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Good Fortune, the whimsical film by comedian Aziz Ansari, is struggling at the box office. Many reasons could explain the film's reception: Its generic name doesn't convey the film's unique appeal. The screenplay is often moralizing and heavy-handed with its messages. Its performances seem uninspired and staged, like the cast are reading dialogue straight from a script. And, it arrives during an era of financial uncertainty and inequality, which may render audiences not very open to a narrative which suggests rich individuals enjoy all the advantages while those in need have heart.

However, here's where Good Fortune stands out: The film is original, daring, creative, frequently humorous, and undoubtedly relevant. And, it provides an unexpectedly great Keanu Reeves character-driven movie.

Reeves as an Angel: His Typical Portrayal

Personally, I've not regarded Keanu Reeves a good actor. The actor's monotonal delivery and persistent expression of slight perturbation has always felt one-note, regardless of the wide variety of roles he has played during the past 40 of his career. Astute directors have placed him in roles where his stoic nature works perfectly, including My Own Private Idaho to the sci-fi classic to John Wick. Yet almost every one of those characters required him to appear hardened, closed-off, and removed.

Throughout the film, the actor portrays an angel, one minor protecting celestial being tasked with looking after people who use their phones while behind the wheel. The character's entire duty is sitting in their vehicles and gently touching the drivers' arms when they are close to crash, warning them in order that they stop in time. But, while standing overlooking the city, gazing upon the mortal world similar to an alternative interpretation of a celestial figure from Wim Wenders' renowned film Wings of Desire, Gabriel gets ambitious. Gabriel desires to become an exceptional guardian and rescuer of wayward individuals.

The Unexpected Shift: Reeves Playing a Mortal

So, he presents himself to struggling handyman Arj (played by Aziz Ansari), who is living in a vehicle and resenting his life. The angel then exchanges Arj with the life of extremely rich businessman Jeff (played by the comedian). The idea behind the exercise is that the character to realize the wealthy man's existence has significant downsides, and thankfully go back to his own life, similar to the character from It's a Wonderful Life.

Issue was, the character immediately discovers that Jeff's problems (tedious meetings, a pricey pool-heater invoice) are negligible and readily resolved using wealth. He also realizes that becoming affluent provides endless chances for pleasurable fun. He has no desire in returning to his previous situation, and Gabriel can't compel Arj to go back. Subsequently, more trouble comes: Because of exceeding his mandate and disrupting the balance of existence, the character is fired as an celestial role, and transformed to a mortal.

A Revelation: The Actor Grins

I was not convinced by Reeves as an celestial being with big aspirations and a burning wish to make a difference. He turns in a familiar somewhat stiff performance he's consistently providing for at least the past three decades. Viewing him as an angel who's recently become human initially, however, was highly entertaining, due to something which really astonished viewers at first: It's an element new for the actor. Or perhaps to be precise, something old.

Early into his baffling experience as a human, clinging to the wealthy character (whom Gabriel exchanged with Arj's hand-to-mouth existence and jobless situation), the character begins tentatively trying out human experiences like eating and swallowing food. Then the actor grins. Genuinely, hesitantly, happily smiles. (It's a lot more convincing than his grin on the promotional image, which looks artificially added.)

Why That Grin Is Significant

The moment really surprised me to recognize how unexpected and welcome that smile felt. At what point was the last time we saw Keanu Reeves smile in a movie where he wasn't expressing ill will, sarcasm, or resentment? The actor likely tries a smile at some point in 2020's misbegotten Bill & Ted Face the Music, however I'm not going to returning to that disappointment to find out. The actor has remained typecast with serious, violent, introspective, or just solemn characters for such a duration that just watching Reeves smile felt like seeing a completely new actor.

While the plot goes on, Gabriel finds himself having to take a kitchen position, which fails to provide enough for survival, and Gabriel starts chain-smoking due to disappointment. Simply the image of the actor in a cheap paper restaurant cap, with his recent signature long hair tied in an unglamorous bun, leaning on a building and smoking a cigarette, is worthy of the price of admission. The dishwasher attire completely alters his appearance and body: Unexpectedly, the slim, well-dressed physical powerhouse of his famous movies becomes awkward, unglamorous, and much increasingly human.

A Joy of Watching Reeves Loosen Up

The film isn't consistently enjoyable to view, especially when Ansari (who additionally authored the screenplay) must find plausible explanations for {Ar