A Man Called Otto (2022)

[Jason_V]

Title: A Man Called Otto (2022)

Tagline: Fall in love with the grumpiest man in America.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Director: Marc Forster

Cast: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Cameron Britton, Kailey Hyman, Mike Birbiglia, Elle Chapman, Joe Fishel, Truman Hanks

Release: 2022-12-28

Runtime: 126

Plot: 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.

To say A Man Called Otto "delightful" feels wrong to me. Yes, there are laugh out loud, fun and...yes...delightful...moments in it. Mariana Trevino is simply amazing as a new neighbor for Tom Hanks' titular Otto. But there are bleak, depressing and maybe even triggering scenes through the entire movie. I guess that is to be expected, to show how far Otto is removed from the world.

So I'm not calling this a "delightful" movie from beginning to end. I am, however, delighting in the journey I got to take with Otto, Marisol and their neighbors. This is about what happens when you live your life for one person, and then that person is taken from from you. It's a reminder to live your life for you, to-of course-take care of those around you-but to never lose yourself in that care.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Absolutely nothing happened in this film that surprised me in any way, and yet, I was delighted by every single moment of it. Hanks is fantastic, doing the friendly movie star thing of playing against type as a cranky guy, and it’s just wonderful.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Absolutely nothing happened in this film that surprised me in any way, and yet, I was delighted by every single moment of it. Hanks is fantastic, doing the friendly movie star thing of playing against type as a cranky guy, and it’s just wonderful.

This film is right up my alley as I'm now a cranky old guy. Of course, I was a cranky young guy back in the day.

 

[Jason_V]

This film is right up my alley as I'm now a cranky old guy. Of course, I was a cranky young guy back in the day.

My fiance came with me to see this one. The minute the lights came up, I said to him "I'm going to be Otto one of these days." (Otto's adherence to the rules really spoke to me, as did his oft-repeated contention everyone is an idiot. )

His deadpan answer: "You've been Otto from the day we met."

Oh how well he knows me.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Yeah, if my wife had seen it we would have had that exact same conversation.

 

[TravisR]

Honestly, part of why I haven't seen this yet is because I know I'll be sitting there thinking "Yep, I'm just like that dude."

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Honestly, part of why I haven't seen this yet is because I know I'll be sitting there thinking "Yep, I'm just like that dude."

How often do you get to be Tom Hanks? Go and feel good about yourself!

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

The original actually got two Academy Award nominations, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4080728/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
I've seen DVDs with English subs available, but not blus (although I haven't looked that hard).
Would be interesting to compare them (I haven't seen either yet).

 

[Tino]

Absolutely loved the book and original film. Will Try to catch this next week.

 

[Wayne_j]

A saw a commercial for this that touted the Rotten Tomatoes audience score.

Audience is 97% critics is 69%.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Critics will be unimpressed by the film’s predictability and the fact that it’s an English language remake of a foreign film that was already an adaptation of a book - they’ll consider it unoriginal.

But I don’t think ever film needs to be original. This film accomplishes what it sets out to do: it tells a relatable story that takes the audience on an emotionally uplifting journey. Watching it made me feel alive, made me feel good, made me feel good to be alive. Critics will call that maudlin and manipulative but audiences like, you know, feeling good every now and then

 

[Jake Lipson]

It is worth noting that this story has been embraced on film before by critics and awards groups. The original has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, as the award was then called.

I can't comment on the new version yet, but I'm planning to see it tonight.

 

[Jason_V]

Critics will be unimpressed by the film’s predictability and the fact that it’s an English language remake of a foreign film that was already an adaptation of a book - they’ll consider it unoriginal.

But I don’t think ever film needs to be original. This film accomplishes what it sets out to do: it tells a relatable story that takes the audience on an emotionally uplifting journey. Watching it made me feel alive, made me feel good, made me feel good to be alive. Critics will call that maudlin and manipulative but audiences like, you know, feeling good every now and then

Amen. Over the last few decade or so, I've become less and less worried about what critics think about a piece of entertainment vs. how it made me feel and if I liked it. Movies critics didn't like my fiance and I both enjoyed. Great pieces of art that the snobs want to give awards to I usually pass on.

