South Carolina's own Aziz Ansari has written and directed a warm and winning comedy that takes the familiar Trading Places device of swapping lives and lifestyles and turns it into a more thoughtful statement on the intersection of social consciousness and the world of work.
Ansari stars as Arj, a luckless drone in the gig economy hive whose despair at ever landing steady employment is overheard by a junior angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), who decides to take on Arj as a project, over the objections of his supervising angel, Martha, played by Sandra Oh.
Arj manages to talk his way into a trial position as assistant to a wealthy and oblivious mogul named Jeff (Seth Rogen), who cares for little beyond his own comforts. Though Arj shows initiative and promise, he is fired from the job after using the mogul's company card to pay for dinner with Elena (Keke Palmer) a pretty young stocker in a home improvement store.
Gabriel believes switching Arj -- who is homeless, living in his car, and showering at a gym -- and Jeff -- who has money to burn -- will benefit both of them. Arj will be more grateful for his own life, and Jeff more sympathetic toward those who have so much less than he.
The plan doesn't work -- of course -- and Gabriel gets punished by Martha for creating problems when his job was to solve or prevent. As punishment, Gabriel is made mortal and begins his own journal of revelation, which both parallels and diverges from those of Arj and Jeff.
Ansari's screenplay is clean and clever, his direction sharp and serviceable. Good Fortune is not about flashes of cinematic wonder. Rather, it's about the flashes of recognition that many (most?) moviegoers will experience while watching the characters discover what's important to life -- decency, kindness, consideration, and well-made tacos.
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