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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.

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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

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‘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.

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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.

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A Man Called Otto Reviews

A Man Called Otto is not a waste of time by any stretch, but it also does not demand your attention in any strong measure.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Feb 28, 2024

I did occasionally find it just a bit too pat and too contrived to melt my more critical lens entirely, but it won me over with its nicely handled comedic touches, lovely performances, and both its clear-eyed positivity and its shamelessly huge heart.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 31, 2023

If not for Tom Hanks, "A Man Called Otto" might be a boring tale of one grumpy man's perseverance against the elements trying to take him down. But it's because of Hanks that the film succeeds.

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

The drama movie is touching but never truly remarkable.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 25, 2023

Despite having a somewhat interesting start with the presence of Hanks as the unfriendly neighbor, it is a remake that loses the desired dramatic effect by sometimes going down the route of calculated poignancy. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | May 19, 2023

Tom Hanks was an absolute blast to watch on screen, and his interaction with his co-stars were some of my favorite scenes in the movie. He commanded the screen with his betrayal of Otto.

Full Review | Apr 29, 2023

It proves again, the everyman of the movies, can play any mood or soul. The movie is patient, and a special shoutout to Mariana Trevino for taking a slightly underwritten role and giving it depth.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Apr 27, 2023

Subtle, sincerely redemptive comedic drama...Tom Hanks delivers a carefully modulated, understated performance, as does his 'real-life' son Truman, but the script tends to be overly melodramatic.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 6, 2023

The director is Marc Forster of Monster's Ball. For sure, his saccharine movie is not hard to like, if only because he is a pro at manipulating heartstrings and Hanks cannot help but be affable, however ill-suited for his role here.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 23, 2023

Tom Hanks gets in touch with his inner Larry David as the curmudgeonly sexegenarian at the heart of Marc Forster’s lukewarm English-language remake of Hannes Holm’s Oscar-nominated “A Man Called Ova.”

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Mar 13, 2023

With Hanks as its star, Marc Forster’s safe Hollywood remake is all the more predictable.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 2, 2023

A Man Called Otto is mechanically engineered for maximum lachrymosal extraction.

Full Review | Feb 28, 2023

Tom Hanks is trying to channel his inner Clint Eastwood for this US adaptation of Fredrik Bachman’s Swedish best-seller - the problem is, he simply isn’t grouchy enough

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 26, 2023

A film that gets by thanks to Hanks' unwavering watchability though there's not a beat or a revelation we haven't seen before and taking its biggest emotional cue directly from She's Having a Baby is an annoyingly misguided choice.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 16, 2023

This slice of superior schmaltz has Tom Hanks as a fastidious late-middle-aged grump who hates everyone, from overcharging shop assistants to neighbours who put their recycling in the wrong bin.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 15, 2023

Tom Hanks does his best to look mean, but his inherent affability never fails to shine through. Otto discovers to his disgust that there is no avoiding mushiness.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2023

With a terrific supporting cast – Mariana Trevino is the MVP of this journey, and she’s a force of nature as the kind neighbor Marisol. Without her as a counterpart, this would be a difficult, one-note story.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Feb 3, 2023

It’s the kind of schmaltzy, big performance studio drama that used to get a billion Oscar nominations, and darn it, I kind of miss those being in vogue.

Full Review | Feb 2, 2023

A sweet story of the power of community to bring someone back from the brink of suicide. A film like this depends on the performances - and here there are some weak links and some standout performances.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 1, 2023

A predictable tear-jerker made no less enjoyable or heartfelt by its predictability.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 31, 2023

A Man Called Otto (2022)

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‘a man called otto’ review: tom hanks in a predictable but touching portrait of grief and resilience.

The Oscar winner plays the title role in this remake of the hit Swedish film about a curmudgeonly widower learning to embrace life again.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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Neil patrick harris, tig notaro, nicole byer laugh over shared pain in 'group therapy' trailer (exclusive), demi moore honored at women's cancer research fund dinner, with support from tom hanks and rita wilson, a man called otto.

Set in an unnamed Rust Belt town that has clearly seen better days (the movie was filmed in Pittsburgh), this American version directed by Marc Forster ( Finding Neverland ) closely follows its Swedish predecessor in most regards. Otto, who has recently been pushed out of his engineering managerial job, mainly spends his time scowling and grunting at anyone who has the temerity to cross his path and enforcing the rules of his gated neighborhood, which is controlled by the sort of real-estate company whose smarmy representative ( Mike Birbiglia , in a role making little use of his comic talents) would have made a suitable villain in a Frank Capra movie.  

