THE STORY – A well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker and a wealthy venture capitalist.
THE CAST – Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, Keke Palmer & Sandra Oh
THE TEAM – Aziz Ansari (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 98 Minutes
It’s been some time since we’ve heard from Aziz Ansari. The Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and comedian has mostly stayed off the grid since his critically acclaimed series “Master of None” entered television purgatory following its third season. Ansari, who has been mainly out of the public eye besides occasionally touring across the country to work on new material, has also been attempting to step into the director’s chair for his feature debut. His first attempt, “Being Mortal”, an adaptation of the non-fiction novel of the same name, was unceremoniously dropped by Searchlight after allegations of inappropriate behavior halted production. Ansari pivoted pretty quickly, shifting his efforts to what would become “Good Fortune” along with bringing a majority of his team that was set to work on “Being Mortal.” His observational sense of humor, which often tackles certain faux pas, especially in today’s society, has set its sights on the struggles of gig economy workers in a world of only growing disproportionate wealth. Ansari may stumble a bit in his first feature outing in the director’s chair, but “Good Fortune” is still able to deliver some laughs, mainly at the altar of a whimsically fueled performance by Keanu Reeves.
Many people won’t argue how difficult it is to just exist in the world today. It only gets harder and harder to appreciate life when we spend most of our lives working multiple jobs just to barely have enough at the end of the day to afford the basic necessities needed to survive. That’s where Ansari’s Arj finds himself, trapped in the mundanity of working menial jobs to get through each day. His desperation for financial stability leads him to take odd jobs, whether it’s working shifts at a hardware store, standing in line for people to pick up cinnamon buns, doing door-to-door deliveries, or cleaning out the house of wealthy socialite and tech bro Jeff, played by Seth Rogen. Arj’s life is so terrible that it’s bad enough to catch the eye of Reeve’s Gabriel, an angel primarily focused on saving people from texting and driving, who is striving for a higher purpose. Gabriel’s ineptitude leads him to intervene in Arj’s life with the attempt to show him that, despite his poverty, his life is worth living. Arj, who vehemently disagrees, is then given the opportunity of a lifetime as he switches bodies with Jeff to see how an affluent lifestyle won’t bring him happiness. Turns out, like most people who would be put in Arj’s position, it made him a million times happier. Arj’s happiness does come at the expense of Jeff, who now has to experience life from the other side of his tax bracket. Jeff, Arj, and even Gabriel quickly become intertwined in the chaos that has resulted from Gabriel’s well-intentioned actions.
Ansari’s comedic sensibilities in “Good Fortune” remain similar to his previous efforts, albeit it’s far less consistent in eliciting the laughs this time around. Where this film excels is giving Reeves the platform to exchange his action star persona he’s embraced for the past decade, in favor of just letting loose. Reeves is as charming as ever, bringing an allure that makes Gabriel’s doltish nature endearing to all who encounter him. It also makes his journey in the film the most effective, seeing how the world that humans have created only wears down his gleaming positivity. Gabriel’s bubbling persona, often propped up by the joys of tacos, is interspersed with the exhaustion of working, chain-smoking cigarettes just to bring some sort of relief. Reeves’ chemistry with both Ansari and Rogen is what gives “Good Fortune” the energy that keeps its incongruent humor going. Once the film reaches a point where this trio is all ingrained with one another, it feels as if the film finally finds its footing.
Ansari and Reeves both don’t really stray from their bag of tricks performance-wise, relying on what has made them both so successful. Even when the jokes aren’t hitting the mark, their chemistry is more than present. The opposite side of the spectrum, Anzari and Keke Palmer’s chemistry, or lack thereof, impedes a core relationship that challenges Arj’s entire perception, a key aspect of the story. Palmer’s Elena, a coworker and romantic interest of Arj, is focused on attempting to unionize the hardware store where they work. While she and Ansari share some of the film’s more emotionally heavy beats, the foundation for their romance doesn’t feel believable. Palmer is alright, but her character is more of a pressure point for Arj to reevaluate his life as a whole than a fully fledged individual. The film also fails to fully implement all of Palmer’s natural comedic chops, which is nothing short of disappointing.
The entirety of “Good Fortune” does feel somewhat out of sync commentary-wise compared to Ansari’s previous creative efforts. “Master of None” was a series that tackled the oddities and frustrations of modern dating, as well as religion, and a skew of other topics at least had a sense of perspective to it. Ansari’s screenplay for “Good Fortune,” while attempting to find an understanding between two individuals in vastly different places in life, doesn’t hit as much as it hopes it does. Maybe it’s due to the laughs not being as frequent. Maybe it’s from Ansari’s direction that, although it has flourishes of greatness, it mainly resembles the most traditional of studio comedies. “Good Fortune” is an amusing effort from Ansari, but one can’t help but leave it wanting a bit more, especially from someone of his caliber of talent.
