Known as Hollywood’s biggest “nice guy”, Tom Hanks plays against type in 2022’s A Man Called Otto. Based on the 2015 Swedish flick A Man Called Ove, Hanks goes grumpy for this tale.

Set in the suburbs outside Pittsburgh, elderly windower Otto Anderson (Hanks) leads a rigid lifestyle. He adheres to strict rules, a fact that makes him both the neighborhood “warden” and local sourpuss.

Depressed over the loss of his wife, Otto feels like he maintains no reason to live and plans to commit suicide. Otto’s life takes a turn when a Latin family moves to the area and exuberant, extroverted, heavily-pregnant Marisol (Mariana Treviño) slowly makes an impact on him.

When I stated the Hanks played against type, I didn’t intend to imply that he goes far afield with Man. While he indeed gives us a less charming character than usual, he makes Otto more of a lovable grump than an irritating jerk.

Granted, that comes with the script, and Hanks avoids any tendencies to try to get the audience to love him. While the screenplay ensures that we sympathize with Otto and don’t just view him as an unpleasant crank, Hanks never telegraphs Otto’s eventual “warm up”.

And Otto’s inevitable warm up, as it takes absolutely no imagination to predict how his journey will go. I suspect the writers made Otto gruff but not unlikable mainly to allow the audience to embrace his path, as a more consistently off-putting Otto would mean we wouldn’t want to embrace his growth.

Indeed, Man paints Otto more as a straight-thinker than a nag from the get-go. Our intro to the role shows Otto as he battles corporate idiocy at a hardware store.

Though this portrays Otto’s rigid thinking, it nonetheless gets us on his side since he’s right. Nothing from there depicts Otto as a jerk, as instead, he seems more like an amusing curmudgeon.

Given the fact Otto tries to kill himself repeatedly through Man, one might expect some darkness along the way. However, the film tames these edges via a mix of methods.

Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out Otto won’t actually commit suicide. Spoiler alert? Technically, but I have a bridge to sell to anyone who actually thinks he might succeed.

In regard to the ways the movie softens Otto, the main dimension comes from flashbacks. We see how young Otto (Truman Hanks) meets Sonya (Rachel Keller) and the scope of their relationship.

Theoretically, one could argue these scenes exist for exposition. In reality, the movie uses the flashbacks to soften up Otto and make us love.

Does any of this seem problematic from a story standpoint? No, but all these choices ensure that Otto offers a perpetually saccharine experience.

As such, Otto tends to provide an enjoyable experience, but not one that leaves a lasting impact. Too much of the film feels like basic “Hollywood Product”.

Indeed, the movie never got to me emotionally because it so obviously wanted me to feel one way. That leaves it as an entertaining 126 minutes but not a film with originality or anything creative.

A Man Called Otto appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie boasted a strong presentation.

Sharpness looked fine. Only a little softness interfered with the image, as it largely remained accurate and well-defined.

No issues with jagged edges or shimmering materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws also failed to mar the movie.

In terms of palette, flashbacks leaned amber, while modern day opted for a chilly mix of blue and white that suited the winter Pittsburgh setting. The disc replicated the hues as intended.

Blacks felt deep and dense, while shadows seemed smooth and concise. This became a strong image.

Though not as memorable, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack suited the story. This meant long stretches of fairly quiet moments since Man mainly exists as a character tale.

However, music showed nice spread, and occasional louder sequences added punch. Various exterior elements like trains or other vehicles or accidents brought moderate involvement and added impact.

Quality worked fine, with speech that seemed natural and concise. Music offered nice range and dimensionality.

Effects appeared accurate and full, with solid impact to louder moments and deep bass. While the track lacked ambition, it satisfied.

A smattering of extras appear here, and we Breaking the Rules goes for eight minutes, 45 seconds. It provides notes from director Marc Forster, producers Fredrik Wikström Nicastro and Rita Wilson, screenwriter David Magee, production designer Barbara Ling, and actors Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.

“Rules” looks at the source and its adaptation, story and characters, cast and performances, costumes and period details, visual design and photography, sets and locations. “Rules” brings a decent but brief overview.

A music video called “’Til You’re Home” spans three minutes, seven seconds and mixes movie clips with recording studio shots. Sung by Rita Wilson and Sebastian Yatra, the song feels sappy and the video bores.

In the Studio with Rita Wilson and Sebastian Yatra goes for two minutes, 42 seconds. We hear from producer/vocalist Wilson and vocalist Yatra as they discuss the song. They provide fluffy praise.

Finally, Otto Preps His Car for the Kids fills one minute and shows a deleted scene in which Otto cleans his car after a suicide attempt. It seems mildly interesting but not necessary for the story.

The disc opens with ads for Where the Crawdads Sing, Little Women (2019), A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, :A Mouthful of Air and Here Today. No trailer for Man shows up here.

Although A Man Called Otto delivers a reasonably engaging mix of comedy and melodrama, it never rises above its genre roots. It tries so hard to deliver an emotional punch that it backfires, as the end result never really connects. The Blu-ray comes with strong picture, adequate audio and minor bonus materials. Expect a watchable but cloying drama.