Good Fortune - Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

IT MAY ultimately give in to its more fantastical leanings, but Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune is an otherwise deeply perceptive and amusing examination of the growing divide between rich and poor that boasts a number of charming performances.

Written and directed by Ansari, the film offers hope amid everyday despair, yet still manages to offer some biting criticism of zero hours contracts, capitalism and the gig economy.

Ansari plays Arj, an aspiring documentary editor, currently forced to spend his days rushing between thankless retail and app-based service jobs and his nights sleeping in his car.

One of his jobs brings him into the life of indulgent tech bro Jeff (Seth Rogen), whose world is a mix of cold plunges, $250,000 watches and leisurely business meetings. Jeff gives Arj a job and encourages him to take a date to an expensive restaurant, unaware of his financial predicament.

So, when Arj is forced to use the company credit card with a view to paying to back, he is instead sacked and begins to lose all hope for his life.

Enter ambitious guardian angel Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), who sees an opportunity to escape his life of rescuing people who text and drive, and who bids to help Arj by swapping his life with Jeff’s.

Gabriel believes that as soon as Arj sees the reality of Jeff’s life, that it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, he’ll want to go back. But Arj quickly realises that being rich actually does solve problems and so refuses to switch back, prompting Gabriel to be stripped of his wings and forced to team up with Jeff to try and put things back.

Ansari’s film may draw on other comedies such as Trading Places and It’s A Wonderful Life but it also maintains its own identity by virtue of the way it taps into very relevant modern concerns.

His film highlights the unfairness of life and the inequality of the moment, showing the ever widening gulf between the rich and the poor, as well as the genuine sense of disconnect. Hence, potshots at Jeff’s ridiculously pampered and privileged lifestyle are well observed, as are the film’s misgivings about the role of things like religion and equality.

It casts a wide net, too, with Keke Palmer (as Arj’s love interest) also struggling to form a union and raise enough interest or support for her efforts to affect change.

The film highlights the need for change but the many obstacles in its path: including apathy.

But while this also sounds very Mike Leigh, it’s also an extremely light-hearted affair with no obvious bad guys to vilify. Rogen’s Jeff may be the rich billionaire whose lifestyle everyone covets, but he’s a likeably naive character who gets to learn the hard way the difference between the haves and have nots.

Ansari’s transition from down-on-his-luck grafter to rich slacker also doesn’t involve turning him into a schmuck, as he doesn’t lose sight of where he’s come from; while Reeves’ hopeful but increasingly despondent fallen Angel is nicely played with a lot of self-deprecating humour.

The three leads share a nice chemistry and are constantly engaging to be around, lending the film a real energy that’s further boosted by Ansari’s astute script. True, there’s nothing subtle about any of Ansari’s point making - but given the state of things nowadays, it really doesn’t need to be. If anything, it’s preaching to the chorus.

It’s just a bit of a shame that the film eventually opts to place optimism ahead of reality by delivering a final act that opts for romanticism and wishful thinking over anything more lasting - the epiphanies experienced by the two main characters feel more in service of the overall feel good nature of the film.

But then this is a comedy and it’s designed to leave you with a warm glow, which it succeeds in doing.

Ansari’s triumph, however, is in the way that he makes you think, while pointing the finger at targets that deserve to be singled out.

Good Fortune is a great movie for the way in manages to entertain and engage the brain. And you’ll miss hanging out with its characters once the story is done.

Certificate: 15

Running time: 1hr 39mins