a man called otto movie review rotten tomatoes

A Man Called Otto

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.

• Tom Hanks as Otto Anderson
• Mariana Treviño as Marisol
• Kailey Hyman as Barb
• Rachel Keller as
• Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as
• Cameron Britton as
• Mike Birbiglia as
• Elle Chapman as Sarah
• David Magee
• Fredrik Backman
• Marc Forster
• Matt Chesse

Director of Photography

• Matthias Koenigswieser

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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
• 708 User reviews
• 181 Critic reviews
• 51 Metascore
• 1 win & 8 nominations

Top cast 94

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• 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, one sees 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 708

• May 8, 2023
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• January 13, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• United Kingdom
• 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
• $113,359,847

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 6 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• 12-Track Digital Sound
• Dolby Surround 7.1
• Dolby Atmos

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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’ 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.

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Tom hanks warns fans about ai-generated ads using his likeness to sell "wonder drugs", mike birbiglia's stand-up fundraiser for ymca draws judd apatow, nick kroll and larry wilmore, 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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‘A Man Called Otto’: Tom Hanks reveals his cranky side in a well-crafted gem of wry humor, human insight

It’s another memorable performance from the veteran actor, backed by a crackling good supporting cast..

Tom Hanks’ character in “A Man Called Otto” is the kind of guy who yells at illegally parked delivery drivers and lazy garbage sorters

Columbia Pictures

Seems like only yesterday (because it was only yesterday) that we were writing our review of “Living,” a small and warmhearted gem starring one of our finest veteran actors in a well-crafted and emotionally involving remake of a film about a widowed curmudgeon who begins to grow and change after experiencing some major life setbacks.

Now comes “A Man Called Otto,” a small and warmhearted gem starring one of our finest veteran actors in a well-crafted and emotionally involving remake of a film about a widowed curmudgeon who begins to grow and change after experiencing some major life setbacks.

The good news is, just as Bill Nighy carries the day through some admittedly contrived and melodramatic developments in “Living,” Tom Hanks does the same with “Otto,” which wears its heart on its sleeve and can be a little soft and gooey at times. But it wins us over in the end, thanks in large part to Hanks delivering the umpteenth memorable performance in his remarkable career, and some breakout supporting work from the crackling good supporting cast.

With both films, we’re pretty sure where the story is going to take us almost from the get-go, and yet the journey is filled with wry humor, universal insights into the human condition, and a number of moments when you’ll have to dry your eyes and shake it off.

Directed by the versatile Marc Forster (“Finding Neverland,” “World War Z”) and inspired by the 2015 Swedish film “A Man Called Ove” (which was based on the bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman), “A Man Called Otto” opens with a series of scenes establishing Hanks’ Otto as that one guy in the office or on your block who is always complaining about people not following the rules, who greets your friendly hello with a grunt or a sharp remark, who thinks everybody in the world is an “idiot” and he’s the only one left who doesn’t cut corners and plays by the rulebook and minds his own damn business. In many cases, e.g., when Otto gets into a dispute at a big-box hardware chain store over a ridiculous corporate policy about the pricing of a few feet of rope, Otto isn’t wrong — but you want to take him aside and say: Otto, just let it go. It’s not worth it, man.

Spoiler alert: Otto never just lets things go, whether he’s barking at a woman for letting her dog urinate on his lawn, chastising a neighbor for his too-tight exercise outfit, yelling at a delivery truck driver for unauthorized parking — or telling a stray cat to leave him alone, and we all know that stray cat isn’t going to leave him alone. Recently forced out of his managerial engineering position and now retired, Otto has nothing but time on his hands, and he spends much of that time patrolling his gated neighborhood in an unnamed Rust Belt town (“Otto” was filmed in Pittsburgh), growling about bicycles that aren’t parked in the rack, garbage that hasn’t been properly sorted into the recycling bin, etc., etc.

Not that Otto plans to be long for this world; we learn he has purchased that stretch of rope because he intends to hang himself. Since the recent passing of his beloved wife, Otto has lost the will to go on.

