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Good Fortune, this fantasy film from actor the director, has been facing challenges at the box office. Many reasons may explain its reception: The generic title fails to express the film's distinctive appeal. Its screenplay is often preachy and heavy-handed with its messages. Its performances seem uninspired and presentational, as if the cast were reading lines straight from the page. Moreover, the film comes during an era of economic anxiety and inequality, that may make audiences less open to a narrative which implies rich individuals have every benefits while the poor have heart.

But, this is what the movie stands out: The film is unique, bold, creative, often funny, and certainly timely. And, it offers a great Keanu Reeves character-driven experience.

Reeves in the role of Angel: His Typical Performance

Personally, I've never regarded Reeves a good actor. The actor's monotonal delivery and consistent look of mild perturbation has always felt limited, despite the wide variety of characters he's taken on during the past four decades of his career. Smart directors have often placed him in roles in which that rigidity works ideally, including his early work to The Matrix to John Wick. But nearly all of these characters required him to appear tough, distant, and detached.

Throughout Good Fortune, Reeves plays an angel, a low-level protecting celestial being tasked with watching over individuals who use their phones while driving. The character's entire duty is sitting in his cars and gently touching their arms as they are about to crash, alerting the person in order that they stop before impact. However, when standing overlooking his domain, looking down on humanity like an alternative version of the angel in Wim Wenders' renowned movie the angel story, Gabriel becomes aspirational. He desires to be a great guardian and a savior of lost individuals.

A Unexpected Shift: Reeves as a Mortal

Therefore, he reveals himself to struggling handyman a character (portrayed by the director), who's living out of a vehicle and resenting his life. Gabriel then exchanges Arj with the existence of stupidly wealthy businessman a character (played by Seth Rogen). The point of the experiment is that the character to understand the wealthy man's existence has significant downsides, and gratefully return to his own circumstances, much like a character from It's a Wonderful Life.

Issue is, the character right away discovers how the mogul's issues (boring appointments, expensive pool-heater invoice) are negligible and readily solved with wealth. He further realizes that becoming rich provides endless opportunities for self-indulgent fun. The character has zero desire in returning to his previous life, and the angel can't compel Arj to go back. Subsequently, additional trouble arrives: For overstepping his mandate and disrupting the order of the world, the character is fired from his angel job, and transformed to a mortal.

The Discovery: Keanu Reeves Smiles

I was never persuaded by the actor playing an celestial being who has grand aspirations and an intense wish to make a difference. Reeves turns in the same vaguely stiff performance he has been offering for no less than the last three ten-year periods. Viewing him in the role of angel that has recently turned mortal initially, on the other hand, was a blast, due to something which truly surprised me at first: It's an element different for the actor. Or to be precise, something from the past.

Soon during his confusing career being a human, clinging to the wealthy character (who Gabriel had swapped with the handyman's precarious life and underemployed situation), the character begins tentatively experimenting with human activities such as chewing and swallowing food. And the actor grins. Genuinely, cautiously, happily beams. (It's far more believable than his smile shown in the promotional image, that appears digitally altered.)

Why This Smile Is Significant

It truly surprised me to recognize how unexpected and refreshing that expression was. When was the last time audiences saw the actor grin in a movie where he wasn't showing ill will, irony, or resentment? The actor probably attempts a smile at some point in 2020's ill-conceived Bill & Ted Face the Music, but I'm not revisiting that disappointment to find out. Reeves has remained typecast with grim, murderous, broody, or simply serious roles for such a duration that just watching Reeves smile seemed like observing an entirely different actor.

As the plot goes on, the character finds himself needing to get a dishwashing position, which fails to provide sufficient to live on, and Gabriel starts smoking heavily due to frustration. Simply the image of Reeves in a disposable paper food-service cap, his recent signature locks pulled back in an unglamorous ponytail, leaning on a wall and smoking a smoke, proves worthy of watching. His kitchen worker getup totally changes his appearance and posture: Unexpectedly, the slim, well-dressed physical powerhouse of his famous movies is awkward, ordinary, and a lot increasingly human.

The Joy of Watching Keanu Loosen Up

The film is not consistently enjoyable to view, especially when Ansari (who also wrote the script) has to create plausible reasons for {Ar