Comedian Aziz Ansari struggled bringing his directorial debut to the big screen. He wrote and started to film a feature for Searchlight in 2022, and production shut down after allegations of inappropriate behavior against star Bill Murray. When combined with a scandal of his own in the rearview, production halted on Ansari’s debut. He managed to gather most of that film’s cast for another film, Good Fortune, also written by Ansari. I’d always enjoyed Ansari on his television projects, and was curious to see what his directorial debut would look like. While I don’t think Good Fortune is breaking new ground for the world of comedy, it’s definitely more hit than miss.

Arj (Ansari) is a Los Angeles man at his wit’s end. Working multiple jobs, yet destitute enough to be living out of his car, he seemingly can’t catch a break. He tries to romance Elena (Keke Palmer), a coworker who’s trying to unionize their place of employment. After losing a promising job as tech bro Jeff (Seth Rogen)‘s assistant, Arj is approached by Gabriel (Keanu Reeves), his guardian angel. Gabriel is low-ranking at his job, with his boss Martha (Sandra Oh) sending him to do work he isn’t fulfilled by. Gabriel switches the lives of Jeff and Arj, with the assumption this will show Arj that wealth won’t solve all of his problems. Shenanigans and life lessons ensue.

Good Fortune is an above-average comedy about economic anxiety, that may be a little heavy handed at times, but ultimately has a lot of heart and a lot viewers will relate to. It will definitely hit hard in this particular moment in 2025, when America is nosediving into yet another ‘unprecedented’ recession. People are struggling, and they’ve been struggling. So many people have to work multiple jobs and are barely getting by, and that’s just the way life is. Good Fortune shines a light on the economic inequities that have pervaded American culture for what seems like generations. But more than anything else, this is a raunchy R-rated comedy, and it manages to deliver on those expectations as well as the messages Ansari wants audiences to leave the film with.

Aziz Ansari may not have much range as an actor. I feel like he brings a lot of himself, and his persona to his performances, and it seems like he plays some variation of the same character in everything. But for what he’s doing, he does it well. He’s still quite funny and he sells the heart of this story efficiently. He’s got solid comedic chemistry with Seth Rogen, who’s also had a good year after Apple TV’s Emmy-winning The Studio. Rogen has been better, but it definitely feels like he was the right person for this role. 

But the film’s secret weapon is Keanu Reeves, who so rarely gets the chance to remind audiences he can be funny. I’d definitely like to see Reeves do more of this kind of thing in the future. And Keke Palmer, after a terrific turn in One of Them Days, another R-rated comedy from earlier this year, is regrettably kind of wasted as the love interest. She has more to do than an actress in this kind of role would have been given 10 years ago, but knowing what Palmer is capable of, it’s a shame there isn’t more for her. We also have a similarly underused Sandra Oh in the role of Gabriel’s boss, and she’s /also capable of more than this film is giving her.

The filmmaking here is pretty workmanlike and not that exciting, but there’s reason to believe Ansari could do something more in the future. His script could have used a few more drafts, as the story meanders a bit. But with this good of a cast, the improv heavy script proves to not be that much of a problem. Production designer Kay Lee and cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra (who recently won an Emmy for an episode of The Studio) create a very recognizable Los Angeles that highlights a lot of what’s so wonderful about the city while not drawing focus away from the economic issues at the heart of this story. 

Overall, I would recommend Good Fortune solely because it’s always fun to see a comedy like this in a theater with other people. Ansari apparently fought to get Good Fortune to the big screen, in this current age where comedies are mostly relegated to streaming services. And we’ve had some good theatrical comedies this year that hopefully provide a compelling reason for Hollywood to keep making more. Good Fortune is never rewriting or even subverting the rules of the R-rated comedy, but the script effectively delivers laughs and heart in equal measure. It’s a bit uneven and clunky, but there’s more to take away from this viewing experience than you may have thought.