Plot (Sony Pctures):
Based on the # 1 New York Times bestseller “A Man Called Ove,” A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a grump who no longer sees purpose in his life following the loss of his wife. Otto is ready to end it all, but his plans are interrupted when a lively young family moves in next door, and he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol. She challenges him to see life differently, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world around. A heartwarming and funny story about love, loss, and life, A Man Called Otto shows that family can be.
When Tom Hanks does a grump it must include some Gump.
In A Man Called Otto, an American remake of the 2016 Swedish hit A Man Called Ove, Hanks does a little de-aging for the bits of younger self that require a small amount of sweet angst.
For the rest, he lets his son, Truman do the mild Forrest Gump imitation, that had me wondering if the young Otto was more autistic than a social wallflower.
My verdict: it’s more of an inside film joke between father and son. The younger and older Otto versions are hardly a matched pair. Nepotism does have its virtues, at least here.
The rest of the film has Hanks doing his grumpy shtick amongst various stick figures of immigrant hope and American optimism .
Yep, Hanks get the worst fate a suicidal grumpy old man in a sappy Hollywood comedy can get- the Hell of living with happy neighbors that need and love him all the time.
I give A Man Called Otto 3 stars or a B.
Director Marc Forster
Writer Davi d Magee
Stars Tom Hanks, John Higgins, Tony Bingham, Lily Kozub, Mack Bayda
Rating PG-13
Running Time 2h 6m
Genres Comedy, Drama
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