Director Forster and screenwriter David Magee weave in a number of supporting players (maybe one too many, as the subplots sometimes take us away from the main themes) and fill in Otto’s story via flashbacks, with Hanks’ son Truman playing the young Otto and Rachel Keller sparkling as Otto’s wife Sonya, who clearly brings out the best in Otto. In present day, Otto can’t escape the constant visits from his new neighbors, Marisol and Tommy (Mariana Treviño and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), who have two adorable young daughters and are expecting a third child. Otto can’t even find the right moment to kill himself, what with these pesky people constantly stopping by to enlist his assistance or to drop off a homemade Mexican dish. Occasionally we get some hints Otto has some unenlightened views on race and culture, but that’s quickly dismissed when we learn Otto’s real intolerance is reserved for those who won’t help others, who judge and condemn people who aren’t like them. There’s nobility deep inside him.

Mariana Treviño is spectacularly good Otto’s needy new neighbor.

One of the joys in “Otto” is seeing how most of the people Otto growls at, from his colleagues on his last day of work to the Generation Z employees at that big-box store to his neighbors old and new, refuse to take the bait and do battle with Otto. They react to his sharp edges either by shrugging it off or refusing to believe that’s the real Otto. (This, of course, drives Otto crazy.)

Mexican stage and screen actress Mariana Treviño is spectacularly good as Marisol, who at first glance might seem like an unorganized mess but is actually a brilliant, vibrant, loving, constantly-in-motion life force. Even though Marisol is the one asking Otto to lend her a ladder or teach her to drive or watch the girls so she and Tommy can have a date night, she doesn’t need Otto’s help, not really. She’s saving him.

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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 .

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‘A Man Called Otto’ Review: Tom Hanks, Mariana Trevino & A Cat Make This American Remake Irresistible

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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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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 Shines in Sentimental but Uplifting Remake

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A grouchy widower whose given up on life begrudgingly finds new purpose through an unexpected friendship. A Man Called Otto remakes the brilliant Swedish film and bestselling novel with a distinctly American flavor. Tom Hanks shines in a sentimental story that treads sappy, but wins you over by the end. It's impossible not to feel emotional in a climax that plays heartstrings like a fiddle. Mariana Treviño nearly steals the show as a pregnant wife with a saucy personality. She reminds that even the most hardened loners need love and warmth despite their mean objections.

Otto Anderson (Hanks) has had enough. He's forced into retirement after decades as an engineer. Otto's job working with millennial and Gen Z morons was the only thing keeping his mind busy. He desperately misses his deceased wife. Otto spends each day making sure everyone in his townhome, cul-de-sac community abides by the rules. That's parking permits hung in plain sight, neat yards, and putting garbage in the proper receptacles. Otto's livid to find plastic in the trash bin. People are so stupid and careless. His neighbors try to stay clear of Otto's wrath.

A Breath of Fresh Air

A breath of fresh air blows into the cul-de-sac. The pregnant Marisol (Treviño), her inept husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and their adorable young daughters move in across the street. Otto sneers as the "renters" can't even back up their U-Haul. His disgust peaking to the point of parallel parking for them.

Marisol is confounded by the grumpy old man. She doesn't understand why he's always so upset. Their interactions become more frequent as her family always needs help. Marisol realizes that despite his harsh exterior, Otto has been invaluable in assisting every neighbor. As Otto continually thinks of new ways to end his life, a ruthless realtor (Mike Birbiglia) hungrily eyes the cul-de-sac.

Related: Broker Review: Hirokazu Kore-eda's Sublime Exploration of Family's Meaning

A Man Called Otto is told in two timelines. He remembers meeting his beloved wife (Rachel Keller) as a young man, portrayed by Hanks' real-life son, Truman Hanks, in his acting debut. This relationship was the center of Otto's world. Tragic events shaped him into the present's irascible curmudgeon. Marisol has to unlock Otto's secret past to gain insight into his personality. These two stories anchor the film. Otto hides his pain in plain sight. He's not forthcoming and becomes defensive when anyone prods.

The eccentric characters will be endearing to some and annoying to others. Marisol is the picante Latina that speaks her mind and won't be silenced. Her yummy Spanish food is of course better than Otto's bland meat and potatoes diet. Director Marc Forster ( Monster's Ball , World War Z ) focuses on the differences that unite us. This was a winning theme in the source material and is successfully adapted here.

Tom Hanks Champions Inclusivity

A Man Called Otto enters culture war territory with subplots on gay and trans rights. The film has a political point and admittedly gets heavy-handed making its case. Otto, for all of his gruff faults, champions inclusivity. I know that in our divided times Hanks and Forster's approach will be criticized as agenda-driven. Art reflects life. Hanks political views are well-known and shouldn't surprise anyone walking in.

