51
Metascore
36 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70SlashfilmJeff EwingSlashfilmJeff EwingA 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.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckAlthough 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.
- 58ColliderRoss BonaimeColliderRoss BonaimeEspecially 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.
- 50The A.V. ClubMark KeizerThe A.V. ClubMark KeizerUnlike 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.
- 50Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonDirector 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.
- 50VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe 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.
- 40The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawHanks carries the film with his personality and his easy address to the camera, but this oddity of a film never quite comes to life.
- 38Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSlant MagazineKeith WatsonThe film is so toothless that its protagonist is ultimately about as forbidding as a warm hug.
- 35TheWrapRobert AbeleTheWrapRobert AbeleForster’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.