At some point or another, we have all looked at someone and wished we could swap lives with them (and anyone who hasn’t had such a thought, even if only briefly, is either completely delusional or the most privileged person in history), just to walk in their shoes and experience what we perceive to be an easier life. This is one of the most truly universal experiences, and coveting what others have been all part of simply existing in a world where everyone is supposed to build their own future. Aziz Ansari seems to be fascinated by the topic, as he uses it as the foundation for Good Fortune, his wonderful feature directorial debut, in which he plays Arj, a former college prodigy who has unfortunately been the victim of an over-saturated job market, leading him to enter into the gig economy, where he spends his days doing menial, bland jobs for next to nothing, hoping to earn enough to simply survive. A chance encounter with Jeff, an oddly generous and slightly oblivious billionaire, leads to Arj getting a new lease on life when he proposes to start working for him as his personal assistant – but a poor decision brings a sudden end to their partnership. Observing all of this is Gabriel, a shy angel whose usual responsibility is preventing people from texting and driving, and in an effort to prove that he can change lives in more ways than one, he decides to intervene, showing Arj what his life would be like should he and Jeff switch places – and naturally, chaos immediately ensues. Built around a simple premise, but surprisingly far deeper than we would have initially imagined, Good Fortune is a charming film that proves Ansari’s skills are not just as a performer, but instead extend behind the camera, with this becoming one of the year’s most captivating comedies, and a film that more than earns our interest based on its delightful premise, strong execution and willingness to actually push a few unexpected boundaries where a less motivated director would not even begin to notice the potential. A strong entry into a modern revival of the mid-level mainstream studio comedy (which is becoming increasingly endangered in an era of streaming), while still finding ways to be exciting, Good Fortune is a true gem of a film in both concept and execution.

Despite seeming like a relatively simple affair on the surface, Good Fortune is a surprisingly layered film. There are a few core themes that Ansari chooses to focus on, some more obvious than others – the clearest of them being the desire to explore the class system from the perspective of two people on opposing ends of the economic spectrum. On one side, we have a young man who worked laboriously for his entire youth to make something of himself, but realises that college degrees are not as valuable as they were before, leading to a life where he lives from one paycheque to another. On the other hand is a man who became repulsively rich as a result of family connections and a few well-timed coincidences, which set him up for life. The director knows exactly what he is implying here, and while it is blatantly obvious, it doesn’t stop Ansari from making some fascinating observations on how challenging it can be to exist in a time when even the hardest workers are finding themselves constantly under threat. If it’s not the job market becoming overstuffed to the point of bursting, it’s the threat of artificial intelligence making us redundant, and it’s all mandated by the very people who don’t ever need to witness the fear of not knowing where their next meal is going to come from, which is a reality for many people. Of course, Ansari is a comedian by trade, so he’s not going to allow this to define the film, but rather guide it. To undercut the sombre subject matter, he chooses to make Good Fortune a fantasy film, introducing the concept of angels that follow us, ensuring that we’re out of harm’s way whenever possible. It’s not a religious film (and the methods Ansari employs to not default to just faith-based storytelling is quite impressive), but rather one that takes a well-worn cliche of the guardian angel and reinvents it slightly, finding it to be fertile ground for a blisteringly funny deconstruction of social order, some of the most keen and memorable obversations emerging in those quieter moments where the film allows itself to reflect on the deeper ideas lingering beneath the surface. It’s very thoughtful with its exploration of both economic strife and the desire for recognition, which ultimately adds up to something quite compelling, even if it can sometimes be slightly obvious in its messaging.

