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Good Fortune, the whimsical film by actor Aziz Ansari, is struggling at the box office. Several factors could explain the film's performance: The generic name doesn't convey the film's distinctive charm. Its script is often moralizing and heavy-handed with its messages. Its performances are flat and staged, as if the actors were reading dialogue straight from a script. And, the film comes during an era marked by financial anxiety and disparity, which could make viewers not very open to a story which implies rich individuals have every advantages while the poor possess heart.

However, this is what Good Fortune excels: The film is unique, bold, imaginative, often humorous, and undoubtedly timely. And, it offers an unexpectedly great the actor hangout experience.

Keanu Reeves as an Guardian: His Typical Performance

Personally, I've never considered Keanu Reeves to be a good performer. The actor's flat speaking style and persistent look of slight perturbation have always felt one-note, regardless of his broad variety of roles he has taken on over the past four decades years. Smart directors have often cast him in parts in which that rigidity fits perfectly, from his early work to The Matrix to John Wick. But nearly every one of these roles called for him to appear hardened, closed-off, or removed.

Throughout Good Fortune, Reeves portrays Gabriel, one minor protecting celestial being assigned with looking after people that use their phones while behind the wheel. His entire job is sitting in their cars and gently touching their arms when they are about to have an accident, alerting the person so they stop in time. However, when standing high above the city, gazing upon the mortal world similar to an alternative interpretation of a celestial figure in Wim Wenders' classic film Wings of Desire, Gabriel gets aspirational. He wants to become an exceptional guardian and rescuer of wayward souls.

The Unexpected Shift: Reeves as a Mortal

Therefore, Gabriel presents his presence to struggling odd-jobber a character (portrayed by the director), who is living out of a vehicle and resenting his situation. Gabriel then exchanges Arj with the existence of stupidly rich businessman Jeff (acted by Seth Rogen). The point behind the experiment was for Arj would realize the wealthy man's existence has major downsides, and thankfully return to his own circumstances, much like the character from It's a Wonderful Life.

Issue is, Arj immediately realizes that Jeff's issues (tedious meetings, a pricey heating invoice) are negligible and readily solved using money. He also realizes how becoming rich opens up endless chances for pleasurable enjoyment. He has no desire in going back to his previous life, and Gabriel is unable to compel Arj to go back. Subsequently, more bad news comes: Because of overstepping his duties and messing with the balance of existence, the character loses his position as an angel role, and transformed into a mortal.

The Revelation: The Actor Smiles

I was not convinced by the actor as an celestial being with grand dreams and a burning wish to make a difference. He delivers the same somewhat stiff performance he has consistently offering for at least the past 3 decades. Watching him in the role of angel that has recently turned mortal for the first time, however, proved to be a blast, due to something which truly surprised me initially: It's an element different for the actor. Or perhaps to be precise, something old.

Early into the character's baffling career as a mortal, clinging to the wealthy character (who Gabriel exchanged with Arj's hand-to-mouth life and underemployed status), Gabriel begins hesitantly experimenting with human activities like eating and swallowing food. And Reeves grins. Genuinely, hesitantly, joyously smiles. (This is a lot more believable than his grin on the poster, that looks artificially added.)

The Reason That Smile Matters

It truly surprised me to realize just how unexpected and refreshing that smile was. At what point was the last time we observed the actor smile in a movie where he wasn't showing malice, sarcasm, or bitterness? The actor likely attempts a smile at some point in the recent misbegotten the sequel, however I'm not returning to that disappointment to confirm. Reeves has been stuck with grim, murderous, introspective, or just solemn roles for such a duration that just watching him smile felt like observing a completely different actor.

While the story goes on, Gabriel finds himself needing to get a kitchen position, a role that doesn't pay sufficient for survival, and Gabriel begins chain-smoking due to disappointment. Just the sight of Reeves in a disposable paper food-service cap, with his late-career trademark locks tied in an unglamorous ponytail, slouching on a building and puffing on a smoke, proves worth the price of admission. The kitchen worker attire totally changes his face and body: Unexpectedly, the lean, suited physical powerhouse of his famous films is awkward, ordinary, and much more human.

The Pleasure of Watching Reeves Relax

Good Fortune isn't consistently fun to watch, especially when Ansari (who additionally authored the screenplay) has to find believable reasons for {Ar