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Life is a funny thing. What we make of the time we have here can be exciting and daunting, and we all often feel like we could be doing more to get the most out of our lives. More money, more time, more energy are things we battle with to ensure, in the words of Hannah Montana, "Life's what you make it, so let's make it rock". But especially in 2025, both in your circle of friends and when you look at the world as a whole, it is harder and harder to find the joy in things and feel you are doing enough. How does one enjoy life when it feels so hard? 'Good Fortune' hopes to tackle this "meaning of life" question we all battle with.
The film follows Arj (Aziz Ansari, 'The Bob's Burgers Movie', TV's 'Parks and Recreation'), a struggling documentarian who is working odd jobs including a food delivery driver. He sleeps in his car and the only joy he gets from his life is the hope that Elena (Keke Palmer, 'One of Them Days', 'Nope'), a co-worker at a hardware store, will go on a date with him. One day, he meets Jeff (Seth Rogen, 'Mufasa: The Lion King', 'Dumb Money'), a wealthy tech bro. Meanwhile, angel Gabriel (Keanu Reeves, 'John Wick' franchise, 'The Matrix' franchise), who is usually responsible for saving people from texting while driving, but intervenes in Arj's life. Thinking he is a lost soul, he shows Arj his future, but Arj isn't satisfied with what he sees. Gabriel makes a drastic decision and swaps Arj's and Jeff's lives, thinking it will show Arj that his old life is the one worth living. However, now rich beyond belief, Arj doesn't want to go back to his normal life, and Gabriel and Jeff are stuck trying to get back to their normal existence.
'Good Fortune' doesn't stick the landing of its big premises; however, the performances are the saving grace. Once it gets past the initial setup and Reeves and Rogen get to take the forefront, the movie is a really fun watch. The two have great comedic energy, and the subplot of Gabriel learning to be human is a blast to watch. However, because the film is so focused on Arj's journey, it suffers - he just isn't that engaging a character, and his journey is very surface-level. The idea of a poor man learning he doesn't need money to live life to its fullest and feel joy isn't that new an idea, and the film doesn't really take any kind of new angle with the concept. The film should have focused on Gabriel learning why humans want to live; that is where the meat of the film is.
'Good Fortune' doesn't stick the landing of its big premises; however, the performances are the saving grace. Once it gets past the initial setup and Reeves and Rogen get to take the forefront, the movie is a really fun watch.
'Good Fortune' marks Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, though it never feels like that; he also writes and, of course, stars in the film. He feels more comfortable as a director when scenes don't involve him, which is why those sections of the film work better. I hope that if he directs again, he works on a project that doesn't feature him in the lead, as I do think he could be a strong talent behind the camera. Also, the film does feature a strong ensemble cast, but Sandra Oh ('Turning Red', TV's 'Grey's Anatomy') and Keke Palmer feel very underutilised. While they do an adequate job, they are much more talented than the material is asking from them, and because they are largely used to move the plot along, I wish they had more to do in the film.
'Good Fortune' has a strong ensemble cast and good jokes that help this generic story about life feel more engaging. It has the bones to be a knock-out, but it falls flat.
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