🔗 Share this article

Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, the fantasy comedy by actor the director, has been facing challenges in theaters. Many reasons could account for the film's performance: The uninspired title fails to convey its movie's distinctive charm. The script is often moralizing and heavy-handed with its themes. The acting seem flat and staged, as if the cast were reading lines straight from the page. And, it arrives during an era of financial anxiety and disparity, that could make viewers less receptive to a narrative that implies rich individuals have every benefits while those in need possess spirit.

However, this is where Good Fortune stands out: It's original, bold, imaginative, often funny, and undoubtedly relevant. Plus, it provides an unexpectedly enjoyable the actor character-driven movie.

Keanu Reeves as an Angel: His Typical Portrayal

Personally, I've not regarded Keanu Reeves to be a good actor. The actor's monotonal delivery and consistent look of mild perturbation have always felt limited, regardless of his broad variety of characters he's taken on during the last four decades years. Astute filmmakers have often placed Reeves in parts where that stoic nature fits ideally, including My Own Private Idaho to The Matrix to the action series. But nearly all of those roles required Reeves to seem hardened, distant, and detached.

Throughout the film, the actor plays Gabriel, a low-level protecting angel tasked with looking after people who text while driving. His whole duty involves remaining in his cars and gently making contact with the drivers' shoulders as they are about to have an accident, alerting the person so the driver brake before impact. However, when standing high above his domain, looking down on humanity similar to a version of the angel from the director's renowned movie Wings of Desire, the character becomes aspirational. He wants to be a great guardian and rescuer of lost souls.

A Surprising Turn: Keanu as a Mortal

Therefore, Gabriel reveals his presence to down-and-out handyman a character (played by the director), who is residing in his car and cursing his life. The angel proceeds to swaps the man with the existence of extremely rich businessman a character (acted by Seth Rogen). The idea of the exercise is that Arj would realize Jeff's life has major downsides, and gratefully go back to his own circumstances, much like a character from the classic film.

Issue was, the character right away realizes that Jeff's issues (tedious appointments, expensive heating invoice) prove negligible and readily resolved using money. Arj also sees that becoming rich provides endless chances for pleasurable fun. He has zero interest in going back to his own situation, and the angel is unable to force Arj to go back. Subsequently, more bad news arrives: For exceeding his duties and messing with the balance of the world, Gabriel loses his position from his angel role, and transformed into a mortal.

The Discovery: Keanu Reeves Grins

I was never convinced by the actor playing an angel with grand aspirations and a burning desire to effect change. He turns in a familiar vaguely constipated performance he has consistently offering for at least the last 3 ten-year periods. Watching Reeves as an celestial being that has recently turned human initially, on the other hand, was a blast, due to something which truly astonished viewers at first: It's an element new for the actor. Or to be precise, an aspect old.

Soon during his confusing experience as a human, clinging to the wealthy character (who Gabriel exchanged into the handyman's hand-to-mouth existence and jobless status), the character begins hesitantly experimenting with human activities such as eating and consuming food. Then the actor smiles. Authentically, hesitantly, happily beams. (This is a lot more believable than his smile on the poster, which appears digitally altered.)

Why That Smile Is Significant

The moment truly took me aback to realize how surprising and welcome that smile felt. At what point was the last time we observed Keanu Reeves smile in a film where he was not showing malice, irony, or resentment? The actor probably attempts it at some point in the recent ill-conceived Bill & Ted Face the Music, but I am not going to revisiting that mess to confirm. The actor has been typecast with serious, violent, introspective, or simply solemn roles for so long that just watching him smile felt like observing an entirely different actor.

As the plot progresses, the character finds himself having to take a kitchen position, which fails to provide sufficient to live on, and he begins chain-smoking out of frustration. Simply the image of Reeves in a disposable paper restaurant cap, his recent signature long hair tied in an unglamorous ponytail, slouching on a building and puffing on a cigarette, is worth watching. The dishwasher attire completely changes his appearance and body: Unexpectedly, the slim, well-dressed physical powerhouse of the John Wick movies is awkward, unglamorous, and a lot more human.

The Pleasure of Watching Keanu Loosen Up

Good Fortune is not always enjoyable to watch, especially when Ansari (that also authored the script) must find plausible explanations for {Ar