyright 1994-2023 White Hat Communications. All rights reserved. Please contact the publisher for permission to reproduce or reprint any materials on this site. Opinions expressed on this site are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

The Literary Vault

Book Reviews, Recommendations and so much more

“A Man Called Ove vs. A Man Called Otto: Exploring the Transformative Journey from Page to Screen”

January 21, 2024

A Man Called Ove vs. A Man Called Otto: Exploring the Transformative Journey from Page to Screen

In the world of literature, there are often discussions about whether on-screen adaptations of books are particularly faithful to the vivid and original plot shown on paper. So, let’s put books and movies in the WWE ring 🥊 as we talk about whether or not that is the case for Fredrik Backman’s heartwarming novel “ A Man Called Ove ” and its cinematic adaptation, as well as a hypothetical reimagination titled “A Man Called Otto.” (I’m aware there is another remake of the book –> “A Man Called Ove”,  Director: Hannes Holm, Actor: Rolf Lassgård, but I have not watched that)

*SPOILERS AHEAD* *SPOILERS AHEAD* *SPOILERS AHEAD* *SPOILERS AHEAD* *SPOILERS AHEAD* 

“A Man Called Ove” by Fredrick Backman is a Swedish novel published in 2012. In this novel, the main character otherwise aka Ove is a prickly, rule-abiding, 59-year-old Swedish man, who is on a mission to unalive himself… For those unfamiliar with the backstory, Ove’s wife Sonja has recently passed away, leaving Ove shattered and depressed. Sonja was his true love, his entire world, and when she died, Ove was left with no job, nothing. But the problem he has with completing his mission is that he never seems to get the job done, whenever he is ready, something out of the ordinary happens with his nosy neighbors, disrupting him.  

“A Man Called Otto” directed by Mark Forster and played by Tom Hanks, is the movie adaptation of the book “A Man Called Ove”. The movie is very charming and heartfelt which truly emphasizes Otto’s emotions and feelings after his wife Sonya died. In the movie he is very oriented to the rules in his neighborhood, always scolding the people who break them, until he meets a Hispanic family next door who quickly become his family. 

Characters, similarities, differences:

Both the book and the movie, start with a customer service interaction, (one in a hardware store for Otto, and one in an electronics store for Ove), they are both arguing which shows they both have cranky personalities. In the movie, it hits the floor running by letting the viewers know that Otto is planning to off himself in the first few minutes. In the book, it’s more disguised and not so readily displayed.

Also, one of the main differences is the neighbor’s ethnicity, in the book the neighbors are immigrants from the Middle East moving to Sweden, and in the movie, they are Hispanic moving to the United States.

In “A Man Called Ove” there is a side character named Adrian in his twenties whose bike is broken, Ove at first dismisses the boy’s ask for assistance. Still, later he finds out that Adrian was trying to fix the bike up for his girlfriend and he is swamped working multiple jobs, trying to save up money. Later on, he visits Adrian at one of his workplaces and comes to find out that one of Adrian’s gay co-workers, Mirsad had been recently kicked out of his homophobic dad’s house. Ove reluctantly took him in for some time, just until he could get back up on his feet.

On the other hand, in the movie adaption, “A Man Called Otto”, they changed Mirsad’s name to Malcolm, and instead of identifying as homosexual, he identified as transgender. They consolidated Mirsad and Adrian’s characters into one, Malcolm. A similar storyline is followed, being that Malcolm has also been kicked out and he was also a kid working multiple jobs to save up for a car. 

In the movie, they don’t show a minor character, Malcolms’ father, whereas on the other hand, Amel is one of the main side characters revealed. There is some heavy character development in the book where Amel has a change of heart about Mirsad after talking to Ove, resulting in taking Mirsad back in. 

Tom, another character that was cut from the movie was an obnoxious and rude employee at the train company Ove worked at. In the movie, Tom is spread out into various characters. Another minor character that was not incorporated into the movie was José. 