It is very common for actors who attempt to go into directing to cast themselves in their debuts – Ansari has already worked on both sides of the camera simultaneously in Master of None, which contains some of his best personal work as an actor (and I can confidently say that his performance here doesn’t eclipse it, even though he’s still wonderful), which is once again factored into Good Fortune, a film built around him as an actor. He’s terrific, precisely because he knows what his strengths are, and he’s certainly not afraid to play into his inherent skills as an actor when it comes to bringing the character to life. He’s not attempting to be some dashing, heroic protagonist, and he taps into his natural gifts as a comedic presence in constructing Arj, who is a far more fascinating character as a result. The more interesting work is handed over to his co-stars, primarily Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen. who are both equally as wonderful. Rogen has slightly redefined himself into playing more likeable characters that are not just borderline pathetic schlubs, but rather have some more personality to them, which is quite a welcome development for someone who has shown himself to be genuinely very gifted. He’s not doing anything particularly revolutionary with Good Fortune, but his presence alone does bolster it, giving it not only a more concise comedic beat (since Rogen tends to have good chemistry with most actors, granted, there is effort being put in), but adding layers of heart to the narrative in ways that are often quite surprising. However, it’s Reeves who steals the film – without any hint of malice, we find that Good Fortune is a perfect use of him as an actor, primarily in that he tends to be quite stiff and vaguely non-human when he acts, which is here redefined as an actual merit. His unconventional charisma and the fact that he is genuinely a good person by nature (as well as his status as a bit of a folkloric symbol) make him an angel, particularly one who has good intentions but is still not particularly good at his job, all the more thrilling. Smaller performances by Keke Palmer and Sandra Oh, both of whom have their own strong moments, help elevate Good Fortune, making it a far more compelling affair, and not just a matter of placing major actors in roles that anyone could have played without much effort.

While many of us know him for his acting work, particularly stand-up comedy and in shows like Parks & Recreation, Ansari has more than proven himself as a skilled filmmaker, with Master of None being an extraordinary piece of art, a television show that started as a vehicle for his unique brand of humour, but gradually evolved into something much more profound. Anyone who watched even a few episodes would know that he was more than capable of writing and directing a strong film, which we find to be the case in Good Fortune, which is more than just a milquetoast attempt to get the urge to direct out of one’s system, but instead a well-crafted and meaningful comedy that is as brilliantly written as it is genuinely quite dynamic in terms of execution. Visually, it isn’t unique, since it has the overly polished, glossy look of many mainstream studio comedies. However, this is simply a means to facilitate the delivery of the underlying messages, since this is not a film that is interested in following conventions in every direction, only using them for the purposes of telling the story, and letting it speak for itself all on its own. Ansari doesn’t experiment too much with form (which we know he can do based on the work he did on his show), and instead focuses on the writing more than anything else – and this extends beyond the story itself, with the actual emotional inventory of Good Fortune being quite impressive. In the hands of someone else, this would be an inane, unnecessarily crass comedy without an ounce of nuance, but under Ansari’s direction, it’s surprisingly nuanced and sophisticated, never losing the outrageous humour that we would expect, but instead filtering it into something far more practical and meaningful in the process. There are a few sentimental moments, and it can play on some familiar chords from time to time, but for the most part, Good Fortune is a solid piece of filmmaking, both in how it is cobbled together, as well as the underlying subject matter, where the emotions are handled beautifully and without needing to rely on anything more than what we see on the page to guide us towards the core themes.

As far as lighthearted fantasy and body-swap comedies tend to go, Good Fortune is relatively conventional and does nothing too overly experimental or innovative. However, this doesn’t disqualify it from being seen as entirely effective in communicating its core ideas, which become part of the experience of working through a film that intentionally misleads us in terms of the themes that it hopes to explore,, since what we are expecting is a more mainstream, shallow exploration that just attempts to explore the plight of the working class by degrading those who have found success, particularly the people who have not earned their wealth but rather had it handed over to them. This is part of the story, but it’s in the subversion that Good Fortune really develops itself as more than just what we see represented on screen. It’s not as hollow as it seems from a distance, and ultimately delivers one very clear message: we’re all experiencing a common humanity, one in which the main currency should not be achievements or wealth, but rather the ability to be rich in spirit. This is obviously a bit too heavy-handed of a message, but Ansari ensures that it is delivered appropriately and with the right amount of genuine effort, which we find becomes the cornerstone of this film, a bold and funny comedy that doesn’t reinvent the genre, but rather attempts to build on common conventions with wit, candour and a genuine amount of affection for all of its characters. There are layers to Good Fortune, and while it isn’t the generation-defining masterpiece that we often expect from directorial debuts today (which is probably because the film Ansari originally intended to be his debut was derailed for reasons relating to misconduct on set, meaning that this was always going to be slightly secondary as far as passion projects go), but as a wholeheartedly entertaining comedy that delivers a poignant, meaningful message, it is everything we expect, and a truly lovely examination of a subject that should ring to many of us.