The advent of fall festival season is officially upon us, with Venice and Toronto unveiling their initial lineups as the industry begins looking ahead to the next awards race. One highlight of the TIFF lineup was Aziz Ansari‘s “Good Fortune,” which will be premiering in Toronto before Lionsgate releases it in theaters this October. And with a cast that includes Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, and Keanu Reeves (who plays a guardian angel), it could very well become one of the breakout hits of the fall.
Per an official synopsis, the film follows Arj (Ansari), a financially struggling gig economy worker who crosses paths with a tech giant (Rogen) during one of the lowest points in his life. The encounter is overseen by a rather inept angel named Gabriel (Reeves) who grants Arj the opportunity of a lifetime to swap places with his wealthy counterpart to see if the grass is truly greener on the other side.
The full trailer shows Reeves’ Gabriel mentoring both men. He notes that this is one of his bigger assignments to date, as his duties usually revolve around stopping people from texting and driving. This causes Ansari to bemoan that he has been stuck with a “budget angel.”
“Good Fortune” is the first feature film Ansari has released as a director — though his filmmaking career could have benefitted from a guardian angel of its own. He was originally set to make his directorial debut on the film “Being Mortal,” which also starred Rogen and Palmer alongside Bill Murray. But production on the film was halted after a complaint was filed about inappropriate on-set behavior from Murray. Ansari then turned his attention to “Good Fortune,” though the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes of 2023 delayed production on the film for nearly a year. Filming eventually commenced in January 2024 (after it was originally slated to begin in May 2023), but a strong festival response would make the film worth the wait.
A Lionsgate release, “Good Fortune” will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and open in theaters on Friday, October 17. Watch the trailer below.