His humanity only emerges during his regular visits to her grave, where he makes it clear that he intends to join her soon. It’s also revealed in a series of flashbacks to his younger days, in which the young Otto (Truman Hanks, Tom’s son, bearing an uncanny resemblance to his old man) has a meet-cute with Sonya (Rachel Keller, suitably endearing) when he boards a train going in the wrong direction in order to return a book she’s dropped. We see the couple moving into the home where the middle-aged Otto still lives and making friends with their neighbors, and then Sonya getting pregnant and tragically losing the baby in a bus accident that results in her being confined to a wheelchair.

The storyline’s less convincing elements include Otto becoming a social media sensation after he’s filmed rescuing an elderly man who’s fallen onto train tracks. That allows him to exploit his newfound fame when the real estate company attempts to evict his longtime neighbors after they experience major health issues. It’s the sort of melodramatic plot contrivance that feels wholly unnecessary, as if screenwriter David Magee didn’t trust that the story of a grief-stricken man regaining his will to live would carry enough emotional weight.

But it’s hard to mind too much, thanks to Hanks’ perfectly modulated, understated performance — he’s truly moving when you feel Otto’s frost slowly starting to thaw — and the welcome comic moments that alleviate the film’s more heavy-handed aspects. There’s a particularly wonderful moment when Otto winds up in the hospital after collapsing in the street and Marisol is gravely informed that his heart is “too big.” Instead of registering alarm, she collapses into hysterical laughter, with Otto having the grace to fully get the joke.

Although A Man Called Otto never fully rises above its obvious plot machinations, director 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.

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

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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

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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

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A Man Called Otto review: Tom Hanks anchors a sweet drama

“A Man Called Otto is a straightforward drama that often veers too far into sentimentality but is nonetheless frequently saved by Tom Hanks' reliably charming lead performance.”

• Tom Hanks' moving lead performance
• Mariana Treviño's breakout supporting performance
• The film's surprisingly deadpan sense of humor
• Several superfluous, overly sweet flashbacks
• A few poorly-placed needle drops
• An inconsistent tone

A Man Called Otto is the kind of straightforward, inoffensive dramedy that used to be incredibly common. Nowadays, Hollywood seems less and less interested in producing movies like A Man Called Otto , though, even during the end-of-the-year holiday season that has always seemed well-suited for middling-budget, family-friendly dramas like it. That fact doesn’t make A Man Called Otto a particularly unique or boundary-pushing film. It does, however, make it feel like a relic from a different time.

That’s OK, because Otto, as played here by Tom Hanks , is a bit of a relic himself. Not only is Hanks’ likable curmudgeon one of the oldest residents of his Midwest neighborhood when A Man Called Otto begins, but he’s also desperate to shuffle off this mortal coil as quickly and efficiently as he can. Of course, Otto isn’t nearly as stone cold as he makes himself out to be, nor is his desire to die as unwavering as he claims. His path from embittered pessimist to renewed optimist is clear from the moment A Man Called Otto begins, and the film itself doesn’t have too much to offer in terms of ingenuity or originality.

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The film is, in fact, exactly what any reasonably well-versed moviegoer may expect it to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its charms.

A Man Called Otto is the second film adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s 2012 novel, A Man Called Ove , which was previously adapted as a Swedish-language movie in 2015. Both Backman’s original novel and director Hannes Holm’s 2015 adaptation tell virtually the same story as A Man Called Otto . The new film follows Hanks’ grumpy older man as his attempts to end his life are repeatedly interrupted by the sudden arrival of his newest neighbors, Marisol (a scene-stealing Mariana Treviño) and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), as well as their two plucky young daughters.

It isn’t long before both Marisol and Tommy have inserted themselves into Otto’s life. In doing so, they open the door for Otto’s past to be explored via a series of often saccharine flashbacks that offer glimpses into Otto’s marriage to Sonya (Rachel Keller), who died just a few months prior to Marisol and Tommy’s arrival. Sonya’s death, combined with his forced retirement, briefly but understandably render Otto uninterested in life. Fortunately, his unexpected friendship with Marisol gives Otto’s previously sweet self the chance to reemerge.

