Actor/author/director Aziz Ansari is finest recognized for his function on the sitcom Parks & Recreation and for creating and starring within the Emmy-winning Grasp of None on Netflix. Whereas he had directed a number of episodes of Grasp of None, he had not been given an opportunity to check out his filmmaking expertise on the large display screen till now with the comedy Good Fortune.
The movie is centered on Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), a guardian angel who’s assigned the duty of serving to individuals keep away from accidents whereas texting and driving. This gig places him within the orbit of Arj (Ansari), whose principally aimless life has him working at a ironmongery store and doing odd jobs by means of an app referred to as Activity. Gabriel, hoping to change into a extra senior angel, sees Arj as a “misplaced soul” who he may be capable of rescue.
When Arj delivers meals to tech entrepreneur Jeff (Seth Rogen), Gabriel sees a possibility to get by means of to Arj. The thought is to have Arj change lives with Jeff to know that cash will not be the answer to all issues. However issues backfire when Arj turns into comfy in his new opulent life-style, and Gabriel has to scramble to undo what was alleged to be a short lived detour.
Written and directed by Ansari, the movie is a pleasing however unfulfilling twist on the physique swap style. The concept that the change is being managed by a determined guardian angel who’s solely hoping to maneuver up on this planet is objectively humorous. The extra Arj enjoys the wealthy life, the more severe issues change into for Gabriel (and, by extension, Jeff). This ends in some humorous scenes between Gabriel and his boss, Martha (Sandra Oh), in addition to some enjoyable discoveries Gabriel makes about life as a human.
Nonetheless, every of the three fundamental characters are so broad that it’s troublesome to care about something that occurs to any of them. Ansari by no means goes past floor degree on any bigger points the movie confronts, just like the gig economic system and wealth disparity, and so many of the jokes within the story are equally superficial. He’s clearly aiming for Gabriel, Arj, and Jeff to be taught classes by the top of the movie, however the message turns into muddled alongside the way in which.
An enormous a part of the difficulty is that neither Ansari nor Reeves are superb of their line deliveries. The stilted approach by which they communicate doesn’t lend any believability to their characters’ motivations, thereby diminishing the viewers’s need to see them succeed. Even worse, Ansari forged the dynamo Keke Palmer as a love curiosity for Arj, after which saddles her with a task that makes her about as boring as potential.
Rogen, who’s on a TV scorching streak with the Apple TV exhibits The Studio and Platonic, is likely one of the lone vivid spots within the movie, however even he’s given a task that doesn’t play completely to his strengths. Oh is nice in her very temporary time on display screen, and the movie may have used extra of her. A cameo by Matt Rogers additionally makes you want he may have had an even bigger half.
Ansari, making an attempt to make a comeback after a #MeToo controversy in 2018, has made a movie that continues to be watchable all through at the same time as you want he had executed the main points higher. He additionally appears to match Reeves’ odd appearing model, one thing that serves neither their characters nor the general movie properly.
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Good Fortune opens in theaters on October 17.