As the flashbacks were shown in the movie of young Sonya and Otto they didn’t portray the Spain tour they took. In the book, the couple meets José who runs the hotel the couple stays at on their bus tour while taking their tour of Spain, Ove and José quickly become friends after observing Ove repair an elderly woman’s car, José extends them complimentary food, leading to the growth of a newfound friendship. 

In the movie, Ove’s mother and Sonja’s father weren’t alluded to, whereas in “A Man Called Ove,” Ove experienced the loss of his mother at a young age, followed by his father in a tragic accident on the train tracks. As for Sonja’s father, in the book, he is solemn and introverted, who is similar to Ove as he doesn’t like interactions. In the book, Ove and Sonja’s father had a really good bond, and the book also depicted that the passing away of Sonja affected Ove and Sonja’s father deeply. In the movie, Sonya’s father isn’t revealed.

Also, in both the book and the movie Ove and Otto end up housing a cat, taking it in, and completing a close and heartfelt bond.  In the movie and the book, Otto and Ove both rule followers down to the “T”. They both harass their neighbors with petty complaints about neighborhood regulations.

Also, another similarity is that they both show Ove/Otto lying to Sonja/Sonya about being in the military, when in reality he isn’t able to go to the military because of a heart condition. In the movie, the neighbors are also renters instead of homeowners. In the movie, the main looming conflict was that the development wanted to buy the houses in the neighborhood.

In the book, after 4 years pass, Ove passes away due to natural causes and ends up leaving everything to his neighbor and the children of the neighborhood. She starts a charity for orphans in his name and over 300 people show up to his funeral.

Otto, in the book, also passes away and succumbed to his heart condition after a couple of years. He left a note behind explaining that if he died, it was not because he hurt himself, it was natural. He said that he would like to give Malcolm his car, Otto had also made arrangements with his lawyer to leave his home and money, as well as the cat, to his neighboring family. The family organizes a funeral for Otto, drawing a respectable turnout. Jimmy, one of his neighbors, and Malcolm pledge to continue Otto’s customary rounds. Otto, signing the letter as “Abuelo Otto,” leaves a heartfelt legacy. The final scene poignantly reveals his resting place beside Sonya.

Conclusion:

In the epic showdown between “A Man Called Ove” and the whimsical reimagining of “A Man Called Otto,”  Ove and Otto, both adorned with cranky exteriors and hearts of gold, embark on a journey to find fulfillment and happiness in their lives as they meet quirky neighbors, and loving connections who are with them through the way. As some characters change names, ethnicities, and genders, the essence of human connection remains faithful. Whether it’s Ove’s and Otto’s rule-abiding, meticulous personality, the magic of storytelling rings true as unexpected friendships go from written words to spoken on screen.

The plot intertwines the spine of the book with the director’s camera creating a tale, so heartwarming that it celebrates both literature and cinema. So, in this storytelling ring, embrace the heartwarming journey with Ove and Otto. Grab some popcorn, turn the pages, or hit play on your remote, and relish the enchanting fusion of written and visual narratives! 📚🍿✨

If you liked this post, check out Book-Talks for something similar!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

A Reader Lives a Thousand Lives Before He Dies. The Man Who Never Reads Lives Only One.

What am i currently reading.

As Featured In

So Many Books So Little Time

Get the next review straight to your mailbox.

Copyright © 2024 The Literary Vault

'A Man Called Otto’ Review: Tom Hanks Is a Grumpy Old Man in Tonally Awkward Adaptation

Marc Forster's adaptation of Fredrik Backman's "A Man Called Ove" is at its best when it focuses on friendships and not the gruffness.

