Keanu Reeves Has the ‘Good Fortune’ With Aziz Ansari Movie’s Rotten Tomatoes Score

Keanu Reeves’ latest flick is garnering some heavenly praise from critics. Written and directed by Aziz Ansari — who also played a role in the film — Good Fortune follows Gabriel (Reeves), a “well-meaning but rather inept angel” who sets off a chain of events after he “meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Ansari) and a wealthy venture capitalist (Seth Rogen),” according to the official synopsis. The flick also stars Keke Palmer and Sandra Oh. It’s set for wide release in theaters on October 17.

Good Fortune scored 80% on Rotten Tomatoes following its September 6 premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Screen International critic Robert Daniels dubbed the movie a “surprising gift” composed of a “blistering barrage of jokes backed by immense heart.” While Brian Tallerico of rogerebert.com didn’t shy away from criticism of the weaker notes of the film, overall, he called it a “really tough flick to hate” due to its stellar cast, and Awards Radar‘s Joey Magidson said it had “rough edges but pointed humor and an on-point Keanu Reeves.”

Aziz Ansari Called It ‘Mind-Blowing’ to Work With Keanu Reeves on ‘Good Fortune’

Reeves explored comedy in the earlier days of his acting career with memorable projects like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure in 1989 and its sequel, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, in 1991, but over the past three decades, he’s become well known as one of Hollywood’s greatest action stars. He has been praised for his work in The Matrix movies, the John Wick franchise, Speed, and more. However, according to Ansari, the 61-year-old can still kick it with the best of them as a funnyman.

Speaking with People at TIFF for the world premiere of Good Fortune, the Parks and Rec alum recalled talking with Rogen about how they’d be so “uncomfortable” and need to ask Reeves for a lot of direction if they were taking on an action role in a movie, while the Ballerina actor had been “such a pro” and “so down to play with us” when it came to comedy. Ansari went so far as to call him the “soul of the movie” and gushed that he did a “wonderful job” as Gabriel.

“You know, when you meet him it’s intimidating, because he’s an icon of the screen and I grew up watching him and all his films, so it was pretty mind-blowing to get to meet him and then, on top of that, then work with him. He’s now a great friend and collaborator … I didn’t really know what to expect because he’s pretty mysterious, you know? But he was just so game.” – Aziz Ansari