🔗 Share this article

Good Fortune, this whimsical comedy from comedian Aziz Ansari, has been struggling in theaters. Several factors may account for the film's performance: Its generic name fails to express its movie's distinctive appeal. The script can be preachy and heavy-handed regarding the themes. Its acting seem flat and staged, as if the cast were reciting dialogue directly from the page. Moreover, it arrives during an era marked by economic anxiety and inequality, which could render viewers less receptive to a narrative which suggests wealthy people have every advantages while those in need have spirit.

However, this is what the movie excels: The film is unique, daring, creative, frequently humorous, and undoubtedly relevant. And, it provides a enjoyable Keanu Reeves character-driven experience.

Keanu Reeves in the role of Guardian: His Typical Performance

I have never considered Reeves a strong performer. His flat delivery and consistent expression of mild perturbation have consistently seemed one-note, despite the wide range of characters he has taken on over the last 40 of his career. Smart filmmakers have placed him in parts in which his stoic nature fits ideally, including My Own Private Idaho to the sci-fi classic to the action series. But nearly all of those roles required him to appear hardened, distant, or detached.

In Good Fortune, Reeves plays Gabriel, a low-level protecting angel assigned with watching over individuals that use their phones when driving. His whole duty involves remaining in their cars and gently touching their arms as they are about to have an accident, alerting the person so the driver brake in time. But, when positioned overlooking his domain, gazing upon the mortal world like a version of a celestial figure in Wim Wenders' classic movie Wings of Desire, Gabriel becomes aspirational. Gabriel desires to become an exceptional guardian and rescuer of wayward souls.

A Surprising Shift: Keanu as a Mortal

Therefore, Gabriel reveals himself to struggling handyman a character (portrayed by the director), who is living in his car and resenting his situation. Gabriel proceeds to exchanges the man with the life of extremely rich tech mogul Jeff (played by Seth Rogen). This idea behind the experiment is for Arj to realize Jeff's life has significant drawbacks, and thankfully go back to his own circumstances, much like a figure from It's a Wonderful Life.

Issue was, Arj right away discovers that the mogul's problems (tedious appointments, a pricey heating bill) are negligible and easily solved with wealth. Arj further sees that becoming affluent provides endless opportunities for self-indulgent fun. The character has no desire in going back to his previous life, and Gabriel can't compel him to return. Subsequently, additional trouble comes: For exceeding his duties and disrupting the balance of existence, the character is fired from his celestial role, and transformed to a mortal.

A Discovery: The Actor Smiles

I was not persuaded by Reeves playing an angel who has grand aspirations and an intense wish to effect change. He turns in a familiar somewhat constipated performance he's consistently providing for no less than the past three ten-year periods. Watching him in the role of angel who's recently turned human for the first time, however, proved to be a blast, due to something that truly surprised viewers initially: It's an element new for the actor. Or perhaps to be precise, something from the past.

Soon during the character's baffling experience as a human, clinging to Jeff (who Gabriel exchanged into the handyman's precarious life and underemployed situation), Gabriel begins hesitantly trying out everyday activities such as chewing and swallowing meals. And Reeves smiles. Genuinely, hesitantly, happily beams. (It's far more convincing than the grin on the promotional image, which looks artificially added.)

Why That Grin Is Significant

It really surprised me to recognize just how unexpected and welcome that expression was. When was the last time we observed the actor smile in a movie where he was not showing malice, irony, or bitterness? The actor likely attempts a smile somewhere in the recent misbegotten Bill & Ted Face the Music, however I'm not going to revisiting that disappointment to confirm. Reeves has been stuck with serious, violent, broody, or just solemn roles for such a duration that merely seeing Reeves smile felt like observing a completely different performer.

As the story progresses, Gabriel finds himself needing to get a dishwashing job, a role that fails to provide sufficient to live on, and Gabriel begins smoking heavily due to frustration. Just the image of Reeves in a disposable plastic restaurant cap, with his late-career signature locks tied in an unglamorous ponytail, leaning on a wall and smoking a smoke, proves worth watching. His dishwasher attire totally alters his appearance and body: Unexpectedly, the slim, well-dressed action star of the John Wick movies becomes awkward, unglamorous, and much more relatable.

The Joy of Watching Keanu Relax

The film is not consistently fun to watch, especially when Ansari (that additionally authored the screenplay) must create plausible explanations for {Ar