Good Fortune

Cute, sweet, charming. Words to describe Good Fortune, the new film from Aziz Ansari. He wrote it, directed it and co-stars. Funny? Yes, occasionally.

Good Fortune is a fantasy. A light trifle, but amusing. 

Arj (Ansari) is a gig worker in L.A. He works at a Home Depot type store but also does food delivery and other tasks. He sleeps in his car.

Jeff (Seth Rogen) is a wealthy tech bro who lives in a cool house on a hill. After hiring Arj to clean his garage, he makes Arj his assistant. When Arj uses Jeff’s credit card for an expensive restaurant meal, Jeff fires him.

Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) is an angel. His area of concern is driving and texting and he saves many distracted drivers from danger. But he’s ambitious and oversteps his authorized duty. He arranges for Arj and Jeff to trade places and their respective lifestyles.

Gabriel’s goal is to show Arj that wealth is not that important to one’s happiness but, of course, that backfires and Arj does not want to swap back. After his misstep, Gabriel’s angel boss Martha (Sandra Oh) demotes him to human status, leading to the movie’s funniest scenes.

Keke Palmer is appealing as Arj’s co-worker and romantic interest Elena. 

Reeves and Rogen are talented comic actors whose performances here are spot on. Ansari, whose talents are immense, is not quite the experienced actor as those two guys. But he gives it his best effort and is a likable fellow and in a film like this one, likability goes a long way.

As a director and writer, Ansari could’ve used a real angel on his shoulder to coax him into tightening up the movie a bit and offering a few more funny lines here and there. 

Does Good Fortune offer a real message about economic inequities? Mainly it just reiterates what most of us already know. But if, after seeing this film, you might be likely to tip your DoorDash delivery person or Uber driver more generously, then Ansari will have made his point.

Good Fortune is rated R, mainly for language. Runs just over 90 minutes.

Tammy

 

Melissa McCarthy is funny. She was hilarious in 2011’s Bridesmaids and in last year’s The Heat. And she brings some laughs in Tammy.

But this movie doesn’t fly. It falls short in the hilarity department. It lacks memorable scenes. And, sadly, McCarthy’s act becomes tiring.

Also, this is another comedy that reveals some of its best stuff in the trailer. (Nonetheless, the trailer is posted above.)

Essentially a road trip movie with Tammy and her grandma Pearl (Susan Sarandon), Tammy is blessed with a talented cast. Tammy’s mom Deb (Allison Janney), her dad Don (Dan Aykroyd), Pearl’s cousin Lenore (Kathy Bates), Lenore’s partner Susanne (Sandra Oh), Pearl’s hookup Earl (Gary Cole) comprise a strong crew. Toni Collette plays a mostly silent woman who shacks up with Tammy’s husband (Nat Faxon).

When Tammy catches her husband cheating (after her car hits a deer and she gets fired from her job), she escapes with Pearl on their adventure. After they end up in jail, Pearl uses her remaining cash to bail out Tammy. Tammy then robs a fast food joint to then bail out Pearl.

The robbery is slightly funny. It tries to be one of those “spontaneous” bits with some ad-libs—like the one McCarthy had in 2012’s This Is 40—but it doesn’t quite score a knockout.

McCarthy co-wrote the script with her husband Ben Falcone, who directed. Falcone (who played the air marshall in Bridesmaids) also plays the boss who fires her early in the movie.

Tammy is the kind of movie to watch on cable or Netflix sometime next year. You’ll be somewhat amused but not overwhelmed.