Once in a while, I get to watch a film after which I feel hopeful about life. A film that is simple, uncomplicated, but well-packaged. Recently, for me, that would Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogan starrer Good Fortune. Written and directed by Aziz Ansari, who also plays a pivotal character in film, is a fantasy-comedy that will remind you about the miseries of life, but will also leave you with a hope that there is hope even in the worst of situations, one only has to look for it and hang on there! Well, but it also has angels and more. Here’s a quick review of how far the film worked for me, and what did not!
Keanu Reeves plays a guardian angel of a lower order, who only gets to handle the texting-driving department. Basically, he has to save people who are destined to meet with an accident due to texting and driving. He simply does not find his job enjoyable, but it’s only during this job that he finds a bigger purpose in his life, which is to guide a lost soul. This happens when he saves Arj (Aziz Ansari) while driving, but realises that he was struggling hard in his life and had lost the will to live anyway. While Gabriel has his heart in the right place, he messes up in the process of helping Arj.
In order to guide Arj, Gabriel shows him a glimpse of his future; however, Arj is not satisfied and still feels hopeless. He compares it with the life of Jeff (Seth Rogan), a rich businessman living life in luxury.
Using his powers, Gabriel swaps Arj’s life with Jeff’s, hoping that he would see the loneliness and superficiality of the latter’s life; however, the plans fail. He comes to realise that money solves most of Arj’s life crises, and he decides not to want his life. After this mess, Gabriel loses his angelic powers and he turns into a human until he successfully gets Arj’s consent to return to his old life.
Writing And Screenplay
Aziz Ansari opts for a simple, light-hearted, and not an overwhelming kinda story. It is just enough to get the point across. The point that the life of a regular person trying to make ends meet is really pathetic, no matter how hard they try. There are external forces in a person’s life that push them to be hopeless, and finally give up. Through this, the writer also tries to incorporate issues in this ruthless world of capitalism- lack of jobs, bad working conditions, AI replacing humans, the rich getting richer, and of course the everyday struggles that human faces due the “system”. Good Fortune has a crisp story that is consistent and engaging, to large extent. However, it’s not very layered and the themes that it intends to deal with, the film does not dig deep or explore the complexities of the issues.
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Performances
Keanu Reeves plays a very easygoing character, and he delivers a decent performance. His character of Angel Gabriel does not go through an extreme character arc, but the actor adds his own charm to the role, that makes us smile without realising. Whether it’s him enjoying chicken nuggies or dancing in the human world, or turning into this hopeless person himself after living for few days like a regular person, and not angel!
Seth Rogan is also a delight on the big screen and he plays his role of the rich, ignorant businessman in all his honesty. Aziz Ansari as Arj really convinces us with his helpless, hopeless, done-with-life, hanging-by-a-thread kind of character. In moments, it’s hard not to relate with him.
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Dialogues
The dialogues in Good Fortune is also simple, some banter between the characters make us smile. The straightforward, speak your mind without filters kinda dialogues work for the film, especially when most of us are tired of the pretentiousness.
Verdict: It’s Not Complex, Light-Hearted
Good Fortune is a good one-time watch that will remind you of your worries but will also leave you with the lesson of how finding that one hope can go a long way. And honestly, that decision is for us to make because at the end of the day, it’s how we look at our lives. The film has decent performances, relatable humour, but the fact that it misses out on depth is what bothered me a little. However, in a sea of bad films, this is a recommended one! It will hit the theatres on October 17, 2025.