A Man Called Otto tackles suicide with a comedic touch. This is the most memorable and humorous part of the film. Depression can seem unsurmountable. There's no shame in accepting help. Everyone needs a hand after falling down.

A Man Called Otto is a production of Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, TSG Entertainment II, SF Studios, Artistic Films, and Playtone. It will have a limited theatrical release on December 30th, followed by national distribution on January 13th from Sony Pictures .

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‘A Man Called Otto’: Review

2022-12-28T14:00:00+00:00

Tom Hanks is a grumpy protagonist in Marc Forster’s remake of the 2015 Swedish drama

Source: © 2022 CTMG, Inc.

‘A Man Called Otto’

Dir: Marc Forster. US/Sweden. 2022. 126mins

Tom Hanks gets grumpy for A Man Called Otto , a story focused on a widower who is unpleasant to everyone around him and a remake of the 2015 Oscar-nominated Swedish film A Man Called Ove . Director Marc Forster lends this lightweight comedy-drama a crowd-pleasing breeziness, but the picture never cuts particularly deep, especially noticeable when it tries to tackle some darker subject matter. Audiences simply wanting an undemanding, reassuring entertainment may not mind, but Hanks’ change-of-pace role is intriguing enough to wish the material wasn’t quite so mawkish.

Forster has difficulty balancing the script’s comedic elements and the more serious moments

Sony’s modest tearjerker opens in the US on December 30, arriving in the UK in early January. The original film, which was based on Fredrik Backman’s bestselling novel, earned two Oscar nominations, and certainly Hanks’ star power should help raise visibility among adult viewers. Mixed reviews might hamper commercial results, however. 

Otto (Hanks) lives alone since the death of his wife, snarling at anyone who comes into his orbit. Perpetually irritable and silently inconsolable, he has decided to kill himself, but his different suicide attempts fail — in part because he’s interrupted by the arrival of a new family in his neighbourhood, led by the pregnant, effusive matriarch Marisol (Mariana Trevino). Otto wants nothing to do with her and her jubilant outlook but she refuses to be shut out, forcing this taciturn widower to embrace the world around him.

Aided by Thomas Newman’s ornamental score, Forster ( Christopher Robin ) has fashioned a likeable film that’s not appreciably different from the 2015 adaptation, save for the transplanting of the action from Sweden to Pennsylvania. Both pictures are unabashed in their ambition to generate laughs and tears, and encourage audiences to cherish being alive, even when times are hard. And like the earlier film, A Man Called Otto presents us with a protagonist who’s meant to be a cold curmudgeon but is, in fact, someone beaten down by hardships, lashing out at the tragedies he has endured. 

Hanks has mostly played idealistic, bighearted characters, occasionally subverting his image through more grounded portrayals in films like Captain Phillips , so it’s initially gratifying to watch him as the scowling, miserable Otto. But the problem is that it quickly becomes apparent that Otto’s anger is merely a facade — and that immigrant Marisol and her vivacious family, including two adorable young daughters (Christiana Montoya, Alessandra Perez), will shake him out of his doldrums. Hanks doesn’t really invest in his character’s darkness, and so it’s merely a question of how soon until Otto drops his guard and shows his softer side.

The ease of that transformation keeps A Man Called Otto from being particularly inspirational or poignant. In addition, Forster has difficulty balancing the script’s comedic elements — including Otto’s exasperation with his incessantly perky neighbours — and the more serious moments in which this widower gets close to ending his life. Hanks is an underrated dramatic actor, but these sequences are so insubstantial that it never feels like Otto is in the depths of despair. Consequently, the film runs the risk of diminishing the anguish of suicidal depression, reducing it to a cutesy plot point. Whenever the picture touches on raw emotions, it quickly retreats to safer, more comforting sentiments so that viewers never need to doubt the inevitable happy ending.

A series of flashbacks, with Hanks’ son Truman playing Otto as a carefree younger man, start to flesh out the character’s backstory, retracing his love affair with the luminous Sonia (Rachel Keller). But even those unfamiliar with Backman’s book or the 2015 film will suspect that this blissful pair are headed for heartbreak, and the eventual reveal is handled in a melodramatic fashion that’s manipulative and also a little dishonest. (As with A Man Called Ove , there’s an important tidbit about Otto’s dead wife that is concealed simply so that it can be a bigger shock later in the picture.) 

