Review: Good Fortune – Send me an angel

Directed by Aziz Ansari
Starring Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves 

7/10

The angel of saving people who are texting while driving, Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), becomes fascinated with a human who he rescues. As he watches Arj (Aziz Ansari) driven more and more to despair by his economic circumstances and continual grind of the gig economy, Gabriel senses an opportunity to teach him how good life actually is. When Arj reaches his nada, Gabriel swaps his life with his wealthy former employer (Seth Rogen) to try and teach him that the grass isn’t always better. The thing is, throwing money at a problem is a remarkably effective way of solving it, and Gabriel’s lessons might not be as enlightening as he hoped.

There’s an odd dichotomy at play throughout Good Fortune, and it often appears to be two polar opposite things simultaneously. It’s both an aimless freeform piece and well scripted and plotted. It’s hopelessly idealistic to the point of naivety while at the same time being devastatingly insightful with its cynical humour. How director Aziz Ansari achieved this quantum state of existence for his film is baffling, but miraculously the end result has an undeniable charm that makes up for any of its shortcomings.

Part of that charm is the sheer chemistry and charisma of the cast. A big chunk of that charisma is Keanu Reeves. His over-earnest, measured delivery perfectly conveys the childlike confusion of Gabriel in the most amusing way possible. As a joke it should wear out through the course of the film, but it never does. Somehow it actually becomes funnier as the celestial being undergoes an existential crisis.

Good Fortune is also exceptionally apt at pointing out the enormous wealth disparity that has grown in the last few decades and the generational nature of it. The script is darkly humorous in its observations, with a sharp wit in communicating them. Where it falls down is in offering any solutions or plot resolutions to this prince and the pauper tale (basically Trading Places with elements of Wings of Desire bolted on). Here it is a little naively optimistic, essentially hoping that the ghost of Christmas future visits every billionaire before the world reenacts the French Revolution.

Still, at the end of the day, it’s not the film’s job to solve complex global issues; it’s to provide entertainment. Good Fortune is certainly that, while managing to raise some thoughtful issues as well.

DAVID O’CONNELL