The film’s story is not, by any means, a particularly original one. Marc Forster’s direction and David Magee’s open-hearted screenplay don’t go out of their way to inject many new surprises or instances of structural invention into A Man Called Otto , either. Instead, the film is perfectly content to rely solely on the dramatic strength of its undeniably simple story and the performances given by its cast members.

Thankfully, Forster’s instincts aren’t totally off base in A Man Called Otto , a film that has, among other things, Tom Hanks going for it. As Otto, Hanks alternates between cartoonishly grumpy and understatedly sorrowful with the kind of precision that only a performer as experienced as him could muster. Throughout the film, Forster effectively juxtaposes Hanks’ seasoned, unassuming presence with the live-wire energy conjured by his scene-stealing co-star, Treviño. Together, Treviño and Hanks make for an infectiously likable duo.

The two stars’ chemistry is so good that A Man Called Otto is often at its best whenever it’s focusing on Marisol and Otto’s growing friendship. Otto’s relationships with several of his other neighbors, including the endlessly joyful Jimmy (Cameron Britton), provide the film with moments of effective humor and heart as well. However, while Hanks’ real-life son, Truman, makes for a believable version of Otto’s younger self, the flashbacks involving him and Keller’s Sonya are often so one-note that they add little except extra minutes to A Man Called Otto ’s runtime.

In addition to the film’s superfluous flashbacks, Forster makes a handful of creative mistakes throughout A Man Called Otto , including one badly timed needle drop. Magee’s script also invests little time in setting up or exploring Mike Birbiglia’s unnamed real estate agent, who just so happens to be the closest thing the film has to an antagonist. Altogether, these decisions lead the film toward a strangely lackluster climax. The film itself also runs about 10 or 15 minutes longer than it should, which similarly takes some of the weight away from A Man Called Otto ’s otherwise bittersweet final moments.

For all of its faults, though, A Man Called Otto still succeeds solely on the power of Hanks and Treviño’s performances. The film is not, by any means, as cohesive or emotionally stirring as many of its team members’ previous efforts, but it’s a harmless and charming affair nonetheless. Ultimately, that’s just another way of saying that A Man Called Otto really is just like the family-friendly, end-of-the-year dramas that Hollywood used to annually put out, the best of which could be relied upon to supply enough laughs and heartwarming moments to justify their holiday-timed releases. A Man Called Otto , for its part, does just that.

A Man Called Otto is playing in theaters now. 

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In 2019, Adam Sandler proved he still has what it takes to be one of Hollywood’s most versatile and charismatic performers with his performance in the Safdie Brothers’ adrenaline-fueled Uncut Gems. Not since 2002’s Punch-Drunk Love had Sandler played a character so different from his usual goofball archetype, and he earned some well-deserved acclaim for his turn as the film's self-destructive lead. But Uncut Gems did more than just reaffirm Sandler’s status as a more versatile leading man than his filmography would have you believe.

The film also offered the promise of being the first entry in a new chapter in Sandler’s career, one featuring more variety and legitimately dramatic stories from the Happy Gilmore star than viewers had seen in previous years. While it remains to be seen if that’s the direction Sandler’s career will ultimately take in the coming years, Hustle certainly seems to suggest that it might be.

In the final act of director Terence Davies’ achingly beautiful new film Benediction, a son asks his father, “Why do you hate the modern world?” The father responds, “Because it’s younger than I am.” It is a wry, observant, and delicately funny response, but it also speaks to a sense of disconnection — namely, the separation one man feels between himself and the world around him.

That feeling of isolation and loneliness is at the heart of Benediction, Davies’ film about the life and work of British war poet Siegfried Sassoon. In the film, Sassoon is played by two actors, Peter Capaldi and Jack Lowden, and across Benediction’s 137-minute runtime, Davies’ script jumps between the various stages of Sassoon’s life. By doing so, Davies gradually builds an intricate portrait of the various moments of regret, shame, heartbreak, and devastation that not only shaped Sassoon’s life but also his poetry.

Julian Fellowes loves the British aristocracy. Much more than fellow Brit and anglophile Peter Morgan (who gave us The Crown, The Queen, and a half dozen films, shows, and plays about Queen Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor), Fellowes has defined his career by chronicling the upstairs/downstairs class system of Great Britain in the early 20th century. He first gained worldwide attention in 2001 when he collaborated with Robert Altman on Gosford Park, a withering social satire set in an English manor in the 1930s. He then created Downton Abbey, a massively successful series focusing on, you guessed it, an English manor at the turn of the century, only without Altman's trademark cynicism and masterful direction.

