There was a time in my life when I looked forward to being a grumpy old man.
I’ve long since dropped that plan, but there’s an appeal to being at a point in life where you don’t care what other people think about what you do or say.
I think the turning point was when Eric Clapton released the song “Blue Eyes Blue” in 1999. In this song, the singer laments how his estranged partner is entirely responsible for his unhappiness.
“You’re a little old (Clapton was 56 at the time) to blame others for your misfortune,” I thought.
To be fair, Clapton didn’t write this song, he just recorded it for the soundtrack of the movie Runaway Bride.
Happiness or unhappiness is a choice. Of course, sometimes it’s okay to choose to be miserable for a while. For example, processing grief requires going through some difficult times, but misery can be sweet in its own weird way. temporarily.
Although my fascination with the whimsical lifestyle has long since passed, the movie trope of the grumpy old man seeking salvation remains very appealing (think Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino). I want it).
So when I saw Netflix added the 2022 film A Man Called Otto to its list of movies, I had to check it out. You can usually never go wrong with a Tom Hanks movie.
Hanks, as usual, gives a great performance as the main character, the short-tempered Otto Anderson. A widower who sees nothing but idiots around him, he’s at war with an evil real estate company that wants to take over his beloved neighborhood to make way for nondescript condominiums.
Overall, this movie feels a little flat. Apparently there is a better Swedish version, but who wants to read the subtitles? Or an overdub? Forget it. (Maybe there’s still a grumpy old man lurking somewhere inside me.)
But this is a good reminder that things are rarely as bad as we sometimes perceive, and that personal salvation is always possible.
