Good Fortune
Guardian angel Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) tries to prove to Arj (Aziz Ansari) that money doesn't buy happiness by swapping the man's life with that of his venture capitalist boss, Jeff (Seth Rogen), but it backfires when Arj likes his new life just fine. Gabriel is stripped of his wings by his boss, Martha (Sandra Oh), and ends up living life as a human with Jeff as his roommate in "Good Fortune."
Laura's Review: B-
Writer/director Aziz Ansari (TV's 'Master of None') makes his feature debut with a film that succeeds largely on the talents of his costars, particularly Keanu Reeves' naively innocent, well-meaning but bumbling angel. Reeves, introduced overlooking Los Angeles like Bruno Ganz gazing over Berlin in "Wings of Desire," moves from the outer edges of the film to its center as he becomes a human, his joy of dancing and eating 'chicken nuggies' endearing. And if Gabriel overreached by aspiring to be like the angel Azrael (Stephen McKinley Henderson, "Civil War"), who rescues lost souls, he learns the value of his own status as a 'texting and driving' angel when he meets Rosa (Blanca Araceli), a woman whose accident he averted, on a Latin club dance floor. If only Ansari's direction of the film was as sure footed as Reeves' performance.
While we'll see Gabriel looming over various parts of Los Angeles when he's not sitting in random back seats, gently placing his unseen hand on the shoulders of texting drivers, Ansari establishes his human characters first. Arj, an unemployed documentary editor, listens to his dad extol a cousin who's making a lot of money working for Microsoft while he cobbles together a living with the Task Sergeant app, doing such odd 'jobs' as delivering food and standing in line at There Will be Buns, where he sees Jeff given a bag of the product while he's turned away, his job cancelled after a two hour investment. He'll meet Jeff again when he shows up at a spectacular hillside spread, responding to a garage cleaning job and when he learns Jeff's assistant quit, he pitches himself and gets the gig. With a little money in his pocket, he asks out Elena (Keke Palmer), a fellow employee at Hardware Heaven, but when he takes Jeff's suggestion to skip the tacos and take her to Dunsmoor instead, he can't cover the check and resorts to using the Hot Sauna LLC credit card Jeff gave him for expenses. When Jeff discovers the bill, Arj is fired, hitting a low point when his car, the place where he sleeps, is towed from a Denny's parking lot. It is here, with Arj texting about a life not worth living, that Gabriel decides to intercede.
Ansari's borrowed bits and pieces from other movies ("It's a Wonderful Life," "Trading Places"), but his direction and narrative are lumpy, the story lurching back and forth in order to tie various strands together. What he does get across is the despair facing many in this country, his own character ground down by a gig economy where homeless encampments are prominent in the background while people like Jeff coast through life making money funded by generational wealth. Hope is represented by Elena, whose resolve to start a union returns after a first round failure, but the only answers provided here are to keep fighting or find an angel to instill empathy in the 1%, as Gabriel does with Jeff.
Reeves charms with a performance that hints at Ted Theodore Logan crossed with John Wick's love of dogs, his own demoralization as a dishwasher at an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue ('I used to be a celestial being. Now I'm a chain smoker.') allowing supporting player Felipe Garcia Martinez to shine as an encouraging coworker. He also clicks with Seth Rogen, whose easy-going entrepreneur enjoys a wake-up call while working with the angel to survive while trying to rectify Gabriel's switcheroo. They are both like children, Rogen's enthusiasm for burrata, saunas followed by ice baths and preparations for his 40th birthday making Jeff likable if blind to those who enable his lifestyle. Also good is Palmer as the grounded blue collar worker who enjoys Arj's company but finds his newly monied situation an obstacle to their relationship. Along with Martinez, Nate Jackson makes a mark in a small role as an empathetic Denny's employee.
Ansari's production gets the job done without any notable cinematic style. Carter Burwell's uncharacteristic bouncy synth score morphs into heavenly choruses as the film reaches its climax. "Good Fortune" isn't a great film, but it's a hard one not to like.
Robin's Review: B
Arj (Aziz Ansari) hopes and dreams to be a documentary filmmaker but struggles to even keep a roof over his head. A junior-grade angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), intervenes when he should not, making a big mess in “Good Fortune.”
Aziz Ansari makes his writing-directing debut with a story that is both “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “It’s NOT a Wonderful Life” as Arj struggles with a failed career and the need to just feed himself. The roof over his head is his car and that become iffy when his home is towed for overdue parking tickets and he loses his wait-in-line delivery job.
Things finally seem about to change when he takes a clean-out-the-garage job for Jeff (Seth Rogan), an entrepreneur with a ton of disposable income. After finishing the clean-up job, Arj takes a chance and asks Jeff for a job as his assistant. They agree on a one week trial and Arj gets a company credit card.
With things looking up now, Arj asks his former co-worker at Hardware Heaven, Elena (Kiki Palmer), out on a date. Jeff suggests a “nice” restaurant for them to go to and they have a wonderful dinner. Then, Arj gets the bill - $300+. Shocked and on an impulse, he uses the credit card. Suddenly, good turns bad and he is fired.
Meanwhile, Gabriel is relegated to saving people who text while driving but he wants much more – he wants to save a soul. He decides, against the orders of his boss, Martha (Sandra Oh), that Arj will be his first test case. He soon realizes that Arj is a loser and very sorry for himself. Then, Gabriel has an idea, he will swap Arj and Jeff’s lives to show Arj how good his life is. This is the “Wonderful Life” part as he embraces his new wealth.
For Jeff, though it is “NOT a Wonderful Life” as he must struggle to survive – just like Arj once did. This is about where Ansari goes a bridge too far and the story starts to get sloppy with too much going on. It is fun and often funny but lacks the tightness the story needs.
While Rogen and Ansari do fine, though Ansari is often too shrill, the heart and soul of the film is Keanu’s Gabriel. He has the goofy innocence of Bill from “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and just wants to save souls. Unfortunately, his actions (and screw ups) come to Martha’s attention and Gabriel is demoted to human being and he and Jeff bond. (The scene where Gabriel tastes food for the first time is probably the best one in the film.)
A bit of reining in of Ansari’s first-timer enthusiasm would probably been beneficial but, still, we have a charming heavenly comedy that could have been more. It does make its statement on how tough it is in the gig economy for the little guy. Keanu does make a goofy, charming fallen angel, though.
Lionsgate releases "Good Fortune" in theaters on 10/17/25.