The rapport between Hanks and Trevino somewhat alleviates the film’s shortcomings, with Trevino successfully elevating a one-dimensional character into a believable portrait of a defiantly positive person. In small doses, the friction between Otto’s tetchy demeanour and Marisol’s stubborn resistance to his bullying can be endearing. But there’s also something pat about this opposites-attract friendship, and the filmmakers are notably incurious about exploring this immigrant’s fraught journey to America: indeed, A Man Called Otto is only concerned with Marisol insofar as how she can help Otto change his ways. The picture argues that we should appreciate our lives, but ultimately it’s only really interested in one person.

Production companies: SF Studios, Artistic Films, Playtone, 2DUX²

Worldwide distribution: Sony

Producers: Fredrik Wikstrom Nicastro, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman

Screenplay: David Magee, based upon the novel A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman and the film A Man Called Ove by Hannes Holm

Cinematography: Matthias Koenigswieser 

Production design: Barbara Ling 

Editing: Matt Chesse 

Music: Thomas Newman

Main cast: Tom Hanks, Mariana Trevino, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Truman Hanks, Mike Birbiglia  

• United States

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Search Reeling Reviews

A man called otto.

When Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, "The Magnificent Seven") backs his U-Haul over the curb in front of the unit his family is moving into, he’ll be chastised by his new neighbor across the street.  The older man takes the wheel and backs it in properly before returning home in a huff.  Later, Tommy and his wife Marisol (Mariana Treviño, TV's 'Narcos: Mexico') will bring over homemade chicken mole as a thank you, but they don’t get any pleasantries in return from “A Man Called Otto.”

Laura's Review: B-

Director Marc Forster’s ("Monster's Ball," "Christopher Robin") “Finding Neverland scribe David Magee adapts Fredrik Backman's novel 'A Man Called Ove' and its Swedish film adaptation as a vehicle for Tom Hanks and while it is better than it has any right to be, the loss of that particular brand of Scandinavian humor that made the original seem fresh leaves this one feeling warmed over and off key.  Still, Treviño charms as the ebullient Mexican mother of Luna, Abbie and a toddler with another on the way while Mack Bayda as a trans character new to this version gives Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks) both a connection to his late wife Sonya (Rachel Keller, TV's 'Legion') and additional purpose.

Hanks is introduced being ornery in a hardware store, rebuffing a clerk’s offer of assistance, then complaining when he learns the 5 feet of rope he cut is charged by the yard.   It should hardly matter, as it is quickly fashioned into a noose, but just when he’s about to do the deed, Otto spies that egregious parking job.

As in the original, there is a blackly comic tone to Otto’s always interrupted attempts at suicide paired with sentimental flashbacks of his younger days (where he is played by Hanks’s son Truman) where the nerdish loner is embraced by a beautiful young woman who sees his promise.  Sonya, who lost their child was paralyzed in a bus accident, was the love of Otto’s life and her loss has turned him into the misanthropic curmudgeon he is today.  We also learn this change in behavior led to Otto’s ouster as the community’s former board president, severing his relationship with his closest friend, Reuben (Peter Lawson Jones), when he assumed the role in what Otto refers to as a ‘coup.’  Marisol’s influence, Otto learning of Reuben’s wife and now caretaker Anita’s (Juanita Jennings) own health issues, and a stray cat all serve to break down the cold and crusty barrier Otto has erected.           

The original “Ove” transcended clichés found in such Christmas characters as Scrooge and The Grinch, the latter jumping to mind when the irony of Otto’s hypertrophic cardiomyopathy diagnosis is revealed – his heart is *too big*.  And here is where Marc Foster falters where Hannes Holmes and his star Rolf Lassgård did not, the ‘Americanization’ of “Ove” too often lapsing into the artificiality of a sitcom.  Cast against type, Hanks delivers although his character is a less well developed as the grouchy rule enforcer (we wonder why, for example, coworkers are saying nice things about him at the retirement party he walks out of).  The new adaptation’s best addition is in Mack Bayda’s character of Malcolm, Otto’s paperboy and a surprising connection to his late wife, one of the few who helped Malcolm by accepting his transition, human empathy which Otto is quick to assume from Sonya.  (Bigger names, such as that of comedian Mike Birbiglia, have far lesser roles.)

