The delightful Keanu Reeves comedy you probably missed just landed on Prime Video — and it’s what I’m watching this weekend
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Prime Video’s added over 60 new movies to its library this month, but there’s precious few among them worth watching this weekend.
One gem in Prime Video’s August line-up is “Good Fortune,” a rare Keanu Reeves comedy that went under the radar last year but is well worth your time. It’s the kind of breezy afternoon watch that doesn’t demand much from you — except to be charmed yet again by Reeves’ effortless charisma.
Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut has a great hook: A well-meaning but bumbling angel Gabriel (Reeves) tries to prove to a gig worker (Ansari) that money can’t buy happiness. He fails miserably.
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Between its star-studded cast (including Sarah Oh, Keke Palmer, and Seth Rogan) and plenty of laughs, “Good Fortune” is the perfect pick to watch this weekend when you want to kick back with something lighter. And if you’ve somehow missed it until now, now’s the perfect time to see if its 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes holds up.
Still need more convincing? I get it, your streaming time is too precious to gamble with wasting it on a dud. Read on for everything you need to know about “Good Fortune,” and check out our guide on the best new movies on Prime Video to watch this weekend while you’re at it.
What is ‘Good Fortune’ about?
The “John Wick” stars in a rare comedic turn as Gabriel, a guardian angel who is really, really bad at his job. He’s already on thin ice with his supervisor (Sandra Oh), but determined to prove his mettle nonetheless. Hoping to rise through the ranks, he arranges for struggling gig worker Arj (Ansari) to switch places with his old boss Jeff (Rogen), a smooth-brained but wildly successful tech bro and venture capitalist.
Gabriel assumes that they’ll both walk away from the experience learning a valuable life lesson. The only problem is, they seem to take away precisely the wrong lesson. And once Arj knows how the other half lives, he’s not interested in going back anytime soon. For screwing up so badly, Gabriel gets demoted to Earth, where he gets a crash course in being human.
Stream ‘Good Fortune’ on Prime Video now
Above all else, “Good Fortune” is a showcase for the comedic chops of its cast, with Ansari slipping into the familiar humor that shaped his characters in “Parks and Recreation” and “Master of None.” Keke Palmer is as magnetic and hilarious as ever as Arj’s love interest, and Rogen is perfectly cast as a tech bro who learns to touch grass.
Part “Trading Places”, part “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Good Fortune” is a fun watch that stumbles the landing. The final act isn’t my favorite, rushing toward a milquetoast conclusion that falls short of the sharp writing and satire up to that point. I still had enough fun to recommend it to folks, especially if you’re already a fan of Reeves (and who isn’t?).
But I’m only a semi-professional — what do the actual movie pros think? Over on Rotten Tomatoes, “Good Fortune” has a solid 79% critics score. “A promising directorial feature debut by Aziz Ansari, Good Fortune’s socially-minded humor is given wings by Keanu Reeves’ heavenly comedic timing,” reads the critical consensus.
Writing for Collider, media critic JK Schmidt called it “a humorous take on familiar concepts buoyed by some amazing performances.” Others weren’t quite so charmed, with Empire Magazine’s Sophie Butcher describing it as “an anti-capitalist fable that lets down its star power with an underdeveloped script.” “All of Good Fortune’s good intentions don’t make up for it being such a mediocre time at the movies,” their two-star review reads.
“Good Fortune” sometimes feels like it was a plane being built after it took off, but even still, Reeves is having enough fun as a wonderfully goofy angel that you don’t regret your time watching. Now that it’s streaming on Prime Video, I think it’ll finally find its audience.
Watch “Good Fortune” on Prime Video now
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