TORONTO – A lot of folks might say Keanu Reeves is an angel of a human being. In the new comedy “Good Fortune,” he’s heavenly at playing both.
Aziz Ansari writes, directs and stars in the movie (in theaters Oct. 17) as Arj, a gig-economy worker in LA who’s been fired from his job, lives in his car and pretty much has had it with his life. Gabriel (Reeves), a guardian angel who keeps people from texting and driving, sees Arj’s struggle and goes beyond the scope of his own job to help him, swapping Arj’s life with that of super-wealthy tech bro Jeff (Seth Rogen).
Gabriel gives Arj a week of being rich, figuring he’ll see the misfortunes of having a fortune. But instead Arj refuses to go back, Jeff freaks out because someone else is living his life, and Gabriel gets canned, too. Which means having to be human, and he develops a chain-smoking habit while working as a dishwasher. However, Gabriel also gets to experience the wonders of being mortal, like eating burgers and chicken tenders for the first time.
“It’s a beautiful role and so fun to play to have that earnestness and light, and then go through the transition, and then come back,” Reeves said in a Q&A after the “Good Fortune” premiere on Sept. 6 at Toronto Film Festival.
Reeves, one of Toronto’s favorite sons, became an action-movie icon with “The Matrix” and “John Wick” series. Yet for Gabriel, he said Ansari wanted Reeves to return to his comedic roots: “One day he was just like, ‘Sooo, do you remember ‘Bill and Ted’? I was like, ‘Yeah.’ You remember Todd from ‘Parenthood’? I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And he was like, ‘That guy.‘ I was like, ‘Ohhh, OK, but then he also wanted this other part of (Gabriel) that, for me, I thought of as his ancientness.”
Ansari had worked with Rogen before – in films like “Funny People” and “Observe and Report” – but it was new with Reeves. One of the first scenes they did is where Jeff introduces Gabriel to the magic of hamburgers. “I just yelled out, ‘Seth, go, ‘You’re a big boy!’ Keanu, take a big bite and go, ‘Yeah, I’m a big boy now!’ It was perfect,” Ansari recalled with a laugh. “And it’s like magic because you’re playing with Keanu Reeves.”
Ansari was inspired by another angelic film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as well as other classics such as “Sullivan’s Travels” and “My Man Godfrey.” “They dealt with the issues we deal with in this film about wealth and inequality in class, but they’re very comedic,” Ansari said. “The idea of doing a comedy like that, but setting it in today’s environment, it felt very fun.”
And it turns out that Reeves really is kind of an angel in real life. Ansari told a story about how Octavia Spencer’s car broke down when she was a struggling actor, and Reeves saw her and pulled up on his motorcycle to assist.
“She was having a down moment and I guess that that really helped her out,” Ansari said. “She never forgets: Every time Keanu has a movie, she always gets a ticket Friday night. So, Octavia, we’ll see you on October 17th!”