Movie Review: Good Fortune

Comedy might not seem like the most obvious genre to tackle weighty issues like the exploitation of workers in our modern economy, but with a clever hook and sharp enough writing, there’s no reason why it couldn’t work. In his feature debut as writer and director, Aziz Ansari managed to come up with the hook, but the writing could have possibly used a few more passes.

Ansari stars as Arj, a struggling LA resident who over the course of a few days finds himself unemployed and living out of his car, only to also have that taken away over unpaid parking tickets. Guardian angel Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), who is technically only supposed to keep people from getting into accidents while texting and driving, notices the dejected man and decides to try to help him appreciate his life. His efforts don’t really go to plan however, so he decides to show Arj that rich people don’t have it so great either by swapping him into the life of tech investor Jeff (Seth Rogen).

Jeff’s life is of course, incredibly easy, and Arj understandably does not want to switch back. Jeff is miserable living Arj’s life and desperately wants to return to being rich, but Gabriel can’t just undo the swap unless Arj is genuinely excited to return to his old self, so the duo team up to try and convince him of it while they also both struggle to survive doing menial jobs.

It really is a pretty smart set-up, but Ansari never takes it anywhere especially interesting. It is nice to see a major movie tackling the cruel way that corporations treat American workers and the even worse abuses inflicted on those who fall into the “gig” economy, delivering food or completing menial tasks for capricious and cruel customers. But it doesn’t really offer up any solid solutions for the problem, even for the characters in the movie. Worse, it doesn’t really give Arj a convincing reason to be happy about returning to his old life, aside from a potential romance with coworker Elena (Keke Palmer) and the needs of the plot.

The cast do well with the material, have a nice chemistry with each other, and all know how to sell a gag, Reeves included. And there are some very funny moments here. The script can sometimes drag on for too long between them though, coming dangerously close to allowing boredom to set in more than once as it heads towards an ending that is predictable and at least a little unearned.

Again, very few are really telling this kind of story despite it highlighting such a prevalent problem in our current society, so it is genuinely nice to see it being done. That Ansari is able to elicit as many laughs out of the material as he does is also highly appreciated. It’s just a shame that in the end Good Fortune feels so muddled in its viewpoint, as a stronger stance mixed with a few more jokes could have lifted the film from being merely a clever diversion to something truly special. ★★★