My best friend is always talking about seeing all the Best Picture Oscar nominees before the awards. I bowed out of that a long time ago. I still see a lot of movies (120+ last year), but they're things I want to see vs. what I'm told I "need" to see.

 

[Malcolm R]

Amen. Over the last few decade or so, I've become less and less worried about what critics think about a piece of entertainment vs. how it made me feel and if I liked it. Movies critics didn't like my fiance and I both enjoyed. Great pieces of art that the snobs want to give awards to I usually pass on.

Agreed. Critics hate most anything that's entertaining. Growing up we were always skeptical of any film that got a lot of critical praise. We looked for films the critics hated, then we knew we were likely to be entertained.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I don't understand the tendency to pit "audiences" and critics against each other. Critics are movie fans too. Of course, I don't agree with every critic all the time. But I don't have to agree with them to find what they have to say interesting and valid, if they write a thoughtful, well-reasoned review. There are certain critics I follow who have brought movies and TV shows to my attention that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. So I'm grateful for what they do.

I've seen DVDs with English subs available, but not blus (although I haven't looked that hard).

I know there is a Blu-ray release in America, which I've wanted to pick up for a while but haven't gotten around to yet. The original is also streaming included with Amazon Prime subscription in the U.S. as of when I write this, though I have no idea how long their license for it will last. There, you can get English subtitles but have to turn them on manually, which I thought was kind of weird for a non-English film.

 

[Jason_V]

It’s simply a difference, most of the time, in what the audience and the critics are looking for in their movies. Generally speaking, of course.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Agreed. Critics hate most anything that's entertaining. Growing up we were always skeptical of any film that got a lot of critical praise. We looked for films the critics hated, then we knew we were likely to be entertained.

That's silly. Tons of popular "entertaining" movies got great reviews.

A look at RT right now:

"Plane": 73%
"Avatar 2": 77%
"ME3AN": 95%
"Otto": 69%
"Puss in Boots 2": 95%
"Glass Onion": 92%

Those are all movies meant to entertain and meant for mass audiences, and they all have good to great reviews as a whole.

The notion critics are/always have been anti-populist snobs who hate anything loved by the unwashed masses just doesn't stand up.

 

[Wayne_j]

I think that critics in the late 70's and 80's were less likely to give 'entertaining' films good reviews than they are today. Most of the critics of today grew up in the films of that period or later and are more likely to appreciate them if done well.

 

[TravisR]

This film accomplishes what it sets out to do: it tells a relatable story that takes the audience on an emotionally uplifting journey. Watching it made me feel alive, made me feel good, made me feel good to be alive. Critics will call that maudlin and manipulative but audiences like, you know, feeling good every now and then

Yeah, the movie worked for me by having a likable cast and being pleasant.

And fortunately, I didn't relate that much to Otto.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I saw Otto yesterday and thought it was very good. I like the original better, but this one is a very respectable remake. The changes made to transport the story to America make sense and don't harm its essence. More importantly, Otto is getting seen by a lot more people. The original film made $3.4 million in North America during its entire run, which the remake passed before even going into this weekend's wider release. The audience I was in seemed to like it. My mother, who doesn't go to the movies very often, also liked it.

Marc Forster doesn't seem to get a lot of recognition for his directing, but he seems to work a lot and usually does well. I've liked most of his films. I think he did a good job here.

I love Tom Hanks, but he had a strange 2022. Whatever weird thing he was doing in Elvis was certainly a distinctive choice but didn't really work for me, but Zemeckis' Pinocchio was even more regrettable. So it was very satisfying to see Hanks back in his sweet spot here playing Otto. The character felt more real and was a much better fit for his talent. I haven't been familiar with Mariana Treviño's work before this, but she was really good as Marisol and held her own opposite Hanks. I hope this movie opens up more opportunities for her because I would certainly like to see her in more things.