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Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, this whimsical film by comedian the director, has been struggling in theaters. Several reasons may explain the film's reception: Its generic name fails to convey the movie's unique charm. The script can be moralizing and heavy-handed regarding the messages. Its performances are flat and presentational, as if the cast were reciting dialogue directly from a script. And, the film comes at a time of financial uncertainty and disparity, which may make audiences less open to a story that implies wealthy people enjoy all the advantages while the poor possess spirit.

However, this is what Good Fortune excels: It's original, daring, imaginative, frequently funny, and undoubtedly relevant. Plus, it offers a great the actor hangout movie.

Reeves as an Angel: His Typical Portrayal

Personally, I've not regarded Keanu Reeves to be a strong actor. His monotonal delivery and persistent look of slight perturbation has always seemed limited, despite the wide range of roles he's played during the last 40 of his career. Smart filmmakers have cast Reeves in roles where that stoic nature works perfectly, from his early work to The Matrix to John Wick. Yet nearly all of these roles called for him to appear tough, distant, or removed.

In the film, Reeves portrays an angel, one low-level guardian celestial being assigned with watching over people that use their phones while behind the wheel. The character's entire job is remaining in their vehicles and lightly touching their shoulders as they are about to have an accident, alerting the person so the driver brake in time. However, when standing high above his domain, gazing upon the mortal world like an alternative version of the angel from the director's renowned film Wings of Desire, Gabriel becomes aspirational. He wants to be an exceptional protector and rescuer of wayward souls.

A Surprising Shift: Keanu Playing a Human

Therefore, he reveals himself to down-and-out handyman a character (portrayed by the director), who is residing in a vehicle and resenting his situation. Gabriel then swaps Arj with the life of extremely rich businessman Jeff (played by Seth Rogen). The point of the experiment was for the character to understand Jeff's life comes with major drawbacks, and gratefully return to his original life, similar to a figure in It's a Wonderful Life.

Issue is, the character immediately realizes how the mogul's problems (tedious appointments, a pricey heating invoice) are minor and readily resolved with money. Arj also sees that becoming rich provides limitless chances for self-indulgent enjoyment. He shows no interest in returning to his own situation, and Gabriel can't force him to return. Then, additional bad news arrives: For overstepping his duties and disrupting the balance of existence, the character loses his position from his angel job, and transformed to a human being.

The Revelation: Keanu Reeves Smiles

I was never persuaded by Reeves playing an angel with big aspirations and a burning desire to make a difference. He delivers the same somewhat stiff acting he's consistently offering for at least the last 3 ten-year periods. Viewing him in the role of celestial being who's just turned mortal for the first time, however, proved to be highly entertaining, due to something that truly astonished me at first: This is something different for the actor. Or to be precise, something old.

Early into the character's confusing career as a human, staying with Jeff (who the angel had swapped with the handyman's hand-to-mouth existence and underemployed status), the character begins hesitantly trying out everyday experiences like chewing and consuming food. Then the actor grins. Genuinely, cautiously, happily smiles. (It's a lot much believable than his grin shown in the poster, that appears digitally altered.)

The Reason This Grin Is Significant

The moment truly took me aback to recognize just how unexpected and welcome the smile felt. When was the last time we observed the actor smile in a film where he wasn't showing malice, irony, or bitterness? The actor likely attempts it at some point in 2020's ill-conceived Bill & Ted Face the Music, however I'm not returning to the mess to confirm. Reeves has been typecast with serious, murderous, introspective, or simply solemn characters for such a duration that just watching him grin seemed like seeing an entirely different performer.

While the plot goes on, the character ends up needing to get a kitchen job, a role that doesn't pay sufficient for survival, and Gabriel begins chain-smoking out of frustration. Just the image of the actor in a disposable paper restaurant hat, with his late-career signature locks tied in a plain bun, slouching on a building and puffing on a smoke, is worthy of watching. His dishwasher attire completely changes his appearance and posture: Unexpectedly, the slim, suited action star of his famous movies becomes gawky, unglamorous, and a lot increasingly human.

The Joy of Watching Keanu Loosen Up

The film isn't always enjoyable to watch, particularly when the director (that also wrote the script) must find believable reasons for {Ar