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Good Fortune, this whimsical comedy by comedian Aziz Ansari, is struggling in theaters. Many factors may account for the film's performance: The uninspired name fails to express its film's distinctive appeal. The screenplay can be moralizing and heavy-handed regarding the messages. The performances are uninspired and presentational, like the cast were reciting lines directly from a script. Moreover, it arrives at a time marked by financial uncertainty and disparity, that may make audiences not very receptive to a narrative that suggests rich people have all the advantages while the poor have heart.

But, this is what Good Fortune excels: It's unique, bold, imaginative, frequently humorous, and undoubtedly timely. Plus, it provides an unexpectedly great the actor character-driven movie.

Reeves as an Guardian: A Familiar Portrayal

I have never regarded Keanu Reeves to be a good actor. The actor's flat speaking style and persistent look of mild concern has consistently felt one-note, regardless of the wide range of roles he's taken on during the past four decades years. Smart directors have often cast him in parts in which his stoic nature works perfectly, from My Own Private Idaho to the sci-fi classic to John Wick. But nearly every one of these characters called for him to appear tough, closed-off, or removed.

In the film, Reeves portrays Gabriel, a minor protecting angel tasked with looking after individuals that text while behind the wheel. His whole job is remaining in their vehicles and gently touching their shoulders as they're close to have an accident, warning the person so they brake before impact. However, when positioned overlooking the city, gazing upon humanity similar to a interpretation of the angel from the director's classic film the angel story, the character gets ambitious. Gabriel desires to be a great guardian and a savior of wayward individuals.

A Surprising Turn: Keanu Playing a Human

Therefore, he presents his presence to down-and-out handyman Arj (played by the director), who's living out of a vehicle and cursing his situation. Gabriel then exchanges Arj into the life of stupidly wealthy tech mogul Jeff (acted by Seth Rogen). This point behind the exercise is for the character would understand Jeff's life comes with major drawbacks, and gratefully go back to his original circumstances, similar to the character in the classic film.

Problem was, the character right away realizes how the mogul's problems (tedious meetings, a pricey heating bill) are minor and readily resolved with money. Arj also sees how becoming rich provides endless chances for pleasurable enjoyment. The character has zero interest in returning to his previous situation, and the angel can't force him to return. Then, more trouble arrives: Because of overstepping his mandate and disrupting the balance of existence, the character loses his position from his celestial role, and transformed to a human being.

The Revelation: The Actor Smiles

I was not convinced by the actor as an angel with big dreams and an intense wish to make a difference. He turns in the same vaguely stiff acting he's consistently providing for no less than the past three decades. Watching him as an angel that has recently turned human for the first time, on the other hand, proved to be a blast, due to something that really surprised me initially: This is an element new for the actor. Or perhaps to be precise, something from the past.

Early during the character's baffling career as a mortal, clinging to the wealthy character (whom Gabriel had swapped into the handyman's hand-to-mouth existence and underemployed status), Gabriel begins tentatively trying out human activities such as eating and consuming food. Then the actor smiles. Authentically, hesitantly, joyously beams. (This is a lot much believable than the smile shown in the poster, which looks artificially added.)

Why This Grin Matters

It truly surprised me to realize how surprising and welcome the expression was. At what point was the last time audiences saw Keanu Reeves grin in a movie where he was not showing malice, sarcasm, or bitterness? The actor probably attempts a smile at some point in 2020's misbegotten the sequel, but I'm not returning to that mess to find out. The actor has been stuck with serious, murderous, introspective, or simply solemn characters for such a duration that merely watching Reeves grin felt like seeing an entirely new actor.

As the story progresses, Gabriel ends up needing to take a kitchen position, a role that fails to provide enough for survival, and he begins chain-smoking out of disappointment. Just the sight of the actor in a disposable plastic food-service hat, with his late-career signature locks tied in an unglamorous ponytail, leaning on a wall and smoking a cigarette, proves worth watching. His dishwasher attire totally alters his face and posture: Unexpectedly, the lean, suited action star of the John Wick films becomes awkward, ordinary, and much increasingly human.

The Joy of Viewing Keanu Relax

Good Fortune is not consistently fun to watch, especially when Ansari (that also wrote the screenplay) has to create plausible reasons for {Ar