A Man Called Otto
After a layoff from writing my crappy reviews, I’ve decided its “New Year, New Me.” So I’ll do this till I get bored. I’ve seen a great many films in 2022 and a lot were vastly enjoyable. This was my first theater visit of the new year and one of the last few remaining 2022 films that I needed to see. I’ve started to intentionally avoid trailers as I feel the viewing experience is just better when you go in completely blind with less expectations. Marc Forster has been responsible for film I’ve enjoyed in the best so maybe I would find enjoyment.
So the film is about a man called Otto (ha ha). Hes a grumpy senior who is hyper responsible in his community. To a degree where everyone pisses him off and he parks on anything, like a newspaper on his lawn or if someone parks without a parking permit. His character is tested when a Mexican family move in across the street, and the wife tries to befriend him. Its a tough task trying to get through to such a toughened heart but as time goes along you get to delve into Otto’s past life, relationships, and see why he is the way he is.
I didn’t know how to navigate the film before hand. Was it an Oscar bait film? Coming out this late in the year can be so. Or is it a dump of a film just to be done with it before the year ends. Whatever the case was, I had a good time with this film. To make things clear, there are things that made my eyes roll here. The emotional moments can be hamfisted and maybe even manipulative. It also becomes predictable due to the emotion its trying to evoke from its audience. Its clear that there are plot points added to cater to modern issues. Its not really a bad thing though, especially when the characters make it work.
It was a refreshing take seeing Tom Hanks playing a grumpy old bastard. Mariana Trevino, who is perfect for the role, has a viable chemistry with Hanks. Its fairly light hearted although it deals with very heavy themes of aging and death. I can see people not liking this quite easily and if you go in there with that in mind, it’ll be easy to point faults at the script because its all been seen before. I wanted a nice feel good film in the morning and that’s exactly what I got. Maybe it’ll be an after thought in the grand scheme of what was on deck in 2022 but I didn’t mind closing the year on this note. Enjoyable and funny at times.
Lets see if I can keep this up and share my thoughts on other films as well.
7/10
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