By Sarah Osman

 If only every billionaire could be forced to work as a food delivery driver and learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Good Fortune, written and directed by Aziz Ansari. Screening at AMC Assembly Row, Kendall Square Cinema, and other cinemas around New England.

Aziz Ansari and Keanu Reeves In Good Fortune. Photo: Lionsgate

Making a movie inspired loosely by It’s a Wonderful Life is a damn near impossible task, especially in 2025. When It’s a Wonderful Life was made, the US still had hope and had the political will to provide a version of the American Dream, at least for some. In 2025, the American Dream is dead, especially if you’re a gig worker trying to survive in Hollywood.

Good Fortune takes an inconsistent look at It’s a Wonderful Life, tempering its darkness with lite contemporary comedy. The film supplies a convincingly realistic take on life in Los Angeles, but it is determined to serve up sweetness when faced with the reality that your neighbors won’t come to your rescue if you are in trouble and that, although money can’t buy you happiness, it sure does help.

The film follows Arj (Aziz Ansari), an out-of-work film editor, who survives by accepting demeaning gigs (he is hired to stand in line for cinnamon buns). Arj lives in his car, listens to his dad sing the praises of his wealthy cousin, and flirts with Elena (Keke Palmer), who’s trying to organize a union at the hardware store where Arj works part-time. He is being observed by Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), an angel whose job is to stop people from texting and driving. Gabriel yearns to save a soul, and believes that Arj is the soul he’s meant to salvage.

Arj begins working as the assistant to Jeff (Seth Rogen), a billionaire libertarian tech bro who, among his many whims, wants a disco floor for his party and to take an ayahuasca trip. Disaster strikes after Arj uses the guy’s company card to take Elena to a fancy dinner (at a restaurant Jeff suggested). Jeff fires him. Gabriel sees this debacle as an opportunity to change Arj’s life. The next day, Arj wakes up living Jeff’s life, complete with a mansion, luxury cars, and business lunches at Michelin-starred restaurants. Jeff wakes up enduring Arj’s life as a food delivery driver, living in a sleazy motel.

Gabriel thinks that Arj will learn that Jeff’s life isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, but Arj has no desire to switch back. Money has indeed made Arj happy and solved almost all his most pressing problems. As punishment for his miscalculation, Gabriel is forced to live as a human. He learns about the burden of taxes, but also about how glorious tacos and chicken “nuggies” are. Despite his everyday struggles, Gabriel grows to like being human.

Keanu Reeves is the savior of Good Fortune. He plays Gabriel with a sweet-natured cluelessness, akin to a hapless golden retriever. And he delivers his lines with an adroit deadpan, which makes lines like “Instead of social security, we need money for milkshakes and chicken nuggies” even funnier. Every woman Gabriel encounters finds him enormously attractive, an effective running gag. Keke Palmer, while relegated to a smaller role, is the plot’s most optimistic character, fighting for her own and her workers’ rights. Palmer is somewhat subdued here, but she still holds her own with the rest of the cast. Ansari and Rogen do their usual shtick and, for the most part, that is fine. Rogen’s not given as much physical comedy to do as he is in The Studio, and that is a shame because Rogen is very funny doing knockabout.

Now the bad news about Good Fortune — its cowardly ending. Why would someone go back to a life with no steady paycheck when they could live a billionaire’s life? The film tries to gloss over this absurdity by exalting a love of tacos and dancing. But, for the majority of mankind, that would not be enough. People need a roof over their heads, health insurance, and access to affordable groceries. Much of the film offers a relatively unflinching look at reality for the underclass, but its wrap-up ventures into inane magical territory, a never-never-land where CEOs decide to help others. Why didn’t Arj  have some sort of Great Gatsby reckoning regarding wealth? The film loses its nerve at a terrifying time in our history. The sad truth is that, for most of us, we’re living far from a wonderful life. And, with the current administration doing little more than empowering the already ultra-powerful, our fortunes may well take a turn for the worse. “Let them eat tacos,” does not cut it.

Sarah Mina Osman is based in Los Angeles. In addition to The Arts Fuse, her writing can be found in The Huffington Post, Success Magazine, Matador Network, HelloGiggles, Business Insider, and WatchMojo. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is working on her first novel. She has a deep appreciation for sloths and tacos. You can keep up with her on Instagram @SarahMinaOsman and at Bluesky @sarahminaosman.bsky.social.