A MAN CALLED OTTO – Review

So, we’re almost a week into 2023 and all that holiday cheer is so…last year. What a perfect time for a film centering around an older fella’ who’s…well, a human version of the grinch, sans green fur and the larceny. And who’s taken on this role? It’s none other than the movie’s “Mr. Nice Guy’ himself, “America’s dad” (perhaps grandpa; now), and two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks. Hey. we all need to “shake things up” a bit, and get out of our “comfort zone”. But are his filmgoing fans ready to accept him as a real grouch AKA A MAN CALLED OTTO? BTW, this has no connection to A FISH CALLED WANDA or THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE, in case you’re wondering.

When we first encounter Otto Anderson (Hanks), he’s raising a stink at his local hardware store because he doesn’t see why he has to pay for another foot of rope, when he only needs another six inches. From there he’s off to his gated community, a “pre-planned” set of “cloned” small two-story houses, just outside of Pittsburgh. Every morning, before he trudges off to his long-standing factory job, he makes the “rounds” Otto considers himself the “enforcer” of the homeowners’ society’s rules, quick with his notepad jotting down any infractions (not separating the recyclables, trimming the lawns, etc.). During this, he growls at some of his neighbors, including a talky “speed-walker”, a delivery driver parking too long in a guest, spot, and a young woman who doesn’t “curb” her pooch. Perhaps worst is the jerk from the real estate agency (Mike Birbiglia) who drives through “no vehicle” walkways. As far as work goes, he’s out of it, forced into early retirement by his company’s new, much-younger owners. On his way back home, he stops off at the grave of his beloved wife Sonya for a chat before embarking on his home “project”. Remember that rope, well it will be part of his plan to join Sonya. But as he puts the noose around his neck (while dressed in his best suit), a commotion outside distracts him. A family has rented out the house next door, and the husband can’t back up with the trailer attached to the old SUV. Being an auto buff, Otto has to intervene. He meets Pittsburgh native Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his pregnant Hispanic wife Marisol (Mariana Trevino), and their two pre-teen daughters. Needless to say, Otto is most unpleasant to them, but his gruffness doesn’t stop Marisol from reaching out to him. Can this young optimistic family break through his emotional barriers and get Otto to “lighten up” and perhaps put aside his “project’ and find a reason to go on living?

Well, can we buy our “bosom buddy” Mr. H as an unsociable curmudgeon? Hmmm, somewhat, especially in the first act as he focuses his disdainful glare at anyone coming into his sight range. But it’s more intense irritation than blind fury. We know his bark (more of a cry for help) is much worse than his bite as we wait for this stomping iceberg to gradually melt. And though we’d never want to deal with him in reality, Hanks makes Otto a compelling, often unpredictable toxic troll. By the story’s midpoint, we see that he’s met his match in Trevino as Marisol whose wide smile burns through the near-constant clouds of an Eastern winter (the scenes really seem chilly). She brings a lot of energy to the forever frazzled mama, though we wonder why she doesn’t give up on the “old mope”. Garcia-Rulfo is a likable doofus daddy who gladly lets her “run the show”. Rachel Keller is quite endearing in the flashback sequences as Otto’s soulmate Sonya. It’s a shame that we only get a couple of brief scenes with the gifted stand-up comic Birbiglia as Otto’s up-tight, buttom-down weasel of an arch-nemisis. Luckily Mr, B makes his every sneer count.

Now, as many of you know this is a remake of a Swedish film (A MAN CALLED OVE) based on a beloved novel of the same name, Back in 2016 it was the year’s biggest foreign-language box-office champ, so it’s got big snow boots to fill. Hanks is more than up for it, though he lacks the lumbering menace of that film’s lead star, Rolf Lassgard, who has an aura of real danger, as though he’s a bear just awake from hibernation (and you’re a tasty salmon). To “hedge their bets” the screenplay adapter, David Magee, has retained most of the story “beats” while shuffling some flashback sequences around a tad. Still, Sonya seems more saintly here as we meet a few of her former students who remind Otto of her unconditional kindness. And it’s a shame that director Mark Forster (talk about a wide resume, from MONSTER’S BALL to Bond) didn’t cut back on the antics of Otto’s cartoonish neighbors who seem lifted out of an ABC TGIF sitcom (plus the amped-up antics of the “newbies”). Still, it’s nice to see Hanks in a big lead role after doing supporting work in the past year. And it’s got a bit more bite than most “family-friendly” dramedies, despite the sentimental “memory pieces”. Even though he can be annoying and dismissive there are worse people to live next to than A MAN CALLED OTTO.

2.5 Out of 4

A MAN CALLED OTTO is now playing in select theatres