Few things in cinema are as wonderful as Keanu Reeves playing a “dum-dum,” to use a term uttered by the angel he plays in Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut, Good Fortune.
For more than 30 years, going back to films like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, Reeves has offered a breezy surfer bro appeal that makes his dum-dums funny and deeply lovable. Even when playing smarter characters in Bram Stoker’s Dracula or The Matrix, Reeves permeates lines like “I know kung fu” with his authentic, child-like awe. And sure, we might laugh at him in the moment. But his characters are full of passion and goodwill, so while they are bewildered by the world around them, we are invited to share in that sense of surprise and wonder.
‘Good Fortune’ trailer: Keanu Reeves is a literal angel in Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut
And Good Fortune’s Gabriel the Angel, who Reeves plays with rich sincerity, is the actor at top form, in comedy and absurd authenticity.
Be warned: Good Fortune could use more Keanu.
Credit: Eddy Chen / Lionsgate
It should be noted, however, that this is just true of most movies. But if you watched Good Fortune’s trailer and thought the handsome angel in the trench coat was giving City of Angels main character vibes, you’re only half-right. The earnest guardian angel Gabriel does carry the film as if he’s its star, which is perhaps the unavoidable effect of casting Reeves. But the film itself is a two-hander following the life-swap comedy model of movies like Freakier Friday or Trading Places. And neither swapper is Gabriel.
Instead, Ansari and Seth Rogen star as two men living very different lives in Los Angeles, all because of their income level. Educated but underemployed, Arj (Ansari) is subject to the whims of the gig economy, where he’s essentially DoorDashing and doing TaskRabbit chores to make ends meet. That’s going so well that he’s living out of his car.
Meanwhile, Rogen plays Jeff, a tech bro living the good life in the Hollywood Hills complete with his own sauna and pool. The two cross paths and very nearly become friends, but an unexpected incident instead tosses Arj back on the street and worse off than before. Like It’s a Wonderful Life, our hero is on the brink of giving up when an angel appears.
The thing is, Gabriel is not the kind of high-ranking angel who’s supposed to deal with lost souls. His low-level job (reflected by his small wing span) is to prevent people from texting while driving. In a well-meaning but decidedly dum-dum move, he decides to swap Arj and Jeff’s lives to prove money wouldn’t solve all of Arj’s problems. But as Gabriel confesses to his annoyed high-angel manager Martha (Sandra Oh), money does solve most of Arj’s problems!
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From there, Good Fortune pivots to Jeff, who is having A Christmas Carol–style awakening as supernatural intervention shows him what a rich, selfish Scrooge he’s become. Through this, Good Fortune digs into class politics, not going full “eat the rich,” but certainly calling out privilege and societal disadvantages that can get glossed over in talk of the American dream.
Keanu Reeves outshines Aziz Ansari and Seth Rogen.
Credit: Eddy Chen / Lionsgate
As in The Studio, recent winner of 13 Emmys, Rogen plays a specific brand of L.A. doofus — the deluded rich kind. And there’s a schadenfreude in watching Jeff get his comeuppance, forced to live hand-to-mouth like those he previously employed. Rogen smartly calibrates his signature freak-outs for this section, mirroring Ansari’s stressed-out energy in the film’s first act. Once the tables are turned, Ansari gets to play it suave, digging into a romantic subplot with Keke Palmer, who, while well cast as a compassionate and enchanting union advocate, is not given very much to do.
While these human dudes are learning what really matters in life, Gabriel gains life lessons of his own. Demoted by heaven to being human, he must find a job, and swiftly picks up bad habits like chain smoking. But as a man, he enjoys non-angel experiences, like dancing and tacos. Reeves is absolutely sensational in these moments of discovery. When waxing poetic about the glory of a milkshake, Reeves plays it straight and is both convincing and sensationally silly. But even when he’s not saying anything, this true movie star knows how to position himself in such a way that is inherently hilarious. Watching a fallen angel take a smoke break, for instance, becomes a simple moment of side-splitting humor.
It’s no question that Reeves outshines his costars, but that’s not really a problem. This is a role perfectly suited to his powerful, even otherworldly screen presence. Ansari is definitely in on the joke, pitting his and Rogen‘s deeply flawed mortals against this kind and smoking, hot angel, which results in them only looking like bigger clowns.
Undoubtedly, Keanu Reeves as a dopey angel is the film’s hook Good Fortune uses to lure us all in. And it’s an effective one, for as much as I wish there were more in this movie, it’s not a bait and switch. Maybe a better analogy is that Reeves as an angel is the sugar that helps the medicine go down, sugarcoating a political comedy with his divine presence.
Overall, the film feels a bit clunky, lacking a sense of flow, but there is a charm to that as well. This is effectively a funny fable asking us to consider what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. There are consistent laughs and heartwarming moments. As a director, Ansari will probably grow in style. But for a first-time effort, the brilliance he brings to pulling together a cast can’t be denied. Good Fortune is a good time, and Keanu Reeves in Good Fortune should not be missed.
Good Fortune was reviewed out of its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film opens in theaters Oct. 17.
