🔗 Share this article

Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, this fantasy comedy from comedian Aziz Ansari, has been facing challenges at the box office. Many reasons may explain the film's performance: The uninspired title doesn't convey the film's distinctive appeal. Its script is often preachy and heavy-handed regarding its messages. The acting seem flat and presentational, like the cast were reading lines straight from the page. Moreover, the film comes during an era of economic uncertainty and disparity, that could make audiences less open to a story which implies rich people enjoy every benefits while the poor possess heart.

However, here's what the movie stands out: It's original, daring, imaginative, often humorous, and undoubtedly relevant. Plus, it provides a great the actor hangout movie.

Reeves in the role of Angel: A Familiar Performance

I have not regarded Keanu Reeves to be a good actor. His monotonal speaking style and persistent look of slight concern have always seemed one-note, despite his broad variety of characters he has taken on over the last 40 years. Astute directors have often cast Reeves in roles where his stoic nature works ideally, including his early work to The Matrix to the action series. But nearly all of those characters required him to seem tough, distant, and removed.

In the film, the actor plays an angel, a low-level guardian celestial being tasked with looking after individuals that text when behind the wheel. His whole job involves sitting in their cars and lightly making contact with their arms when they are close to crash, warning them so they brake before impact. However, while standing high above the city, gazing upon humanity like an alternative interpretation of the angel in Wim Wenders' classic film Wings of Desire, Gabriel becomes ambitious. He wants to be a great guardian and a savior of wayward individuals.

A Unexpected Shift: Reeves Playing a Mortal

So, he presents his presence to struggling handyman Arj (played by the director), who is residing in his car and resenting his situation. The angel then swaps Arj into the existence of stupidly wealthy tech mogul Jeff (played by the comedian). The idea behind the experiment is that Arj would realize Jeff's existence has significant downsides, and gratefully return to his own life, much like the figure in It's a Wonderful Life.

Problem was, Arj right away realizes that Jeff's issues (tedious meetings, a pricey pool-heater invoice) are minor and readily solved using wealth. He also realizes how becoming rich provides endless chances for self-indulgent fun. The character has no desire in going back to his own life, and Gabriel is unable to force Arj to return. Then, more trouble comes: For overstepping his duties and disrupting the balance of existence, Gabriel is fired as an angel job, and transformed into a human being.

The Discovery: The Actor Smiles

Personally, I remained not convinced by the actor playing an angel who has grand aspirations and a burning desire to make a difference. Reeves delivers the same vaguely constipated acting he has consistently providing for at least the past three decades. Watching Reeves in the role of angel that has just turned mortal initially, however, proved to be highly entertaining, for a reason that really astonished viewers initially: It's something new for Reeves. Or more accurately, something old.

Early during the character's confusing career being a human, staying with the wealthy character (whom the angel exchanged into the handyman's precarious existence and jobless status), Gabriel begins tentatively trying out human activities such as eating and swallowing food. And Reeves grins. Authentically, cautiously, happily beams. (This is far more believable than his grin shown in the poster, which appears digitally altered.)

The Reason This Grin Matters

It truly took me aback to recognize how surprising and welcome the expression felt. At what point was the last time we saw the actor grin in a movie in which he was not showing ill will, sarcasm, or resentment? The actor probably tries a smile somewhere in the recent ill-conceived the sequel, but I'm not going to returning to the disappointment to find out. The actor has remained typecast with grim, violent, introspective, or just solemn roles for so long that just watching Reeves smile felt like observing an entirely new actor.

As the story progresses, the character finds himself needing to take a kitchen position, a role that fails to provide enough to live on, and Gabriel begins chain-smoking due to frustration. Simply the image of Reeves in a disposable plastic food-service hat, with his late-career trademark long hair pulled back in an unglamorous bun, leaning on a building and puffing on a smoke, proves worth the price of admission. The kitchen worker getup totally changes his face and posture: Suddenly, the lean, well-dressed action star of the John Wick films becomes awkward, unglamorous, and much more relatable.

A Joy of Watching Keanu Loosen Up

Good Fortune isn't always fun to view, particularly when the director (that additionally authored the script) has to find plausible explanations for {Ar