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Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, this whimsical comedy from actor Aziz Ansari, is struggling at the box office. Many reasons could explain the film's reception: Its generic title doesn't convey its movie's distinctive charm. Its screenplay can be preachy and obvious with the messages. Its acting are flat and presentational, as if the actors were reading lines directly from a script. And, the film comes during an era of economic anxiety and disparity, that could render audiences less open to a narrative that suggests rich people have every benefits while those in need possess heart.

But, this is what the movie excels: The film is original, daring, imaginative, frequently humorous, and certainly relevant. And, it provides an unexpectedly great the actor hangout experience.

Keanu Reeves as an Guardian: His Typical Portrayal

Personally, I've never regarded Keanu Reeves a good performer. His monotonal speaking style and persistent expression of slight perturbation has consistently seemed limited, regardless of the broad range of characters he has taken on during the past 40 of his career. Smart directors have often cast him in parts in which his rigidity fits ideally, including My Own Private Idaho to the sci-fi classic to the action series. But nearly all of those roles called for Reeves to appear tough, distant, or detached.

In the film, Reeves plays Gabriel, one low-level guardian angel assigned with looking after people who use their phones when driving. His whole duty involves remaining in his cars and gently touching the drivers' shoulders when they are about to crash, alerting them so they brake before impact. However, while positioned overlooking the city, looking down on the mortal world like a version of a celestial figure from the director's renowned film the angel story, Gabriel gets aspirational. Gabriel desires to become a great guardian and rescuer of lost individuals.

The Surprising Turn: Keanu as a Mortal

So, Gabriel presents himself to down-and-out odd-jobber a character (played by Aziz Ansari), who's living out of a vehicle and cursing his life. Gabriel then swaps the man with the life of extremely rich businessman a character (played by Seth Rogen). The idea behind the experiment is that the character to understand Jeff's life has significant drawbacks, and thankfully return to his original life, similar to the figure in It's a Wonderful Life.

Problem is, Arj right away discovers that Jeff's problems (boring appointments, a pricey pool-heater invoice) prove negligible and easily solved using wealth. He further sees that becoming rich opens up endless opportunities for self-indulgent fun. The character shows zero desire in going back to his previous situation, and the angel is unable to force Arj to return. Subsequently, additional trouble comes: Because of exceeding his duties and messing with the order of the world, the character is fired as an celestial role, and transformed into a mortal.

A Discovery: The Actor Grins

Personally, I remained not persuaded by the actor as an angel with big aspirations and an intense desire to make a difference. Reeves delivers a familiar vaguely constipated performance he's been providing for no less than the past 3 ten-year periods. Watching Reeves in the role of celestial being who's just turned mortal for the first time, on the other hand, proved to be highly entertaining, due to something that truly astonished me at first: This is an element different for the actor. Or perhaps more accurately, something from the past.

Soon into the character's baffling career being a mortal, staying with the wealthy character (who the angel exchanged with the handyman's hand-to-mouth life and underemployed status), the character begins tentatively trying out human activities like chewing and swallowing meals. Then the actor smiles. Genuinely, cautiously, joyously smiles. (This is far much convincing than his grin on the promotional image, which appears artificially added.)

The Reason That Smile Matters

The moment really took me aback to realize just how unexpected and welcome that smile was. When was the last time audiences saw Keanu Reeves smile in a movie in which he was not showing malice, sarcasm, or resentment? He probably tries it at some point in 2020's misbegotten Bill & Ted Face the Music, but I am not revisiting the mess to find out. The actor has remained stuck with grim, violent, broody, or simply solemn roles for so long that merely seeing him grin felt like seeing an entirely different actor.

As the plot progresses, Gabriel ends up having to get a dishwashing job, which fails to provide sufficient for survival, and Gabriel begins chain-smoking due to frustration. Just the image of the actor in a cheap paper food-service hat, with his late-career trademark long hair pulled back in an unglamorous ponytail, leaning against a building and puffing on a cigarette, proves worthy of the price of admission. His kitchen worker attire totally alters his face and body: Unexpectedly, the lean, suited physical powerhouse of his famous films is awkward, unglamorous, and a lot more relatable.

A Joy of Watching Keanu Relax

The film isn't consistently fun to view, particularly when Ansari (who also authored the screenplay) must create plausible reasons for {Ar