Good Fortune, 2025.
Written and Directed by Aziz Ansari.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh, Sherry Cola, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Matt Rogers, Jay Traynor, Cam Barr, Shoukath Ansari, Alexander Jo, Joe Mande, and Aditya Geddada.
SYNOPSIS:
A well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker and a wealthy venture capitalist.
A hysterical comedy for anyone who has rolled their eyes and wanted to strangle a well-meaning individual for remarking that wealth won’t solve all their problems, writer/director/star Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune is cathartic. It’s often pushing back on that notion with humorous life-swapping shenanigans, pointing out that, even if money doesn’t solve every problem, it certainly does allow for a more relaxed, leisurely, and pleasurable life, where every rising problem doesn’t pose an avalanche of financial damage.
One can imagine the comedian sitting on the couch and catching a showing of A Christmas Carol or It’s a Wonderful Life and scoffing at the optimistic messaging on display, creatively fueled and ready to reinvent the concept for modern times centering not only how greedier society has become (and how much larger the rift between the working class and the elite has expanded) while putting the outrageous thanklessness of the workforce on blast. That’s also not to say this is a film that prioritizes money above all else, but rather one that’s a great deal more honest about its relevance to a stable and happier life.
There is also a hell of a hook in divine intervention, with a perfectly cast Keanu Reeves as an aloof angel named Gabriel, working for an entire department of heavenly servants, assigned the unfulfilling but essential (especially if observations in the real world are anything to go by) role of nudging texting drivers from the backseat to get their attention and cause them to avoid a fatal collision. While this is a meaningful savior duty, Gabriel aspires to rise through the ranks (which, by extension, would make his amusingly and intentionally cheap-looking practical wings bigger and grant him the ability to fly) and directly insert himself into the lives of suicidal lost souls, steering them onto a more hopeful path.
Growing impatient with waiting for a higher calling, Gabriel decides to intervene in the life of Arg (Aziz Ansari), a tasker who carries out odd jobs for several strangers a day through a servicing app that also allows clients to give star ratings. With nothing in his life going right (everything from a successful cousin his father won’t stop harping on about during phone calls, sleeping in his car, and struggling to catch a break in his jobs and love life), Arg ends up with a high-rolling firm investment client named Jeff (Seth Rogen) looking to have his cluttered garage cleaned while killing time in his luxurious pool. This leads to Arg nominating himself to be Jeff’s new paid assistant, which temporarily works out, as he also gets a glimpse of how easy the rich have it.
Nevertheless, it’s not long before there is a contrived inciting incident causing Jeff to fire Arg (the former is a bit of an oblivious slacker who lucked into steady financial wealth, never striking one as heartless as the film needs him to be to get the real conflict and premise rolling, partially since the tried-and-true Seth Rogen charm is there), which is Gabriel’s breaking point to step in and switch their lives around. This also comes after Gabriel shows Arg a montage of his future should he not take his own life, which is a mixed bag of ups with his coworker and worker rights activist Elena (Keke Palmer) and depressing downers. Gabriel believes that Arg will see that Jeff’s life is not what it’s cracked up to be, which is, well, hilariously wrong.
Good Fortune also doesn’t fully belong to a single one of that star-studded trio, switching perspectives as often as the dynamics between these characters change. One minute, it’s indulging in Arg’s appreciation for his newfound wealth. The next could be following a scheme for Jeff to reverse things back to normal, or Gabriel, a fish-out-of-water with his heavenly powers revoked, amusingly learning how to be human (which includes knowing how to eat), hold a job, and become broken by the world to such a point that he understands Arg’s perspective.
Unsurprisingly, it all makes for humor that Keanu Reeves crushes, putting on some of that lovable, dimwitted Bill & Ted energy. Seth Rogen is also funny as a silver-spooned, privileged elite who has never had to do real work a day in his life, taking in firsthand experience of what the working class is going through and realizing that, for all his misplaced confidence and determination, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Meanwhile, Arg is starting to become aware that Elena was never attracted to him for his wealth. Aziz Ansari plays the character smartly as someone who lives this lifestyle to excess, not due to hidden debauchery desires, but rather the relief of finally being able to live so freely.
The outstandingly funny performances from all involved, along with spirited banter, are also enough to overlook the heavy-handed and overstated messaging of Good Fortune. It also slightly overstays its welcome and, while mostly grounded in logic, has a theoretical solution that is hinted at early on; however, it is surprisingly never revisited, as it would have been a solid motivator for what needs to happen to reverse the lives. Again, such flaws almost feel irrelevant when a movie is this consistently funny with such clear and righteous shots at class inequality and an exploitative workforce.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
