Aziz Ansari has proven himself to be a successful comedic actor, appearing in shows like Parks and Recreation and Master of None. He makes his feature film directorial debut with a body swap comedy about the gig economy.
Arj (Ansari) is a man struggling to survive. He works part-time in a hardware store, does random jobs on apps, and lives in his car. However, Arj’s fortunes seem to change when he meets Jeff (Seth Rogen), a wealthy venture capitalist, and gets a job as Jeff’s assistant. When Arj reaches his lowest ebb, an angel called Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) attempts to show Arj that his life isn’t so bad and that Jeff’s life isn’t so great by forcing the pair to swap places.
Good Fortune was a well-intended film with its look at socioeconomic issues. It was like Ken Loach was hired to direct a mainstream American comedy. Loach did make a film about self-employed delivery drivers, and Good Fortune does go into similar territory since Arj had to rely on job apps and was at the whims of tech companies and entitled clients.
Good Fortune had scope regarding its targets and storyline. The film showed the issues in Los Angeles, like the cost-of-living crisis, people needing two or three jobs to survive, homeless people in tents on the street, the issue of hidden homelessness, corporations trying to stop their employees from unionising, and the ultra-rich being, at best, oblivious to the plight of their workers. There was even a job of a robot being used for food delivery, which led to the film looking at automation and AI replacing workers. A bit iconic considering the film was distributed by Lionsgate and that company is looking to use AI in future projects. The film was at times preachy, but it’s hard to argue against the sentiment. One of the funniest gags in the film was Gabriel showing Arj his life with Elena (Keke Palmer), and the housing, employment, and financial challenges they will face.
The storylines in the film include Arj getting to live the high life, Jeff being forced to live a pauper’s lifestyle, Gabriel being forced to live as a human and experiencing the joys and pains that brings, and Elena trying to unionise the hardware megastore she worked in. This led to the film’s biggest issues that meandered too much. It darted from location to location and storyline to storyline. At times, the story was stretched so it could fill the 97-minute running time.
Whilst Good Fortune themes and subject matter were of the 2020s, as a comedy, it seemed like it was made in the 2010s. Rogen was at the height of his powers in the 2010s, and Ansari was a presence in that decade. A lot of the humour felt like it came from the 2010s, which was mostly witty but rarely outright funny. Good Fortune was filled with comedic actors, yet Reeves was the funniest actor in the film. He was a nice-but-dim character who had a childlike sense of enthusiasm, like tasting fast food and getting his first pay cheque. Even when things go badly for Gabriel, he tries to keep a sunny disposition. Reeves’ performance was a throwback to his role in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Good Fortune was an unsubtle film with its commentary, yet it was able to entertain and was a pleasant surprise considering the lack of promotion in the UK.
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Direction
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Writing
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Acting
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Comedy
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Keanu Reeves
Summary
Mildly amusing with biting social commentary.