Six seasons and one sleeper hit feature film later, Fellowes is back with more servants and stiff upper lips with Downton Abbey: A New Era. What was once a sly look at the often tense relations between the classes as British society slowly woke up from the Victorian era has now devolved into long-winded fan service, with characters whose stories have long ago wrapped up standing around trying to find something, anything, to do while the threat of real change is teased but never delivered.

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Cannes film festival usher clashes with dominican star massiel taveras days after kelly rowland confrontation, ‘a man called otto’ review: tom hanks, mariana trevino & a cat make this american remake irresistible.

By Pete Hammond

Pete Hammond

Awards Columnist/Chief Film Critic

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When you have an international best seller that was on the NYT list for 42 weeks and then made into a multi-Oscar-nominated Swedish film that became the third-most successful in the history of that country Ingmar Bergman called home, you might wonder what the need was for an English-language American remake. The answer is a chance to give Tom Hanks a role he can run with and, more important, to bring a very human, often funny, character-driven story back to light in a time that needs it more than ever.

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Screenwriter David Magee and director Marc Forster have not altered the basic plot for this Pittsburgh-set remake titled A Man Called Otto , but unlike another Pittsburgh-set Hanks movie, 2019’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, which earned Hanks a Supporting Oscar nomination as the gentle Mister Rogers, this one gives its star to operate at full-crank levels until we inevitably see his transformation into a man with a very big heart. We know it is coming, and that is what makes the familiarity of this tale work so well. It is comforting, and Hanks navigates it with the expert skill you would expect. It is nice to see him doing comedy again as well. It has been awhile, but this earns its laughs and smiles in completely believable ways, never forced, thank God.

Forster and Magee also use flashbacks of the younger Otto (played by Hanks’ real-life youngest son and uncanny lookalike Truman Hanks) and Sonya (Rachel Keller) as they meet, marry, endure tragedy and share a life. The flashbacks are not intrusive and really add to our understanding of just who Otto was, and perhaps why he became the way he is today. Both young stars are well cast in a movie that knows exactly what it is doing in order to win our hearts. Also in the cast is Mike Birbiglia as a corporate real estate company rep who plays the “villain” of sorts, but his character is pretty one-dimensional.

Matthias Koenigswieser’s fine cinematography fulfills the changing needs of the film’s visual style perfectly, Barbara Ling’s production design serves the story well, and there is a lovely score to match by Thomas Newman. A song by Rita Wilson and David Hodges, “Til You’re Home,” is a perfect touch at the end and already has been Oscar-shortlisted .

The reason this American remake is so vital, at least to me, is that it ultimately is a story of human connection coming at a time of unprecedented divisiveness and heartlessness in an America that seems to have truly lost its way. This is somewhat a return to a bit of old-style Frank Capra spirit in a social media age, and a family film that serves a purpose to remind us the good within us, no matter how deep down you have to dig.

Producers are Hanks, Wilson, Gary Goetzman and the Swedish film’s original producer Fredrick Wikstrom Nicastro. Sony Pictures opens the Columbia release Friday in a limited LA/NY exclusive run before going wide on January 13.

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‘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

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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.  

But David Magee, who wrote the script of “A Man Called Otto” (inspired by the 2015 Swedish film “A Man Called Ove”), and Marc Forster, who directed it, don’t have anything that witty in mind. The film starts off rooted in the real world but turns into a soft-headed “redemptive” fairy tale. Everything gets turned up a notch; even the potentially uproarious scene of Otto dishing out abuse to a hospital clown withers in the clown’s telegraphed overreaction. The movie is trying so hard to be a crowd-pleaser, in its reach-for-the-synthetic, sitcom-meets-Hallmark heart, that it will likely end up pleasing very few. It’s the definition of a movie that Tom Hanks deserved better than.      

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.

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.  

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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

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (24)
• Kids say (24)

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 : April 20, 2024

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.

