Good Fortune

If you could trade places with someone, who would it be? Going back to Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper (this is the best movie version), the idea of switching lives with someone who seems to have a more comfortable, secure, happier existence has been an appealing fantasy. The stories usually end with the discovery that the original life was better, harking back to the old Indian aphorism that you should never judge someone until you have walked in his moccasins. We’ve seen that play out in Hallmark movies (the “Princess Switch” trilogy and “Switched for Christmas”), with focus on family in “Freaky Friday” and all of its many remakes and variations, and, sometimes with more commentary on class and economic issues, as in “Trading Places.”

Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune” draws from all of the above with a smart, fresh, and funny take on the switched lives fantasy that has some punch in its depiction of the gig economy, the people who struggle with it and the people who profit from it.

Keanu Reeves is well cast as an angel named Gabriel, first seen in a nod to Wim Wnders’ “Wings of Desire” as he stands on top of a skyscraper, gazing down at humanity with a serious but patient and benign expression.

While other angels are responsible for big, life-changing, highly satisfying tasks, like showing a despondent man the value of his life (Stephen McKinley Henderson as Azrael), Gabriel is relegated to “texting while driving” duty. All he does is ride invisibly in the back seat of cars and touch the shoulder of the texting drivers to remind them to pay attention. He may be saving their lives but he is not involved in their lives. He complains to his supervisor, Martha (Sandra Oh) that he wants to save lost souls, but she tells him that is a complicated and demanding task and he, with the small wings of a trainee, is not ready.

Writer-director Ansari plays Arj, living in his car as he tries to stay afloat with an assortment of gig jobs, assembling furniture, waiting in line, delivering food. He lies to his father about having a new apartment as his father tells him about the success of his cousin Nuveen who works for Microsoft.

A wealthy venture capitalist named Jeff (Seth Rogen) hires Arj to clean up his garage. Arj offers to stay on as his assistant, and Jeff agrees to a one-week trial. It goes very well at first but when something goes wrong, Jeff fires Arj.

Gabriel, who has been watching Arj, decides that he has found a lost soul. And he decides that the way to make Arj appreciate all he has to live for is to switch him with Jeff. Martha asks what Gabriel is doing, and he says, “I tried to show him that wealth wouldn’t solve all his problems. It seems to have solved most of his problems.” Arj is having the time of his live in Jeff’s fabulous house and also enjoying Jeff’s having to learn what it’s like at the bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy.

We get to enjoy our own wish fulfillment on both counts, and the movie is packed with jokes that are shrewd as well as hilarious, with specifics about the details on both sides. Ansari’s range as an actor is limited but he mitigates that by writing around those limits. Rogen keeps getting better and Reeves is well cast, especially when Martha takes his wings and makes him a human, so he gets to try human pleasures like burgers, milkshakes, “chicken buggies,” and dancing for the first time. Reeves can have a blank quality that works very well in roles like John Wick, Neo, and Ted Logan. Here, though looking gaunt with his beard and long hair, it helps convey Gabriel’s innocence. The three of them have excellent chemistry. And there is the always-wonderful Keke Palmer, bringing endless warmth, grace, and good humor to give life to an underwritten role as a big-hearted co-worker who wants to organize a union and becomes Arj’s love interest.

This movie reminded me of Ken Loach’s “Sorry We Missed You,” a devastating look at the corrosive, dehumanizing, exploitive impact of the gig economy, with its faux “you’ll be our partner, not an employee” bait and switch. This film has the same impact, taking on the small indignities, dispiriting invisibility, and shattering hopelessness of the working poor with the same specificity in a highly comic fantasy/comedy. Ansari wants to make us laugh because he likes being funny, but he also wants to make us laugh because he knows that is how unsettling realities bypass our defenses.

Parents should know that this film has very strong language, smoking, drinking, and drugs.

Family discussion: What did Arj learn from living Jeff’s life? Who would you like to trade places with? What should qualify an angel for a higher-level responsibility?

If you like this, try: “Here Comes Mr. Jordan”