Good Fortune - Review: Touched By An Angel

 

Religion and movies have been going together like peanut butter and holy jelly since basically the very first moving images across a screen. There have been decades upon decades of comedic and serious takes on the concept, successful and otherwise. The last major comedic attempt was Kevin Smith’s “Dogma” in 1999 and this film, the feature film directorial debut for writer/director Aziz Ansari (“Master of None,” “Parks and Recreation”), has quite a bit in common with that. Another irreverent take on angels with some social commentary thrown in as well, “Good Fortune” is here and ready to grant your miracles.

The film stars Ansari as Arj, a down on his luck average joe who sleeps in his car and scrapes by doing odd jobs for other people, like the rich tech bro Jeff, played by Seth Rogen (“Superbad,” “The Studio”), via a Doordash like app. After a particularly rough night, Arj is visited by a low-rent guardian angel Gabriel, played by Keanu Reeves (“The Matrix,” “John Wick”), who wants to show him that money won’t solve all of his problems. He switches Jeff and Arj’s lives to do so, hoping to help Arj better his life. The problem is that Arj now doesn’t want to switch back, seeing that money has indeed solved virtually all of his problems.

Ansari leads the ensemble with a pretty good comedic performance that plays directly to his strengths. He’s built a career out of playing characters that straddle the line between being annoying and endearing, and he delivers a similar kind of work here. There’s a smidgen of more emotional material for him here, but it's nothing particularly groundbreaking. Rogen is also playing into more of his typical shtick, but there’s a bit more meanness and edge to his character, leading to him getting the more interesting material to work with. A large stretch of the film focuses on his character and it's when things are at their more satirically layered and interesting.

Reeves is the absolute standout. His portrayl of Gabriel blends a genuine heart with a layer of himbo naivate that plays excellently to his wide-eyed persona. It's the most interesting and comedically rich performance of the entire film, and his sequences with Rogen have the best chemistry of the film as well. The pair’s scenes are the standout of the entire project by far. Keke Palmer (“Nope,” “One of Them Days”) also appears as Elena, a hopeful employee trying to start a union at her hardware store and a romantic interest for Arj. Their chemistry is fine enough, but somewhat flat, and her material is fairly surface level stuff. Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Killing Eve”) pops up as Martha, Gabriel’s angel boss in a borderline cameo that allows her to inject her smooth, calm charms briefly into the project.

A film about struggling economically can be a bit of a tough sell in the modern economy, but Ansari’s script goes to great lengths to show the ins and outs of both halves of the L.A. economy with heart and laughs. Multiple moments that could have easily been just excuses for jokes are played with serious, actual care for the characters. It’s more sincerely portrayed than one might initially expect, and it allows the film to be far more than just a fluffy comedy. Even the ending commits to its grounded terms, working as a more character-driven, emotionally satisfying resolution rather than a fantastical “wish fulfilment” result.

The film’s cooler, darker aesthetic leans heavily into the nighttime dark corners and neon drenched streets of Los Angeles, with naturalistic lighting setting the “down on their luck” vibe for the overall project. It’s an interesting look and it allows the film to establish a specific “larger than life, smaller than life” vibe. For every moment in Jeff/Arj’s mansion, surrounded by excess and bright fake lights, there’s a casual, dirty backside of a restaurant where characters steal a few moments of peace for themselves. It’s a varied and interesting aesthetic, backed up by a great and equally varied musical score from Carter Burwell (“A Goofy Movie,” “The Banshees of Inisherin”).

“Good Fortune” could’ve used a slightly tighter script to turn it into something truly heavenly, but don’t let that downplay the film’s success. It’s a thoroughly entertaining and funny riff on some particularly tricky subject matter. The ensemble is great with some true standouts, and it allows the city of Los Angeles to breathe in a grounded way. “Good Fortune” might not be perfect, but there’s something to be said for a film that seeks to entertain as well as going for some heart without taking the easy way out. 4/5