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Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, this whimsical film by actor Aziz Ansari, has been struggling at the box office. Many factors could explain its performance: The uninspired name fails to express its movie's distinctive charm. The script is often moralizing and heavy-handed with the themes. Its performances are flat and staged, like the actors were reading lines directly from a script. And, it arrives at a time of economic anxiety and inequality, that may render audiences not very receptive to a story which suggests rich people have all the advantages while the poor have spirit.

But, this is where Good Fortune excels: It's unique, bold, imaginative, frequently humorous, and certainly relevant. And, it offers a enjoyable the actor hangout movie.

Reeves as an Angel: A Familiar Performance

I have not regarded Reeves a strong actor. His monotonal delivery and consistent look of slight concern have always felt limited, regardless of his broad range of characters he's played during the last 40 of his career. Smart filmmakers have cast Reeves in parts where his stoic nature works ideally, including My Own Private Idaho to the sci-fi classic to John Wick. But almost every one of those characters required Reeves to seem tough, closed-off, and detached.

In Good Fortune, the actor plays Gabriel, a minor protecting celestial being assigned with watching over people who use their phones while behind the wheel. His entire duty involves remaining in their cars and lightly making contact with the drivers' arms as they're close to have an accident, warning the person so the driver brake before impact. But, when standing high above his domain, gazing on humanity similar to a version of a celestial figure from the director's classic movie the angel story, the character gets ambitious. Gabriel wants to become a great guardian and rescuer of lost individuals.

A Unexpected Turn: Reeves Playing a Mortal

Therefore, he presents his presence to struggling handyman Arj (portrayed by Aziz Ansari), who's living in a vehicle and resenting his life. Gabriel then exchanges the man into the life of stupidly wealthy tech mogul a character (acted by Seth Rogen). This idea of the experiment is that Arj to understand the wealthy man's life has significant drawbacks, and thankfully return to his original life, similar to the figure in the classic film.

Issue was, the character immediately realizes how the mogul's problems (tedious appointments, a pricey pool-heater invoice) are negligible and readily resolved using wealth. Arj further realizes how being affluent opens up endless opportunities for pleasurable fun. He has no interest in going back to his previous life, and Gabriel can't compel Arj to return. Then, additional trouble comes: For overstepping his duties and messing with the order of the world, the character is fired from his celestial role, and turned into a mortal.

The Discovery: Keanu Reeves Grins

Personally, I remained never persuaded by the actor as an celestial being who has big dreams and a burning wish to make a difference. Reeves delivers the same somewhat stiff performance he has been providing for at least the last three decades. Viewing him as an celestial being that has just become human for the first time, on the other hand, proved to be a blast, due to something which really surprised me initially: This is an element new for the actor. Or to be precise, something from the past.

Early into his baffling experience as a mortal, clinging to Jeff (who Gabriel exchanged into the handyman's hand-to-mouth life and jobless status), the character starts tentatively trying out human activities like eating and swallowing food. Then Reeves smiles. Authentically, cautiously, joyously smiles. (It's far more convincing than the grin shown in the poster, which appears digitally altered.)

The Reason This Grin Matters

It really surprised me to realize just how unexpected and welcome that expression felt. When was the last time audiences observed the actor grin in a movie in which he was not showing malice, sarcasm, or bitterness? The actor likely tries a smile at some point in the recent misbegotten Bill & Ted Face the Music, however I'm not revisiting that disappointment to confirm. The actor has been stuck with serious, violent, introspective, or simply serious roles for so long that merely seeing him smile felt like observing a completely different performer.

As the story progresses, Gabriel finds himself having to get a kitchen job, a role that fails to provide sufficient to live on, and Gabriel starts chain-smoking out of disappointment. Simply the sight of Reeves in a disposable plastic food-service hat, his recent trademark locks tied in an unglamorous bun, leaning against a building and smoking a smoke, proves worthy of the price of admission. The kitchen worker getup completely alters his face and posture: Suddenly, the slim, suited physical powerhouse of his famous movies is gawky, ordinary, and much increasingly relatable.

A Joy of Viewing Reeves Relax

The film is not consistently enjoyable to view, particularly when the director (who also authored the screenplay) must create plausible explanations for {Ar