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Review: A grumpy Tom Hanks stars in ‘A Man Called Otto’

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hanks in a scene from “A Man Called Otto.” (Niko Tavernise/Sony Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hanks, left, in a scene from “A Man Called Otto.” (Niko Tavernise/Sony Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hanks, right, and Mariana Treviño in a scene from “A Man Called Otto.” (Niko Tavernise/Sony Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Hanks, left, and Mariana Treviño in a scene from “A Man Called Otto.” (Dennis Mong/Sony Pictures via AP)

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Sentimental tales about grumpy old men and American decline have, until recently, typically been the domain of Clint Eastwood.

But in “A Man Called Otto,” Marc Forster’s adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestseller and a remake of the 2016 Swedish film “A Man Called Ove,” it’s Tom Hanks prowling the neighborhood and irritably grumbling about how things used to be. In the original, Rolf Lassgård richly inhabited the role of Ove, a curmudgeonly widower — a Forrest Grump —whose suicide attempts are foiled by needy neighbors and, ultimately, his grudging, sincere devotion to them.

Exasperation, whether directed at a crying ballplayer or a slobbering canine, has always been squarely in Hanks’ wheelhouse. But despondency or even plain get-off-my-lawn orneriness are less obvious traits possessed by the actor sometimes called “America’s Dad.” Following Hanks’ villainous turn as Col. Tom Parker in “Elvis,” the 66-year-old has found in “A Man Called Otto” another role that interestingly, if not always entirely successfully, caters to his strengths while tweaking his familiar screen presence.

It also may rob “A Man Called Otto,” which opens with Otto buying rope to hang himself with, of some of its spirit. We know there are dark roads that Hanks just isn’t going to go down, and some of the early, more caustic scenes of Forster’s film strike a false note. But as “A Man Called Otto” makes its way through Otto’s life, cutting between his present-day squabbles and flashbacks of happier times with his wife, Sonya (Rachel Keller), Hanks movingly tailors the role to himself. How “A Man Called Otto” unfolds won’t surprise anyone, but it does the trick for a little post-holidays heart-warming.

“A Man Called Otto” is set in the prefab row-house development Otto has long lived in, where he tirelessly tisk-tisks any rule breakers, re-sorts misplaced recycling and berates drivers who violate the street’s regulation against through traffic.

Screenwriter David Magee (“Life of Pi,” “Finding Neverland”) hues closely to the Swedish film as a kind of parable of community. Up and down the street are all the people the freshly retired Otto barely tolerates: friends-turned-enemies (Peter Lawson Jones, Juanita Jennings), a friendly exerciser (a delightful Cameron Britton), a transgender paper deliverer and former student of Otto’s wife (Mack Bayda). Most of all there is Marisol (a terrific Mariana Treviño), a pregnant mother of two has just moved in with her husband (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). Various needs — a stray cat, a borrowed ladder, driving lessons — intrude on Otto’s desires for a peaceful death and, in between aborted suicide attempts, gradually rekindle his will to live.

It’s sometimes too broadly drawn. Mike Birbiglia plays a predatory real estate agent from a company not-so-subtly called Dye & Merica. (“Sounds like Dying America, which it is,” says Otto.) But “A Man Called Otto” is less after realism than it is a modern-day fable, with shades of Scrooge and the Grinch. As a tale of a solitary man, Hanks has made it a poignant work of family. Rita Wilson, his wife, is a producer and is heard singing a song in the film. The younger Otto is played in flashbacks by their son, Truman Hanks. Even Chet Hanks’ “White Boy Summer” blares from a car radio.

Another tune, though, is a more thrilling needle drop. The less said probably the better, but suffice to say, it could be a sign that the Kate Bush renaissance so hearteningly kicked up by “Stranger Things” has not yet abated. If that’s not life-affirming, I don’t know what is.

“A Man Called Otto,” a Sony Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for mature thematic material involving suicide attempts, and language. Running time: 126 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

A Man Called Otto Review: A Charming Film Held Back By Odd Tonal Decisions

Warning: This review contains spoilers for "A Man Called Otto," as well as sensitive, potentially triggering content.

In Tom Hanks' wildly varied film career, he's played everything from a lawyer dying of AIDS ("Philadelphia") to a shopkeeper in love ("Sleepless In Seattle") to an unlikely influencer of history ("Forrest Gump"). He's even starred in a very informal plane crash trilogy, as a pilot stuck landing a crashing plane ("Sully"), a man stuck on an island after a plane crash ("Cast Away"), and a man stuck in an airport after a plane landing ("The Terminal"). In "A Man Called Otto," based on the 2012 Fredrik Backman novel "A Man Called Ove" and the 2015 Swedish film of that same title, Tom Hanks takes on his least characteristic role yet: that of a grumpy old widower.

