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Who said money can’t buy you happiness? In this economy, it sure as hell can.
In Lionsgate’s new comedy “Good Fortune,” Aziz Ansari stars as Arj, a freelance documentary editor who sleeps in his car as he struggles to get by in Los Angeles’ gig economy. He works part-time at Hardware Heaven and hustles as a “task sergeant,” doing various work for-hire through an app service. He lives off of tips and five-star ratings. Anything short of them is pure agony.
Arj gets hired by tech bro venture capitalist Jeff (Seth Rogen) to organize the garage of his luxurious home at the top of the hill. Arj convinces Jeff to hire him as an assistant. Unfortunately, the cushy gig lasts only so long before Jeff fires him over an earnest mistake.
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The film also follows Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), an unfulfilled guardian angel stuck in a menial job saving people who text while driving, with only tiny wings to show for it. Gabriel longs for something enriching, like fellow angel Azrael (Stephen McKinley Henderson), who’s in charge of saving lost souls and flaunts large, beautiful wings, a higher status symbol in the angel community.
Arj and Gabriel’s paths collide after Gabriel saves Arj’s life, though the angel couldn’t help but notice the text Arj was going to send, suggesting he had given up on life. Gabriel urges his boss, Martha from angel management (Sandra Oh), to allow him to save Arj’s soul. Martha tells Gabriel to stay in his lane (perhaps literally), but he can’t resist.
Just when things couldn’t get any worse for Arj, Gabriel introduces himself with hopes of convincing Arj that his life is worth living. In doing so, Gabriel offers glimpses into Arj’s future, which involves using a “pee bottle” as a delivery driver, living in a crowded home, and not being able to afford treatment for his own sick dog. Arj wasn’t exactly impressed by what was in store.
Gabriel then presents Arj an alternative: switching his life with Jeff’s for a week. However, he warns Arj that Jeff’s life “is not all that it’s cracked up to be.” Except Arj quickly learns that it is, in fact, all that it’s cracked up to be. Who could complain about pool parties, fancy dinners, and having Jeff being your assistant without him having any memory of his past life?
Enraged that he disobeyed her orders, Martha asks why Gabriel did what he did.
“I tried to show him that wealth wouldn’t solve all of his problems… It seems to have solved most of his problems,” Gabriel tells Martha. She takes his wings as punishment, telling him he can only earn them back if Arj voluntarily switches back to his old life.
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Deterred by the wrong lesson Arj has taken from the life swap, Gabriel gives Jeff his memory back, fueling him with rage that Arj had stolen his life. Arj challenges Jeff that he can’t last living in his shoes. Gabriel brokers an agreement that Arj could maintain Jeff’s rich lifestyle for a few more days before the two switch back. Of course, it doesn’t exactly pan out that way.
Living Jeff’s life, Arj has to again win over his former Hardware Heaven co-worker Elena (Keke Palmer), who he had wooed in his previous life but has no memory of him after the switch. Like Arj, Elena also struggles in the gig economy, taking the job at Hardware Heaven to get discounted lumber to pursue her passion for making furniture. But instead of wallowing in misery like Arj did, she strives to change to the poor working conditions by urging her co-workers to unionize.
However, the longer Arj keeps living the high life, the more disconnected he becomes from Elena’s struggles he once identified with. Meanwhile, Gabriel has to adapt to human life and the ups and downs that come with it while he tries to undo the mess he made.
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“Good Fortune” examines the lives of the haves and the have nots in the 21st century and how not everyone is lucky, like Jeff, to come from a privileged background. That said, it doesn’t demonize the rich the way progressives often do. Jeff isn’t evil. Is he too pampered and maybe out of touch with the working class? Sure. That’s a far cry from being a Mr. Potter or a Mr. Burns.
Ansari, who also wrote and directed “Good Fortune,” rose to fame in the comedy world with his breakout role as Tom Haverford in the popular NBC sitcom “Parks and Recreation” and later created and starred in the Netflix series “Master of None,” which earned him two Emmys for writing.
His career was derailed during the height of the #MeToo movement after an anonymous woman claimed he was a bad date, insinuating he committed sexual misconduct for not picking up on her “non-verbal clues” that she was uncomfortable with the physical intimacy. Ansari was unfairly lumped with the worst Me Too offenders like Harvey Weinstein and outcasted as a result.
Ansari has been slowly rebuilding his career, largely through stand-up. He was among the high-profile comedians who recently performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia — an event that has divided Hollywood.
I welcome Ansari’s return to the limelight. He’s a funny guy. His talent is really on full display during the first two seasons of “Master of None.” “Good Fortune” isn’t exactly at the same level of his genius, but it’s still a solid entry to his IMDB page.
Rogen essentially plays himself and serves his purpose as the wealthy, shaman-seeking Jeff. Palmer has a particular warmness that shines through her performances and is able to keep Elena grounded — a role that could easily have turned preachy amid the unionizing subplot.
The laughs are rather inconsistent in “Good Fortune,” but Reeves truly gives it its wings as Gabriel, an angel desperately yearning for meaning, and expressing a childlike innocence as he navigates human life, like his discovery of “chicken nuggies.”
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The Verdict:
A mix of “It’s a Wonderful Life” with “Trading Places,” “Good Fortune” may fall short on consistent laughs, but it makes up for it with heart. It’s a commendable directorial debut by Ansari, who will hopefully have more opportunities to make us laugh in the years ahead.
★★★ — STREAM IT LATER
“Good Fortune” is rated R for language and some drug use. Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes. In theaters now.
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