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Good Fortune, the fantasy comedy from actor the director, has been facing challenges at the box office. Many factors could explain the film's reception: The uninspired title fails to express its movie's distinctive charm. Its screenplay can be preachy and heavy-handed regarding the themes. Its acting are uninspired and presentational, as if the actors are reading dialogue directly from a script. Moreover, it arrives at a time marked by financial uncertainty and inequality, which may render viewers less open to a story which suggests wealthy individuals enjoy every benefits while the poor possess spirit.

But, here's what the movie excels: It's original, bold, imaginative, frequently humorous, and certainly timely. And, it provides an unexpectedly enjoyable Keanu Reeves hangout movie.

Reeves as an Angel: A Familiar Performance

Personally, I've not considered Keanu Reeves a strong actor. The actor's monotonal speaking style and persistent expression of slight concern has always seemed limited, regardless of the broad variety of roles he's taken on during the past 40 of his career. Smart filmmakers have often cast Reeves in parts where that rigidity works perfectly, including his early work to The Matrix to John Wick. Yet almost all of those roles called for him to appear hardened, closed-off, or detached.

In the film, Reeves plays an angel, a minor protecting celestial being tasked with looking after individuals that use their phones when behind the wheel. His entire duty involves sitting in their vehicles and gently making contact with the drivers' arms when they're about to crash, alerting the person in order that they stop in time. But, when standing overlooking the city, looking down on the mortal world like a interpretation of the angel from the director's renowned movie Wings of Desire, Gabriel gets aspirational. Gabriel desires to become a great protector and a savior of lost individuals.

The Surprising Shift: Keanu as a Mortal

So, Gabriel presents his presence to struggling handyman a character (played by Aziz Ansari), who's living in a vehicle and resenting his life. Gabriel then swaps the man into the existence of extremely rich tech mogul a character (acted by Seth Rogen). This point of the exercise is for the character to understand the wealthy man's existence comes with major downsides, and gratefully return to his original life, similar to the character in the classic film.

Problem was, the character immediately discovers how the mogul's issues (boring meetings, expensive heating invoice) are negligible and easily solved using money. He also realizes how becoming affluent provides endless opportunities for pleasurable enjoyment. The character has no desire in going back to his own life, and the angel can't force Arj to go back. Subsequently, additional trouble comes: For overstepping his mandate and messing with the order of the world, Gabriel is fired from his angel role, and transformed into a human being.

The Discovery: The Actor Smiles

Personally, I remained never convinced by the actor as an celestial being who has big dreams and an intense desire to effect change. He delivers a familiar vaguely stiff performance he has been providing for at least the last three ten-year periods. Watching him in the role of angel who's recently turned mortal for the first time, however, was a blast, for a reason that truly astonished me at first: It's an element new for Reeves. Or more accurately, an aspect from the past.

Soon into the character's baffling experience being a mortal, staying with the wealthy character (whom the angel had swapped with the handyman's hand-to-mouth existence and jobless situation), the character starts tentatively experimenting with everyday experiences like eating and swallowing food. And the actor smiles. Genuinely, hesitantly, happily smiles. (This is a lot more believable than his smile on the promotional image, which looks artificially added.)

Why That Smile Is Significant

The moment truly took me aback to realize just how surprising and welcome that smile was. At what point did we last we saw Keanu Reeves smile in a movie where he was not showing ill will, sarcasm, or resentment? The actor likely tries a smile at some point in 2020's misbegotten the sequel, however I am not returning to the disappointment to confirm. Reeves has been stuck with grim, violent, broody, or simply serious roles for such a duration that merely watching him grin seemed like observing an entirely different actor.

As the story goes on, the character finds himself needing to take a kitchen position, a role that doesn't pay sufficient for survival, and Gabriel starts smoking heavily out of frustration. Just the sight of Reeves in a disposable plastic restaurant cap, his recent signature long hair pulled back in a plain bun, leaning on a wall and puffing on a cigarette, is worth watching. The kitchen worker attire totally changes his face and posture: Unexpectedly, the slim, suited action star of his famous films becomes gawky, unglamorous, and much more relatable.

A Joy of Watching Reeves Relax

The film isn't consistently fun to view, especially when the director (that also authored the script) must create plausible reasons for {Ar