BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — “Good Fortune” has a sweetness and an appreciation of how important hope is that it is safe to compare it to “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It doesn’t have the overall writing nor the star power to be in the same league as the Frank Capra holiday classic, but it earns points for being the kind of movie we need in these troubling times.
Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”) has written, directed and starred in the story of Arj, an average guy just trying to survive in a world where everything has gone wrong. His desperation captures the attention of Gabriel, a well-meaning angel whose lack of skills has put him at the bottom of the celestial ladder.
Some angels save lost souls. Some are inspirations. Gabriel’s job is to save people from accidents caused by texting and driving. It is righteous work, but he longs to do more. That’s when he decides to reveal himself to the despondent Arj and show him how his life is worth living.
The lack of training in this area results in Gabriel making one major error. He switches Arj’s life with the one being lived by Jeff (Seth Rogen) who is a wealthy venture capitalist. The plan that Gabriel comes up with is to show Arj that money isn’t the cure for all ills.
There’s one major problem with that approach. Arj loves the new life of wealth and power so much he refuses to switch back to a world where he was sleeping in his car and picking up any odd job he could land.
Once Arj has opted to keep his new life, Jeff must live the struggling life Arj had while he waits for some kind of heavenly intervention to clean up the mess. He thinks he can handle a life of adversity but soon learns that it is more difficult than he could have imagined.
“Good Fortune” ends up a comfortable comedy despite having one big potential problem. Generally, when one person fills all those jobs as Ansari does with “Good Fortune,” there are parts of the project that suffer. That’s not the case here as Ansari has written a script that ripples with plot elements from “It’s a Wonderful Life” accented with a heavy dose of “Trading Places.”
There were plenty of places where “Good Fortune” could have turned dark. Ansari avoids those dark holes by making all the players likable. Gabriel is certainly at fault, but his intentions are so pure that it is hard to dislike him.
Even Rogen, who can turn a fun project dark, is kept on an even level by Ansari. Even in the most difficult times he never allows Rogen to disrupt the flow with an over-the-top rant.
The real key is the performance Ansari gets out of Reeves. There are moments when Gabriel seems to be channeling Ted on an “Excellent Adventure,” but it is only a light brushing. Reeves comes across as being inept but having a big heart.
It is fun to watch Reeves take Gabriel through an introduction to the joys of being human. This includes the taste of a hamburger, the fun of dancing and satisfaction of making good friends. All could have been played over the top, but the chill nature of Gabriel keeps that from happening.
“Good Fortune” features one of the best film performances by Keke Palmer. Her character is part dreamer and part realist but never allows either side to dominate her and that is another solid anchor for this endearing tale.
Ansari turns in a solid performance despite all the other demands on him. His character is certainly frustrated with life but never to the point of deep despair. That makes it easier to root for him to find his way home.
After disastrous movies like “The Smashing Machine” and “Tron: Ares” it appeared that October would end up a moviegoing disappointment. It is the good fortune for film fans that this film came along to prove comedy, romance and some less-that-divine intervention proves it can still be a wonderful life at the movies.
Movie review
Good Fortune
Grade: B
Cast: Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh.
Director: Aziz Ansari
Rated: R for language, drug use
Running time: 98 minutes.
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