It's an interesting project to save the least, given its dedicated attempt to land charming, family-friendly vibes against a narrative that relies on a widower fed up with living without his beloved Sonya (Rachel Keller). It joins the company of Redeemed Cranky Old Men films, and one can't help but be continually reminded of, say, "As Good As It Gets" and "Gran Torino" as it proceeds. What distinguishes this film from those is the peculiarity of Otto's unique challenge, one that's so core to its story that this review will have to get into spoiler territory to discuss it. 

Fair warning ahead, we're going to be discussing both MAJOR SPOILERS and an extremely sensitive topic.

Otto, we come to find out, is so distraught over his wife's death that he aims to join her in the afterlife by committing suicide. Distraught, suicidal commitment has been well handled before in films that don't aim for a tragic tone, like Frank Capra's holiday classic "It's A Wonderful Life" and Billy Wilder's "The Apartment." "A Man Called Otto" attempts to join that list, with talented performers and a number of enjoyable moments, but its woefully uneven tone and odd handling of such a serious issue keep it from meeting its potential.

A serious topic anchored by strong performances

"A Man Called Otto" begins with a man buying rope in a hardware store. That man is widowed retiree Otto (Tom Hanks), and he is particular about both his rope length and, well, everything else — he separates the trash and recyclables, enforces parking rules, and keeps the i's dotted and the t's crossed in his nice but gentrifying neighborhood. And Otto does this all with a frown on his face. Otto is the neighborhood grump, and after his wife Sonya's death he largely keeps to himself ... at least until new neighbor Marisol (an electric Mariana Treviño) and her charming family move in and need a little help. It's the first in a series of interruptions that peel off Otto's prickly edges and allow him to grow and let the love in, finding connection in the power of community.

Unfortunately, Much of the film is a series of interruptions. Otto tries a method of suicide, fails or is interrupted by a needy neighbor, he begrudgingly helps said neighbor, and so on, as his grieving heart is progressively warmed by Marisol and co., a mangy cat he begrudgingly takes in, and others in his little gentrifying neighborhood. Where "Otto" most excels is in its performances. Tom Hanks has appropriate complexity as the widowed curmudgeon, boasting considerably strong emotional moments alongside showcasing the comedic chops he used more heavily in his early career. Some of his strongest performances are interrupted by oddly spliced-in and transitioned memories, but he still lands them well enough that his Otto is routinely enjoyable to watch. 

The surrounding cast here largely also do a wonderful job with their respective roles. Mariana Treviño gives an exceptional performance as Marisol, full of heart and fire and tremendous on-screen charisma. Rachel Keller brings a lot of warmth and humanity to her all-too-brief scenes as the younger version of Otto's wife ... though one can't help but wonder why Otto's remembrances of his beloved wife never extend beyond her early days. One would think he'd remember more than a brief, years-ago span in the life of a woman he loved so much he'd die to join, but alas ... evidently not. It's a curious omission to say the least. Together the performances drive a movie full of moments that are enjoyable when abstracted from their context. It's engaging to watch these players interact and to see Otto's transition over the movie's runtime.

A decent movie hampered by tonal inconsistencies

Beyond the performances, a lot of other elements work in how the tale of "A Man Called Otto" is told. A number of comedic moments work well, driven largely by Hanks' irascible Otto being ornery in the moment. A good part of it is a comedy of little errors, where his low tolerance for things like parking violations and interruption are played for laughs, and these scenes typically work well. Also successfully played for laughs are a number of moments where Otto's ultimate good nature forces him time and again to help a neighbor or former friend despite his desire to be left alone ... a sort of aged Mad Max traversing the desert of his lonely life until he's begrudgingly forced to be something beyond a jerk. Largely these moments land, and it's this journey of accidental reconnections that more often than not bring home an engaging story about a heartbroken man reclaimed through the power of community.

That said, there are a number of elements and moments that don't quite fit in "A Man Called Otto." Plenty of individual jokes land, scenes work, but one can't help but find a tonal dissonance between the subject matter and its treatment. At its core, it's a film about a distraught man who wants to commit suicide after the death of his beloved wife until he finds a new makeshift family. Throughout the film he repeatedly tries new ways to kill himself, each time getting ironically interrupted by this or that neighborly need or accident. 

