I’ve been unable to afford the $160/month basic cable from Xfinity since September 2025, so I’ve been taking DVDs out of the public library. Some classics, some not. I previously wrote about Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams, and White Lotus.
Good Fortune is a Lionsgate Film premiered in USA theatres in October 2025, before going to video on demand. A basic internet search told of how the film underperformed in theatres, but then resuscitated during its rotation on Starz. The budget was 30 million, and, of December 2025, earned 26 million dollars total.
Looking at the cover of the DVD, one could be impressed by seeing Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen, alongside Aziz Ansari and Sandra Oh starring in what was touted as a comedy.
Not 30 minutes into viewing the film, one had to ask, “This is a comedy?” The plot centers about writer/director/star Ansari as Arj, a struggling man in L.A. who earns a marginal, tortured living, just barely, even with his college degree. Seth Rogan is Jeff, a venture capitalist, who evidently has wealth of more than 500 million dollars, who exists for pleasure, taking drugs, going on vacations, and throwing himself an awesome 40th birthday party.
Keanu Reeves, as an angel named Gabriel (yes), is tired of being a mediocre angel with small wings. He seeks to change people’s lives, rather than his assigned duty, stopping people from texting while driving.
Arj and his downward plunge down economic catastrophe is painful to watch. Anyone would surely not enjoy living without food, money, or home.
Enter Angel Gabriel. He appears to Arj to tell him money does not bring happiness, and wants to prove it by swapping lives, giving Arj the life of a billionaire, swapping the life of billionaire Jeff. One thing. Who but an angel could be so naive? Arj is beyond ecstatic having food, living in splendor, and being the happiest he’s ever been. He has no desire to become penniless again, as Jeff is now. Gabriel now has to convince Arj to willingly and optimistically return to Arj’s awful life, and return the billionaire life to Jeff.
Comedy? There is some, but we generously experience what we all know to be true. Yes, money does solve nearly every problem. Gabriel, Jeff, and the audience experience the godawful truth. That a job doesn’t pay enough to live on, let alone enough to enjoy life. For me, all I could think of was The Purple Rose of Cairo, by Woody Allen. Another so-called comedy which was very sad. The great international star Mia Farrow was a woman who led a miserable life livened only by the movies, until her matinee idol jumped from the screen and fell in love with her. Mr. Ansari draws obvious parallels to Woody Allen. He being a comedian, and Woody Allen being a comedy legend.
Without many spoiler alerts, suffice it to say, Arj’s love interest loves him poor or rich. Jeff becomes more sympathetic to those who aren’t millionaires once he’s obscenely wealthy again, and Gabriel is forgiven for fucking up big time, having his wings returned to him.
I liked the film. It was clever. Reeves was excellent as an extraterrestrial naif, and the story kept its momentum, as it traversed many different ideas.
Should you rent, or view it on a streaming network? The answer is yes. Good Fortune is a good viewing experience.