It’s been a long time coming for Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut, the heavenly body swapping comedy Good Fortune. His previous attempt behind the camera fell apart, and Ansari’s other troubles are well documented. But he does something that’s increasingly rare with this film and that’s to deliver big laughs, wry observations, and hopefulness in equal measure. Plus, there’s just something kinda awesome about Ansari, Seth Rogen, and Keanu Reeves hanging out and eating tacos together, because who wouldn’t want to join them?
Part of the charm of Good Fortune is just that, feeling like you’re goofing off with three buddies. Ansari turns to a couple of tried and true story beats for his screenplay: the guardian angel comedy ala Heaven Can Wait, and the Trading Places rich guy/poor guy life swap. Ansari plays Arj, an aspiring documentary editor struggling to make it in Los Angeles as a gig worker. He’ll do everything and anything to scrape by. There’s a funny bit where he gets paid to stand in line at a trendy bun shop only to have them run out. Not only that, but the food delivery gigs are being stolen away by robots, so even the meager tasks he gets are going away. He’s resorted to living out of his car until even that is taken away.
The biggest laughs by far go to Reeves as Gabriel, a “budget guardian angel” whose task is saving people who text while driving. He sees a lost soul in Arj, and goes well beyond his station to try and help the poor guy. Rogen plays Jeff, a wealthy tech bro who briefly gives Arj a shot as his assistant, but ends up firing him over a minor discretion. Desperate to prove to Arj that his life is worth living, Gabriel temporarily gives him Jeff’s life, while Jeff is forced to struggle as Arj. But things don’t quite work out as planned. If all of your problems were solved with a massive influx of wealth and status, would you want to give it up?
Ansari smartly examines the many ways the deck is stacked against those who have the least. Taxes leave the poorest among us with less to live on, your car gets towed and it’s impossible to afford getting it out, the jobs are going away, and it’s even hard to break even as an Uber driver. True, he can’t fully understand the real hardships that come with Arj’s life, so it all feels a bit too shiny, but Ansari gets credit for trying to work it all out. Another angle involving Keke Palmer as Elena, Arj’s love interest and an aspiring union organizer at a retail outlet, is a nice touch that speaks to the strength in numbers. We see more of it in the people that they encounter along the way: a dishwasher with three jobs who doesn’t let life get him down. He takes his wife (who was saved by Gabriel) out dancing to celebrate their lives. Or the Denny’s employee who helps Arj when he’s in a bind.
Good Fortune doesn’t get the messaging right all of the time. The solutions Ansari offers are pretty simple, and that could rub the wrong way those who are suffering real hardships. The goal isn’t to aspire to be like Jeff, but to find what happiness means to you and then fight to keep it. And if you get to share a taco with Keanu Reeves along the way, well, that’s not so bad.
Lionsgate opens Good Fortune in theaters on October 17th.
*NOTE: This review was originally part of our TIFF50 coverage.*
