A Man Called Otto
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: December 30, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
21
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
40
ABC NewsPeter TraversJan 13, 2023
As always, Tom Hanks is in there pitching, but this time it’s mostly softballs. The cliched plot about a reformed grumpy old man is so obvious you can see it from outer space. Read full review
70
Film ThreatAlan NgJan 12, 2023
It’s a heartwarming tale about finding life after loss and finding the good in others. Unfortunately, like a Hallmark film, it’s wrapped up in a lot of schmaltz. Read full review
50
The Film StageMichael FrankJan 12, 2023
For Forster and his leading man, the drama is a step down from previous work, an emotionally telegraphed, near-manipulative adaptation of a better book already adapted in Sweden to far greater results. Read full review
75
Original-CinKim HughesJan 11, 2023
The film chronicles suicide in a surprisingly forthright and unflinching way, and it takes an unexpectedly long time to reach its foregone conclusion. Still, Otto’s sweet, sentimental tone is not unwelcomed in the depths of a winter dogged by troublesome headlines on all fronts. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJan 10, 2023
A Man Called Otto taps into a seemingly unquenchable audience appetite for stories of cantankerous grumps redeemed by the healing embrace of community. Read full review
40
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsJan 10, 2023
It’s a hard film to despise, and it works perfectly well as a supercharged Movie of the Week for the Hallmark Channel, but the lack of attention to detail and nuance mean that much of the film comes off as maudlin fluff rather than lightly philosophical tearjerker. Read full review
60
IGNRyan LestonJan 10, 2023
A Man Called Otto is a benign comedy-drama that peppers a heart-wrenching story with plenty of eye-rolling jokes to distract you from its perfectly pedestrian plot. Read full review
60
EmpireJohn NugentJan 9, 2023
It doesn’t quite successfully balance its warring tones, but a winningly grumpy performance from Tom Hanks — and a winningly sunny one from Mariana Treviño — ensures for a very watchable take on the ‘giving life another shot’ subgenre. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyJan 6, 2023
If you’ve seen Eastwood’s Gran Torino or Nicolas Cage in The Weather Man, you’ll know the sort of cranky redemption arc we’re eventually in for here, but this is the flat-packed, self-assembly-kit version – more likely to exacerbate a mild depression than warm the cockles. Read full review
60
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiJan 6, 2023
A Man Called Otto aims to be a crowd-pleasing, heartwarming film, and, despite its many flaws and speed bumps, is a success on that front. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshJan 6, 2023
Treviño’s effervescent and empathetic performance as Marisol keeps A Man Called Otto on track, both actress and character proving to be the saving grace for this curmudgeonly fellow, and film. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeJan 6, 2023
The thing still works well enough as a middlebrow hankie dampener. Read full review
63
Washington PostThomas FloydJan 4, 2023
Working together for the first time since 2004’s “Finding Neverland,” director Marc Forster and screenwriter David Magee have reimagined Holm’s vision by scaling back the cynicism, softening the central character’s tragic backstory and dulling the black comedy. Yet it’s Hanks’s performance that sets this Hollywood remake apart from the original. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 4, 2023
A Man Called Otto is a formula movie, and no matter the nuances, this formula is not that satisfying. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 4, 2023
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. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonJan 4, 2023
As with so many foreign films that get the Americanized treatment, A Man Called Otto is completely defanged, eliminating the dark humor that made the original successful enough to command a remake. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesJan 4, 2023
On film, goosed along by Thomas Newman’s jaunty score and a generically weepy power ballad co-written and performed by Hanks’ wife and producing partner, Rita Wilson, the effect is hollow, placating. They’ve turned themes of great love, loss, and the will to keep going into … easy listening. Read full review
63
The Associated PressJake CoyleJan 4, 2023
A Man Called Otto is less after realism than it is a modern-day fable, with shades of Scrooge and the Grinch. As a tale of a solitary man, Hanks has made it a poignant work of family. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 4, 2023
If you have any recollection of the original film at all, it’s too easy to note that scene by scene, character by character and plot element by plot element, they remade it slightly less funny and somewhat less touching in most every regard. Read full review
60
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJan 3, 2023
It is as if every time Forster is presented with an opportunity to do something mildly unconventional – or even, gasp, European in sensibility – he defaults to the easy and cheap Hollywood option. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflyJan 2, 2023
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. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 2, 2023
Although the level of manipulation is several notches higher than in the Swedish original, A Man Called Otto boasts fine performances from Tom Hanks and Mariana Trevino and offers the kind of crowd-pleasing arc that runs counter to the prevalent mood of worldwide cynicism. Read full review
75
The PlaylistLex BriscusoDec 29, 2022
It’s rare that we need two of essentially the same film, rarer than rare, but “A Man Called Otto” has earned a space in the list of worthy remakes for its big heart and emotionally charged performances that don’t skimp on the comedy. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithDec 29, 2022
There’s laying it on thick, there’s laying it on with a trowel, and there’s laying it on like A Man Called Otto. Read full review
40
The New York TimesGlenn KennyDec 29, 2022
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. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenDec 28, 2022
The film is made with a level of craft and simple competence that has become shockingly rare. A genuine movie star is allowed to radiate charisma and charm, and all the performances have character nuance and emotional depth. Read full review
35
TheWrapRobert AbeleDec 28, 2022
Forster’s haphazard direction is so checked-out it’s painful – he shows no interest in giving anyone a scene that isn’t wholly about snapping something into place, and his comedy mise-en-scène and timing in even the simplest moments of humor is flat. And the less said about Thomas Newman’s phoned-in score, the better. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanDec 28, 2022
The movie is trying so hard to be a crowd-pleaser, in its reach-for-the-synthetic, sitcom-meets-Hallmark heart, that it will likely end up pleasing very few. It’s the definition of a movie that Tom Hanks deserved better than. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonDec 28, 2022
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. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDec 28, 2022
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. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubMark KeizerDec 28, 2022
Unlike Jack Nicholson or Bill Murray, whose smile can be either charming or sinister, Hanks always lets us know the character is headed towards redemption. A Man Called Otto would have been a more authentic emotional journey if he didn’t. Read full review
58
IndieWireJude DryDec 28, 2022
While “Otto” may reach fresh audiences who’d otherwise balk at subtitles, this sluggish rendition is unlikely to inspire anyone to seek out the original. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 28, 2022
Hanks carries the film with his personality and his easy address to the camera, but this oddity of a film never quite comes to life. Read full review
70
SlashfilmJeff EwingDec 28, 2022
A Man Called Otto has its moments, both humorous and heartwarming, and it works better than it should due to the strength of its performances. Unfortunately, it's also plagued by choices that blunt its overall coherence, seeming like Forster wanted to make an entirely different kind of film than the material dictated. Read full review
58
ColliderRoss BonaimeDec 28, 2022
Especially compared to the 2015 adaptation, A Man Called Otto is a clunky update that often feels like it's full of cartoonish characters, with poor music choices, and cloying sentimentality. But when Forster and Magee pull away from these eccentricities, the story of Otto and Marisol is often a thing of beauty, and wonderful friendship that is lovely to watch grow. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonDec 28, 2022
The film is so toothless that its protagonist is ultimately about as forbidding as a warm hug. Read full review
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