Within the opening moments of A Man Called Otto , the second adaptation of Fredrik Backman ’s novel A Man Called Ove , you can see the problems inherent in this retelling. Otto Anderson ( Tom Hanks ) is a grumpy man in his 60s who we first see at a hardware store. He rudely tells the employee (played by Please Don't Destroy’s John Higgins ) that he would like to cut the length of rope he wants himself, then complains when he's overcharged pennies for what he is buying. The whole time, Thomas Newman 's quirky score hints at a jovial story underneath the crotchety man we see before us. After quickly visiting his retirement party and some prickly interactions with his neighbors, we discover that Otto bought this rope with the intention to hang himself in his living room.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who read the Backman book, or saw 2015's Swedish film adaptation of this story. But this version, from Christopher Robin and Finding Neverland director Marc Forster , handles the mixtures of comedy and drama in a peculiar and often bizarre way that both negates much of the emotional heft of the story, and sometimes leads to unintentional humor.

Otto is a man that is mad at the world. In addition to his frustrations with being asked to retire, Otto is constantly getting annoyed at the younger people he comes across on a daily basis, as well as the people who follow the arbitrary rules that he's placed on the neighborhood. But mostly, Otto is angry at the world because he no longer gets to live in it with his wife Sonya, who recently died. While visiting her grave, Otto states “nothing works when you're not at home," and for the gruff man who actually grumbles for people to get off his lawn, it’s clear he wants things to work exactly how he likes, and now, life can no longer be repaired in the way he needs it to be.

RELATED: Tom Hanks Plays Two Very Different Music Managers in ‘Elvis’ and ‘That Thing You Do!’

Otto’s plans to return to his wife, as he puts it, are paused when Marisol ( Mariana Treviño ) and her family move in to the neighborhood. Otto and Marisol strike up an unlikely friendship, and Otto begins to see the small joys in life as he helps his new neighbors.

Throughout A Man Called Otto , we also get to see Otto’s memories of when he was younger (played by Truman Hanks ) and getting to know Sonya ( Rachel Keller ). While it’s important that we see the beginnings of Otto and Sonya’s relationship, the eccentricities of Forster's approach become most apparent in these flashbacks. The relationship between Otto and Sonya feels more like the bond between a brother and sister, and while the younger Otto seems like he might be on the spectrum, we never get much of an inclination that that is also the case with the older Otto.

These flashbacks are also intended to be some of the most powerful moments within the film, and yet, the way Forster brings them to life is peculiar and undercuts their potential. For example, these moments often come when Otto is attempting suicide, and Forster’s decision to go back-and-forth between these youthful moments and Otto trying to take his own life is truly unusual. Plus, the film's heavy-handed choices in songs are at their worst in these moments, as these egregious choices are distractingly bad, and these scenes would be far more effective had they been excised altogether.

The screenplay from David Magee , who previously collaborated with Forster on Finding Neverland , and this year alone has written The School for Good and Evil and Lady Chatterly’s Lover , has its heart in the right place, but the attempts to make the audience cry are blunt and too obvious. A Man Called Otto also almost feels like it's part of an exaggerated version of our world, where the young folks are almost always wrong, and things aren't as good as they used to be "back in my day.” At one point, an older man falls on a train track, and Otto jumps down to retrieve him. The other younger people waiting on the train, however, are more focused on filming the incident and getting the right angle on the old man than actually helping. It’s just one of a few silly details that break the humanity that Magee is attempting to cultivate in this story. Magee has proven a deft hand with slow-burn films that make the waterworks come eventually, like with Finding Neverland and Life of Pi , but the somewhat awkward performances of the younger Otto and Sonya, mixed with the extremely questionable music choices undercuts what is primarily a story about a man falling in love with life again.

A Man Called Otto also comes at the end of one of Hanks' weirdest years, which has seen him play Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann ’s Elvis , and take on the role of Geppetto in Robert Zemeckis ' nightmarish Pinocchio update. A Man Called Otto is certainly a better example of Hanks’ gifts, however, as no matter how cantankerous Otto gets, we still love the guy because it’s Tom Hanks . Yet Hanks doesn’t shy away from the darker moments, as we believe that Otto truly has lost the will to live, and especially the moments where he visits his wife’s grave and talks about how she's coming to her soon are heartbreaking because of Hanks’ performance.