Production designer Barbara Ling (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) replaces the detached Swedish housing community with strange, barracks-like, connected row housing, the type of thing one might have seen decades back at a honky tonk seashore, although it is located in Pittsburgh.  Thomas Newman’s score accentuates the comedy with twangy guitar riffs.  “A Man Called Otto” may not be as good as its predecessor, but Hanks creates a character worth caring about and it affords a breakthrough role for Treviño.

Robin's Review: C+

Otto (Tom Hanks) is retired and a grumpy old man living in a gated townhouse neighborhood and he does not like anyone. He lost his beloved wife, Sonja (Rachel Keller), just months ago and was forced out of his life-long job. Facing a life alone, he has made the biggest decision of all: to end his life. That plan is interrupted by his new neighbors, Marisol (Mariana Trevino) and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and they begin to help redeem “A Man Called Otto.”

Back in 2015, writer-director Hannes Holm adapted Fredrik Backman’s novel, A Man Called Ove, a sad/happy tale of a man who once was lost but now is found. The result was a twice Oscar-nominated movie and the most popular film in Europe that year. The question I have is: why remake that wonderful film? I can only guess it is for the money, not the “art” of the story.

Marc Forster was hired to direct the remake of “A Man Called Ove” and the result is pretty much a carbon copy of the original. If you even remember what a carbon copy is, it is just that – a copy of the original. All of the elements are there from the first version but they are less clearly drawn and more indistinct.

Tom Hanks reprises the role previously inhabited and deftly played by Swedish actor Rolf Lassgard. Hanks is a wonderful actor but I expected more from him here. I think that may be because the remake seems unnecessary and a bit of hazy redundancy and, besides, Lassgard owns the character. Sure, Hanks can play the curmudgeon but I do not see the benefit of starring in a remake of a better film.

Otto, at loose ends in life without Sonja and his job to look forward to, takes on the task of unofficial Neighborhood Watch in the private community. Unfortunately, he is not needed and thoughts of suicide dominate his life. With every attempt, he flashes back to different parts of his life, unveiling the reasons for his suicidal sadness.

Enter Marisol, Tommy and their two young daughters, Luna (Christiana Montoya) and Abbie (Alessandra Perez), and it is like a ray of sunshine, like it or not, in Otto’s drab and lonely existence. There are also the neighbors he has come to ignore as he stews in his own bitter sadness. Of the cast of characters around Otto, only Mariana Trevino, as Marisol, has any depth or dimension and the actor makes you feel her happiness and exuberance – and the catalyst for Otto’s expected transformation.

If I had a choice between the two movies? “A Man Called Ove” is the better film and I highly recommend it. For “A Man Called Otto”?

Sony Pictures opened “A Man Called Otto” in NY and LA on 12/25/22, expanding on 1/6/23 and wide on 1/13/23.

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A Man Called Otto Rotten Tomatoes Score Highlights Mixed Reviews

By Game Revolution

The A Man Called Otto Rotten Tomatoes score is in and the results are mixed for Sony . A Man Called Otto reviews add up to one of the lowest numbers for a Tom Hanks movie in the last few years, beaten only by Disney’s Pinocchio remake. However, audience reviews paint a different picture, much as they did with Willow and Wednesday .

A Man Called Otto reviews: “a formulaic American remake”

The Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score for A Man Called Otto currently stands at just 67% from 46 reviews. This is possibly not the final score as more reviews may roll in before or after the movie’s general release date of January 13 in the U.S. It’s also certainly not the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of Tom Hanks’ acting career but it’s the third worst of his movies in the last five years — only Disney’s Pinocchio remake and The Circle scored lower.

There are plenty of reviewers who liked the film, such as MovieWeb , which calls it “a sentimental story that treads sappy, but wins you over.” However, there were many positive reviews that had negative things to say, such as calling it predictable, unambitious, or even formulaic. Many praised Hanks’ performance as Otto.

The actual negative reviews, on the hand, frequently refer to it as inferior to the Swedish original book and movie, A Man Called Ove. Culture Mix , for example, says that A Man Called Otto “bulldozes over the realistic charm” of the original and that it is “heavy-handed in portraying issues that deserved less Hollywood phoniness and more authenticity.”

The audience score is currently a little kinder towards A Man Called Otto, standing at 86%. These audience reviews are in because the movie had a limited theatrical release at the end of December 2022. It doesn’t go on general release until January 13 in the U.S. so that score will likely change when it does. It likely won’t get as high as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , however.

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