For his Feature Directing debutThe Aziz Ansari Merged two familiar comedy units: Body Swap and Guardian Angel intervention. In Ansari’s “Happiness”, An angel at the starting level (Keanu Reeves) comes to the aid of a down-on-ins Luck player, Arj (Ansari), involving Arj replacement of life with Jeff (Seth Rogen), a rich venture capitalist.
The Jokes Land: We witness Arj, a documentary editor outside the work who wants to make his own films, Hustle for Taskrabbit job. He cures a cinnamon shop is cases and crushes in a funny early scene a child’s dream of becoming an archaeologist with a fatalist speech about adulthood. Ansari, Rogen and Reeves do for a lovely trio of heavy finders. Reeves’ Gabriel -nails Quips who, “I was a heavenly creature and now I’m a chain smoker dependent on nicotine.”
And the ensemble role is pitch: Sandra Oh shines like the lead angel, and although Stephen McKinley Henderson, as the most inspiring angel Azreal, is only shown in a scene, together they give the angel intervention concept’s heft. The script is trimmed and polished. In case of a question after screening follows filmThe premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Ansari and Reeves described working with jokes in Ansari’s home through live readings and improvisation. Daniel Haworth’s editing is tight and safe – You would never know that production was stopped and restarted because of the authors’ strike. Bel Air House, the pool, even the camp in Los Angeles – all the shine.
But that brilliance with high brilliance works against history and smooths out the rough edges of the gig that makes Arj’s reality less of a bummer.
The question is: less of a bummer for whom? Leaving the show I asked myself: who are these jokes really for? They are not for the Arjs or Elenas (Keke Palmer as a trade union organizer and Arj’s love interest). They are for Jeffs – the people who can’t imagine ever becoming an arj or an Elena.
Gig work humor and technology-Bro-Satire seems to look up at unlimited capitalism but actually beat the millions of workers whose problems will not be solved at the end of 98 minutes driving time. Ansari thinks it is possible to make behavioral issues about economic inequality and the housing crisis fun, with reference to inspiration such as “Sullivan’s travels” (1941) and “My man Godfrey” (1936), both films about rich main characters “slumming it” with less wealth. He believes it is possible because he is a Jeff.
There are nods to the power of society – Jeff and Gabriel discover that it is easier to survive Gig Worker Life together. And when Arj finally admits his father (played by Ansari’s real father, Dr. Shoukath Ansari) that his “new apartment” is a lie, he gets the kindness he longed for. But overall, ”Good luck“Is less about satirizing power than commodifying real struggles. I suppose you don’t know what you don’t know.
In full revealing, I’m not a Jeff. Like Arj, I slept in my car in LA, parked in parties and was worried that safety kicked me out. I have been a player – Uber, Lift, Instacart. I know too much to laugh upset like Jeffs who filled the audience at the premiere. They laughed like people for whom this was all theoretically, another night with escapist entertainment. As Elena tells Arj-Vänte-Jeff in a former scene such as Kinematographer Adam Newport-Berra teeth with moody green: “You’re in This housetells me not to give up. ”
In the end, we are left without a meaningful bow after the bodies switch back. Does Jeff’s speech make his doordah-like board a difference? Does Arj have a place to sleep that night? To address systemic issues and then solve them with humor falls flat for this critic. Yes, the system sucks – but this is hardly an insight, and it rings hollow for anyone who is not a jeff.
The characters who reasoned most were not the wires, but the workers on the margins. Felipe (Felipe Garcia Martinez), the dishwasher who becomes friends with Gabriel at his first job, is unforgettable: Although he worked three jobs, he still makes time to go out and dance with his wife at Cumbia Joint. That joy felt honest. So did the generosity of Denny’s waiter who offers Arj a ride when he sees how difficult a time he has. I wanted more of it, more of them.
So who is this movie really for? For someone who lived near the edge, the film felt more hollow than empathetic. It spends most of its time showing us how bad things are for workers, then seems to say in their final scene that the solution is to make art about it. In the end, “happiness” left me skeptical and worried and wondered if the people it shows with such ease will only feel objectified instead.
Rating: C+
“Good Fortune” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2025. Lionsgate releases the film in theaters on Friday 17 October.
Want to keep you updated on IndieWire’s movie Reviews And critical thoughts? Subscribe here To our recently launched newsletter, in review by David Ehrlich, where our main film critic and Head Review’s editor rounds off the best new reviews and streaming choices along with some exclusive Musings – all only available for subscribers.