When one thinks about it, this material is heavy. One would expect a drama or black comedy, but director Marc Forster pulls out all the stops to maintain a superficially family-friendly, heartwarming tone. Attempts are played for laughs as the narrative winds its way from one attempt to another, sandwiched around enough warm moments and cutesy interludes that the audience can forget how dark the material is. It feels odd each time we watch a distraught man's attempted suicide be played off for a quirky laugh, judo'ed into a heartwarming tale of a man's social re-creation. It makes for a confusing tonal mishmash, and it isn't until Otto's abrupt admission at the end that the movie ever seems to take that element of the story seriously.

Adding to these issues is a film score that rarely works or matches the scene appropriately. At times, it feels like music that belongs in a television movie rather than in the newest outing of a seasoned performer like Hanks. Altogether, the score and original songs rarely fit the film and contribute to its relative inability to land on a coherent feeling or balance its humorous and dramatic emotional pulls. "A Man Called Otto" has its moments, both humorous and heartwarming, and it works better than it should due to the strength of its performances. Unfortunately, it's also plagued by choices that blunt its overall coherence, seeming like Forster wanted to make an entirely different kind of film than the material dictated.

/Film Rating: 7 out of 10

(If you or a loved one are a survivor of suicide, or have had suicidal ideations of any kind, please consider reaching out to a medical professional, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.)

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Movie Reviews

Movie review: 'living' and 'a man called otto'.

Bob Mondello

Two new films about men who find flexibility late in life, "Living" and "A Man Called Otto," are remakes of acclaimed foreign films: Director Akira Kurosawa's "Ikuru" and Sweden's "A Man Called Ove."

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Man Called Otto, A (United States, 2022)

I’ve long since given up asking the question “Why?” when it comes to filmmakers turning to foreign language films for the storylines of new English-language films. Sometimes, in fact, the results can be quite satisfactory – take the 2022 reworking of Ikiru into Living – but most are simply mediocre or subpar retreads. In the case of A Man Called Otto , which owes its existence to Hannes Holm’s 2015 feature, A Man Called Ove (which, in turn, was based on the 2012 novel by Fredrik Backman), the results are admirable enough to justify the movie’s existence. Although the level of manipulation is several notches higher than in the Swedish original, A Man Called Otto boasts fine performances from Tom Hanks and Mariana Trevino and offers the kind of crowd-pleasing arc that runs counter to the prevalent mood of worldwide cynicism.

For Otto , the location has been shifted to the Pittsburgh suburbs. That’s where the title character (played by Tom Hanks) lives. A recent widower, Otto has turned into the town curmudgeon, fulfilling the “get off my lawn” stereotype to a “T.”   At first, Otto seems to be just a generic disgruntled old man but, as we learn his backstory through flashbacks (in which Otto is played by Hanks’ son, Truman), he has been crushed by grief following the death of his beloved wife, Sonya (Rachel Keller). He’s in the process of getting his life in order so he can commit suicide when his preparations are interrupted by the arrival of new neighbors: a mother, father, and two girls. Although Otto would prefer to be left on his own, the pregnant woman, Marisol (Mariana Trevino), ignores his unfriendly attitude and refuses to allow him his isolation. After several failed attempt to kill himself, Otto begins to acknowledge that he might still have a purpose, even if it’s just to care for the stray cat who has adopted him as its human.

Parts of the screenplay are too facile and there’s a subplot involving a greedy real estate development corporation that is underwritten and not remotely believable. (The stuff about the “Social Media Investigation,” newly added to the remake, isn’t one of the better additions.) But the things that work in A Man Called Otto outweigh those that don’t and Hanks’ performance – probably his best since News of the World (which featured a not-dissimilar character) – is the glue that holds everything together. As 2022 remakes go, this one falls considerably short of the surprisingly high bar set by Living but it’s a heartwarming tale for the coldest part of the year.

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Screen Rant

A man called otto reviews: what critics thought of the tom hanks movie.

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What did the reviews of A Man Called Otto say about the dark comedy starring Tom Hanks? The movie's title character is a lovable curmudgeon who is left feeling pessimistic and suicidal following the death of his wife. As he plots to take his own life, Otto’s worldview is turned around when a young family moves into his neighborhood. A Man Called Otto is a movie adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestselling 2012 novel A Man Called Ove and an English-language remake of the 2015 Swedish film version with the same title as the book.

