Movies - Good Fortune: Aziz Ansari’s Angelic Comedy Arrives with a Twist of Fate, Friendship, and Fortune

By Mulder, 28 may 2025

There’s something almost poetic in the fact that Good Fortune, Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut, is a film born from professional turbulence. After his first attempt at directing—Being Mortal—was shelved in 2022 due to the controversy surrounding Bill Murray, Aziz Ansari didn’t retreat. Instead, he doubled down, pivoting toward a project infused with his signature blend of wry introspection and sharp comedic timing. What emerged from the ashes of halted ambition is Good Fortune, a body-swap comedy with celestial consequences that feels like Trading Places with an existential edge and a sprinkle of Scrooged magic. And yet, this film might just be more personal and more poignant than anything Aziz Ansari has ever attempted.

Good Fortune follows Gabriel, a clumsy, underqualified budget angel played with gentle charm by Keanu Reeves. Gabriel watches over Arj (Aziz Ansari), a down-on-his-luck gig worker, who finds himself in a literal and metaphorical dead-end at a Denny’s after his car is towed. Gabriel, in a misguided celestial attempt to show Arj that money doesn’t solve life’s deeper issues, swaps him into the body of his rich employer, Jeff (Seth Rogen). Predictably, chaos ensues—but with a heart. When Gabriel’s plan backfires and Arj thrives in his new life, the angel loses his wings and is cast down to Earth, forced to shack up with a now-displaced Jeff as the threads of divine intervention unravel around them. It’s a premise that brims with both absurdity and human relatability, not unlike Aziz Ansari’s own real-world journey navigating setbacks and reinvention.

The road to bringing Good Fortune to life was riddled with the kinds of complications that might have made another filmmaker give up. With the Writers Guild of America strike derailing principal photography just weeks after it was scheduled to start in May 2023, production was delayed until early 2024. When it resumed, it was joined by Keke Palmer, and later Sandra Oh. But then came another twist of fate: two weeks into filming, Keanu Reeves injured his knee—ironically not while performing a daredevil stunt, but while trying to exit a cold plunge tub. The incident, which led to a cracked patella, lit up the internet, with the hashtag #GetWellSoonKeanu trending shortly after paparazzi shots of him hobbling on crutches made the rounds. Despite the setback, Keanu Reeves insisted on continuing the shoot—minus a salsa dancing sequence that was postponed to let his knee heal. It’s hard not to see the humor and irony in a film about angelic missteps being nearly derailed by a literal fall from grace.

Keanu Reeves’ casting, at first glance, might seem like an odd fit for the role of a cosmic klutz. Even Aziz Ansari was initially unsure, admitting that the idea of Keanu Reeves playing a bungling angel seemed implausible. That guy just seems like he’s on a different planet, Aziz Ansari recalled. But that same otherworldliness, it turned out, was exactly what the character needed. What sealed the deal wasn’t a formal audition, but a casual evening at Aziz Ansari’s house eating Indian food and talking shop. That night cemented a working bond and set the tone for a production built as much on personal chemistry as it was on studio deals.

That sense of camaraderie is also visible in Aziz Ansari’s collaboration with Seth Rogen. The two have been friends for years, and the seeds for Good Fortune were planted during a phone call following Being Mortal’s collapse. Aziz Ansari had a rough draft. Seth Rogen read it within hours. By the end of the day, he was in. Seth Rogen even contributed his own comedic DNA to the project—adding bits like sauna sessions and cold plunge antics, moments that now carry uncanny parallels to Keanu Reeves' real-life mishap. Their creative synergy exemplifies how personal relationships in filmmaking often shape a project’s tone more than any production memo.

More than just a comedy, Good Fortune aims to say something real—something Aziz Ansari has always strived for in his work. He did his homework by interviewing gig workers, embedding authentic experiences into the DNA of the film. This is not just a fish-out-of-water tale; it’s a meditation on class divide, hustle culture, and the illusion of making it. Aziz Ansari has been candid about wanting to write about things that everyone is dealing with that no one is talking about, and Good Fortune fits that mold. It's a modern-day fable, as rooted in economic anxiety as it is in metaphysical fantasy.

Even the film’s title has a layered irony. As The A.V. Club pointed out, calling it Good Fortune is almost too perfect given the behind-the-scenes turbulence—from the shelving of Being Mortal to industry-wide strikes to Keanu Reeves’ injury. And yet, out of all that chaos comes a movie that might end up being the kind of comedy Hollywood needs right now—smart, heartfelt, and willing to wear its weirdness on its sleeve. It’s telling that Aziz Ansari sees the theatrical success of Barbie as a green light for adult comedies with substance. He’s betting that audiences are hungry for films that entertain but also resonate—and he might be right.

When the trailer finally dropped in late May 2025, it instantly caught fire. Critics were quick to point out the cleverness of casting Keanu Reeves as a fallen angel, playing off his saintly public image. Empire, Gizmodo, and Deadline all agreed: the film looks genuinely funny. And for a project that started as a decent draft shared between friends, it now feels like a real moment in the making.

With its theatrical release set for October 17, 2025, Good Fortune is more than a comedy. It’s a testament to resilience, a love letter to second chances, and a quirky look at life’s divine—or not-so-divine—interventions. Aziz Ansari’s gamble to re-enter the game on his own terms might just pay off, delivering the kind of R-rated comedy that dares to be both ridiculous and real. In a world short on good fortune, this film might be just what we need.

Synopsis : 
A well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker and a wealthy venture capitalist.

Good Fortune
Written and directed by Aziz Ansari
Produced by Aziz Ansari, Anthony Katagas, Alan Yang
Starring  Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh, Keanu Reeves
Cinematography : Adam Newport-Berra
Edited by Daniel Haworth
Music by Carter Burwell
Production companies : Garam Films, Oh Brudder Productions, Keep Your Head,,Yang Pictures
Distributed by Lionsgate (United States)
Release date : October 17, 2025 (United States)