{"id":38446,"date":"2023-01-07T06:20:21","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T11:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=38446"},"modified":"2023-01-07T06:20:21","modified_gmt":"2023-01-07T11:20:21","slug":"a-man-called-otto-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/07\/a-man-called-otto-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"A Man Called Otto (2023)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It seems like these days actors nearing their seventies have to make a drama comedy about nearing the end of their lives. Hell, Jack Nicholson gave us \u201cAbout Schmidt<\/a>\u201d and \u201cThe Bucket List,\u201d and Robert DeNiro had \u201cThe Intern<\/a>.\u201d With Tom Hanks we have \u201cA Man Call Otto\u201d which is basically his \u201cAbout Schmidt.\u201d He lends his talents to a sad tale of a widow trying to find a way to move on from the love of his life. It\u2019s shockingly a pet project for the Hanks fam that is just fine when all is said and done. It\u2019s not Tom Hanks\u2019 masterpiece, but just a fine outing for the man who can do roles like this in his sleep.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A remake of \u201cA Man Called Ove,\u201d and an adaptation of the book of the same name written by Frederik Backman, \u201cA Man Called Otto\u201d tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a grumpy widower whose only joy comes from criticizing and judging his exasperated neighbors. When a lively young family moves in next door, he meets his match in quick-witted and very pregnant Marisol and her very welcoming brood; this leads to an unexpected friendship that will turn his world upside-down and give him a new perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Man Called Otto\u201d is saccharine and a bit convoluted, but I admit I had a pretty good time with it. Tom Hanks is the life blood of a movie that stumbles on occasion, playing a man who has all but given up on happiness. After his wife dies suddenly, he is prepared to take his own life, but that is consistently interrupted by his failed efforts and all too friendly neighbors. The movie takes a turn when we meet Marisol, her husband Tommy, and their pair of daughters. As they befriend the curmudgeonly Otto, he gradually warms up to them, finding potential in them that was never quite realized with his own relationship.<\/p>\n

The film is a bit crowded with the flashbacks and side storylines, but Marc Forster\u2019s film skirts along pretty smoothly. That\u2019s probably thanks to the collective cast, including Mariana Trevi\u0148o who is absolutely charming as the busy bee mother Marisol. She manages to become a foil to Otto, killing him with kindness and conveying a sense of companionship that Otto sorely misses. Cameron Britton is also very good as the goofy neighbor Tommy, who always manages to break through Otto\u2019s grouchy temperament. The movie jumps through a lot of plot with Otto\u2019s intent on committing suicide, flashbacks to the lovely romance between him (Truman Hanks is solid in the role) and his wife Sonya (Rachel Keller), his friendship with a feral cat, and so much more.<\/p>\n

It inevitably feels kind of messy, but the messiness eventually adds to the film\u2019s inherent charm by the time it closes. Hanks can do performances like this in his sleep, and while 2022 wasn\u2019t his shining hour, \u201cA Man Called Otto\u201d is a nice simplistic drama comedy for such a skilled actor such as him.\u00a0 While many might find the film syrupy sweet on most occasions, I was taken with the love story told through flashbacks, as well as the overtone of ageism and gentrification. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d call \u201cA Man Called Otto\u201d one of Hanks\u2019 best, but it\u2019s a good vehicle if you\u2019re in the mood for some belly laughs and good cries.<\/p>\n

In Wide Release January 13th.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems like these days actors nearing their seventies have to make a drama comedy about nearing the end of their lives. Hell, Jack Nicholson gave us \u201cAbout Schmidt\u201d and \u201cThe Bucket List,\u201d and Robert DeNiro had \u201cThe Intern.\u201d With Tom Hanks we have \u201cA Man Call Otto\u201d which is basically his \u201cAbout Schmidt.\u201d He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[64,219,302,835,1109],"class_list":["post-38446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-adaptation","tag-comedy","tag-drama","tag-remake","tag-tom-hanks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38448,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38446\/revisions\/38448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}