A Man Called Otto was helmed by Marc Forster, the director of Quantum of Solace and World War Z , and scripted by Oscar-nominated screenwriter David Magee, best known for Finding Neverland and Life of Pi . At a time when most big-screen comedies bomb at the box office, Hanks proved he still has the star power to draw audiences to the theater with A Man Called Otto ’s admirable worldwide gross of more than $112 million (via Box Office Mojo ). But what did the A Man Called Otto reviews say about this uniquely offbeat dramedy?

RELATED: What Is A Man Called Otto Based On? All 4 Versions Explained

Critics Thought A Man Called Otto Was Formulaic But Sweet

As its 69% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes would suggest, the critical reception to A Man Called Otto was mostly positive without reaching the heights of unanimous praise that other Tom Hanks films like Toy Story and Saving Private Ryan managed to achieve. The critics behind the A Man Called Otto reviews generally felt that the movie was sweet and heartfelt if a little formulaic. The critics’ consensus promises that A Man Called Otto will “ tug at your heartstrings ” despite following a “ tried-and-true ” formula. It might be predictable, but it’s an enjoyable ride.

Most of the A Man Called Otto reviews singled out Hanks’s understated yet powerful performance in the title role as one of the saving graces that make the film worth watching. Hanks is renowned as one of the most dependable actors in Hollywood, which is partly why A Man Called Otto succeeded at the box office, so this is hardly surprising. In Screen Rant ’s A Man Called Otto review , Mae Abdulbaki gave the film three out of five stars and deemed it to be “ decent despite its conventional storytelling, and even heartwarming and tender when it dares to be sincere .”

Stream A Man Called Otto On Netflix

A Man Called Otto is currently available to stream on Netflix. It’s a movie that inspires optimism in the face of adversity and hopelessness. Although 69% is a dubious Rotten Tomatoes score to gamble 126 minutes on, A Man Called Otto is well worth checking out – especially for Hanks fans who want to see him play against type as a cynical crank. In spite of its mixed critical reception and lukewarm reviews, the audience responded much more kindly to A Man Called Otto , with a near-perfect 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes .

• A Man Called Otto (2022)

A Man Called Otto Review

A Man Called Otto

The 2015 Swedish film A Man Called Ove — adapted from the novel of the same name by Fredrik Backman — is a very Scandinavian brand of feelgoodery: one which sees its hero regularly try to kill himself. It became a huge hit in its native country, beloved for its flinty anti-hero and morbid sense of humour, and remains the third biggest film of all time at the Swedish box office. Hollywood, inevitably, came calling soon after.

Like many English-language remakes, A Man Called Otto doesn’t totally justify its existence — you can’t help but wonder, when films are so easily available online, why not just point audiences to the original? But it does at least pull off a significant casting coup, in the form of Tom Hanks .

Tom Hanks is so good that the film suffers somewhat when he's not on screen.

Last seen this grouchy when announcing there was no crying in baseball, Hanks is clearly relishing playing against type here, abandoning his “America’s Dad” persona to step into Otto’s short-fused slippers. It’s a typically excellent lead performance, misanthropic yet good-hearted, Hanks finding and elevating the humanity in the character. (He is particularly adept at smiling without ever losing his frown.)

He’s so good, in fact, that the film suffers somewhat when he’s not on screen. It’s undoubtedly a lovely touch to cast Hanks’ real-life son Truman as the younger Otto in repeated flashbacks, fleshing out his early life and marriage to Sonya (Rachel Keller), but those scenes are by far the weakest, treacly and overly rose-tinted, and have an adverse effect on the film’s pace. It’s a constant tonal plate-spinning act, balancing the comic elements with the repeated scenes of attempted suicide, and despite its sharper edges, director Marc Forster doesn’t quite avoid sugary clichés.

What keeps it consistently likeable, Hanks aside, are the actors surrounding him. There’s a great role for Juanita Jennings as one of Otto’s estranged neighbours, and a surprisingly moving subplot about a trans teen in Otto’s life, played by trans actor Mack Bayda. Best among the ensemble is Mexican actor Mariana Treviño as Marisol, the mother of a new family living across the street from Otto; her vivacity and genial zest for life gives a supposedly grouchy film its warm heart. The It’s-A-Wonderful-Life -y message that eventually comes — that no man is a failure who has friends — is ultimately hard to snub.

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