"Good Fortune" Trailer: Keanu Reeves Plays a Well-Meaning Angel in Aziz Ansari’s Directorial Comedy with Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer
Keanu ditches the guns for wings in this body-swap comedy about privilege, perspective, and second chances. Also starring Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, and Sandra Oh.
After impressing us with his fighting skills for decades in now-iconic action franchises like The Matrix and John Wick, it’s easy to forget that Keanu Reeves got his start showing off a natural knack for comedy, proving early on that he could deliver a funny line or two with charm to spare.
The Bill & Ted films, Parenthood (1989), and I Love You to Death (1990) are great examples of how Reeves used his innocence and wide-eyed sincerity to great comedic effect. It makes one wonder why he never further pursued this side of his talent in more recent years. Perhaps the answer lies in the lack of opportunity, though he was able to spoof himself in a hilarious cameo in the 2019 rom-com Always Be My Maybe and also oil up those comedic gears of his with a memorable voice performance as stuntman toy Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4.
Now that it seems he might be done with the John Wick franchise (unless, of course, they pay him enough to come back for another go-around), it looks like Reeves is ready to stretch his wings—both figuratively and literally!
In the upcoming comedy Good Fortune, the John Wick star trades his collection of guns for a pair of white feathers (a miniature set, mind you) as he takes on the role of Gabriel, a guardian angel who comes to Earth to help some souls who need a little divine intervention.
Tapping into his wide-eyed earnestness, Reeves plays a well-intentioned angel whose job up until now has involved minor meddling (like helping someone avoid texting while driving), but who now wants to step up his angelic duties.
His new assignment? To help out a man down on his luck named Arj (played by comedian Aziz Ansari). Struggling to make ends meet, Arj has been relegated to working odd jobs around the city of Los Angeles, mostly in the service industry. His only wish is to make enough money to enjoy some peace of mind, and maybe finally enjoy the finer things in life. Arj has grown frustrated and angry over the years, becoming extremely jealous of the rich elite class of L.A.
And right there, Gabriel gets the idea of showing Arj that maybe not all of the L.A. rich are as happy as they seem.
Poof!
Gabriel magically switches Arj's life with the life of Jeff, an unhappy “tech bro” (played by Seth Rogen) whose world is filled with luxury and excess, but not a shred of real fulfillment.
Suddenly, Arj is living in a sleek mansion with a disco club and a garage full of expensive cars. It’s everything Arj has ever wanted. Meanwhile, Jeff is living Arj’s life—one of constant struggle and working as a DoorDash-like delivery man. Jeff hates it and wants to change back as soon as possible.
It seems Gabriel’s little experiment has not yielded the results he was hoping for. Instead of gaining empathy, both Arj and Jeff are growing more resentful, which is not what Gabriel wanted.
So, the question is now, will Gabriel ever get to grow his wings—or has his big idea backfired, putting his heavenly promotion on the line? Perhaps Gabriel is the one who needs a little intervention. In trying to fix two imperfect lives, he finds the true path to earning his wings might take a little good fortune... and a second chance to get it right.
The comedy marks the feature directorial debut of Emmy-winner Aziz Ansari (Master of None, Parks and Recreation), who also wrote the screenplay.
The project follows Ansari’s first attempt at directing a feature with the 2022 film Being Mortal, which was suspended during production due to star Bill Murray’s alleged inappropriate behavior with a production assistant, resulting in a lawsuit and a $100,000 settlement. (Murray claimed it was a “stupid joke”—a kiss—that was taken the wrong way.) Ansari has stated that he would like to revisit the project again in the future.
Joining Ansari, Rogen, and Reeves is Keke Palmer as a fellow co-worker who is also struggling, while Sandra Oh takes on the role of Gabriel’s supervisor, who can’t believe he switched Arj and Jeff’s lives—an act that goes against everything it means to be an angel.
Good Fortune is slated to land in theaters October 17th.
So, say a little prayer that the comedy gods have bestowed us with a crowd-pleasing hit where Keanu not only spreads his wings but earns those feathers... one laugh at a time.
Watch Keanu Reeves and Aziz Ansari discuss the new trailer for EW, below:
Official Synopsis:
In GOOD FORTUNE, a well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Aziz Ansari) and a wealthy venture capitalist (Seth Rogen).
