“Wait, you’re telling me I have a budget guardian angel?!”
It was a religious-themed day Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival. The press in attendance was offered the opportunity to screen “The Testament of Ann Lee,” the new Amanda Seyfried historical drama musical that recently had all of Venice buzzing. TIFF’s world premiere of the new Rian Johnson “Knives Out,” film, “Wake Up Dead Man,” echoed Ann Lee’s religious tenants and offered up sacraments of its own for a rowdy audience looking for a good whodunit mystery with a pious twist.
But first-time feature director Aziz Ansari gave Toronto his take on spirituality in the new film “Good Fortune,” which had its world premiere at the festival’s Roy Thomson Theatre on Saturday. Written, directed, produced and starring Ansari as a man down on his luck, only to be saved by a guardian angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), the former “Parks and Recreation” actor owns every inch of his latest project. But Reeves’s Gabriel isn’t very good at his job, complicating matters for Ansari’s hopeless alter ego, Arj.
Arj spends his days working several jobs, including as a gig worker standing in lines for others and delivering food. His nights are spent living in his beat-up car, which ends up getting towed in a Denny’s parking lot due to too many unpaid parking tickets. To make ends meet, Arj takes up a job as the personal assistant to a wealthy hedge fund manager named Jeff (Seth Rogen), not knowing that Gabriel is always watching over Arj from up above.
Gabriel is a small-time guardian angel, typically tasked with preventing texting and driving accidents by touching the shoulders of the drivers he’s supposed to protect. But he wants more out of being an angel. He takes it upon himself to try to save Arj’s lost soul, help him get the girl of his dreams (an always reliably grounded and hilarious Keke Palmer), and grow bigger wings that allow him more powers and responsibilities.
The plan: Swap Arj and Jeff’s lives for a probationary period to see if Arj misses his old life and appreciates it so much that he wants it back.
This agenda does not go over well with Gabriel’s boss (Sandra Oh), and the guardian angel is stripped of his wings and made human. Jeff is now a gig worker, Arj refuses to give up his newfound wealth and popularity, and Gabriel is stuck washing dishes at a local restaurant while experiencing burgers and cigarettes for the first time. “I was a celestial being and now I’m a chain smoker addicted to nicotine,” Gabriel declares during one of the funniest scenes in the film.
“Good Fortune” isn’t a unique premise, considering the numerous body swap comedies audiences have endured for what seems like a century now. “Freakier Friday” is still storming its way through movie theaters, and the guardian angel trope might be a bit tired at this point. However, Ansari’s distinctively quippy writing style and Reeves’s commitment to deadpan energy more than make up for the lack of originality that the film confines itself to.
Reeves is a standout in a film dedicated to brotherly friendship and a dogmatic spirituality that can only be described as a convoluted “It’s a Wonderful Life”-type story. Showing Arj the error of his ways, letting him glimpse into a possible future with Palmer’s character, and what everyday life looks like for many of us doesn’t give Arj hope. Instead, the film devolves into Reeves doing his best “Encino Man” impression while sidelined characters quip about how attractive he is.
At the center of “Good Fortune” is a kernel of ambiguity about corporate America, wealthy socialites believing they’ve hit a home run when, in actuality, they started on third base. An eat-the-rich hypothesis that hardly ever eats, nor does it make fun of the rich enough to claim success, the movie is unsure of its stated agenda, despite wildly funny performances from Reeves, Rogen, and Ansari as a collective group of skilled comedians. Palmer’s union-protecting character is never fully fleshed out, despite her charm, which makes Palmer easy to watch on screen.
“Good Fortune” is a spiritual journey through livelihood, choices, and setting one’s pride aside long enough to see the bigger picture. Some outstanding comedy offerings are overshadowed by a few unfortunate B-plots that ultimately fall flat. But the film is sparkling with fantastically funny performances that make a 90-minute comedy worth it in the end.
God willing.
Lionsgate will release “Good Fortune” in theaters on Oct. 17.