But despite the name, the real star of A Man Called Otto is Treviño as Marisol, who right away doesn't put up with Otto’s crap and handles him with both sternness and love—the way Sonya also did. From the moment Treviño appears in the film, we can feel her warmth for Otto and the entire community she is now a part of. Through her role, we see how found families can be just as important as real family, and how through experiences with others, those we've lost can still live on in a way. Naturally, A Man Called Otto is at its best when the coldness of Otto and the love of Marisol play off each other, as we watch this friendship blossom.

Especially compared to the 2015 adaptation, A Man Called Otto is a clunky update that often feels like it's full of cartoonish characters, with poor music choices, and cloying sentimentality. But when Forster and Magee pull away from these eccentricities, the story of Otto and Marisol is often a thing of beauty, and wonderful friendship that is lovely to watch grow. It’s easy when watching A Man Called Otto to feel like Otto: frustrated by most of what's going on, but with brief glimmers of the beauty within the world around you.

A Man Called Otto comes to theaters in limited release starting on December 30, followed by a wider release on January 13, 2023.

CinemaBlend

A Man Called Otto - Cast Interview With ReelBlend

Posted: February 9, 2024 | Last updated: February 9, 2024

There are plenty of people who can probably name the best Tom Hanks movies. Whenever his name comes up, viewers probably think of hit films like "Splash," "Big," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Forrest Gump," "Philadelphia," "Cast Away," etc. (Hanks himself has specific thoughts on his best flicks and the "casual slaughter" that comes with making them.) But there’s one movie that Hanks thinks doesn't get referenced too often. With that, the two-time Oscar winner took some time to highlight the "incredibly important movie" during a chat. Throughout his career, the "A Man Called Otto" star has proven he can master any genre, whether it be comedy or drama. While a number of his movies get referenced by fans, Tom Hanks feels the one people don't discuss is the acclaimed 2002 crime drama "Road to Perdition." The underrated gem came up during the star's interview with CinemaBlend's own "ReelBlend" podcast when the hosts called the film one of their favorites from Hanks. Once it was brought up, the witty actor took the time to reflect on the movie, making specific note of his esteemed collaborators.

More for You

Mike Pompeo Sparks MAGA Fury

Here Are 6 Things White People Say That Highlight Their Privilege And OMG I Hear These Allllll The Time

Pastors respond to skyrocketing hostility against churches: 'Not going to stop me from taking a stand'

'It's not taxed at all': Warren Buffett shares the 'best investment' you can make when battling inflation

Lindsey Graham: Biden has 'screwed the world up every way you can'

Mac Jones has been traded by New England Patriots

Donald Trump's Post Angers Alex Jones

Grow This Aromatic Herb To Send Wasps Buzzing Away From Your Yard

The 11 Rudest Things You Can Do In Someone Else’s House, According To Etiquette Experts

The seven new types of old age – and how to tell which one you are

Fani Willis case should be decided ‘not based on optics but based on the law,’ says Sen. Warnock

Biden gives fiery response when asked about 'widely shared' belief that he's overseeing a 'genocide' in Gaza

Comedian Kathy Griffin on being "test case" for Trump retribution

China Is in Distress—and Xi Jinping May Be on His Way Out | Opinion

Florida condo owners are stuck in a 'train wreck' as prices drop and mounting insurance rates scare away buyers

Heinz rolls out newly designed ketchup bottle that could set new standard for packaging: 'We can't continue to do things as we have in the past'

Scientists Think They've Found a New Cause of Type 2 Diabetes

IBM vice chair points out flaw in Biden billionaire claim

15 Years Ago, an Underrated Sci-Fi Thriller Planted the Seeds for a New TV Genre

Some Republicans are voicing anger over election of Lara Trump to RNC